African Pentecostalism against Evil and misery
In Africa, it is yet not unusual that political elites convert to evangelicalism. This phenomenon, discernible at the top of African societies is nothing but a reflection of the same phenomenon at the bottom. 125 millions Africans identify themselves as Pentecostals, a particular denomination of Christian Evangelical trends spread worldwide. Pentecostalism, created in the United States before the Second World War, is having remarkable success on the Black Continent, especially in the Western regions of former British colonies.
Historically, it is not surprising to witness the progression of Pentecostalism in West Africa. Former British colonies have been the playground for missionaries since the beginning of the 20th Century and the creation of Pentecostalism. Until today, West Africa remains the first place for hosting transnational agencies dedicated to worldwide evangelisation, such as DAWN Ministries- Discipling A Whole Nation, Beyond Cible or AD 2000. However, for an accurate comprehension of the Pentecostal phenomenon in Africa, it is at least as meaningful to consider the local reality as to refer to an influence from outside.
The emergence of Pentecostalism in Africa, in a variety of forms and through various regional institutions, occurs in a global socio economic context common to almost the entire continent. Undermined economic and social living conditions offer a suitable basis for the success of Pentecostal denomination. Most anthropologists refer to the dramatic economic situation preceding the debt crisis in the 1980's to explain the spread of Pentecostalism in Africa. In Ghana, for instance, the economic decline due to plunging cocoa prices in the 1960s' leading to the great famine in the 1980s' is simultaneous with the success of Evangelical churches. Without falling into economical determinism, it may be relevant to notice that most believers in Ghana are women and young people, in other words, the first victims of economic instability. The same is true in Nigeria, with the Redeemed Christian Church of God, founded in 1952 but developed in the 1980s', counting some 700 000 Pentecostal followers today.
Facing a lack of resources and an expansion diseases, African people live in a continuous quest for solutions to improve their daily lives. The incapability of the States to solve their problems leads Africans to seek other ways of empowerment. In this context, Pentecostalism, which focuses on the Holy Ghost and its supernatural powers of deliverance and healing, seems really pertinent for the people to recover hope of better life. Hence, conversion to Pentecostalism contributes to a logic of survival. Individuals weakened by their daily struggle seek hope for economic and social improvement through conversion to Pentecostalism, as it promises innovative prospects.
African Pentecostalism implies a drastic split with tradition and independent African churches (a combination of Christianity and Black religions). The latter are considered occult, at the mercy of Devil and are blamed for causing African misery. African preachers, infused by the Holy Spirit's wind, perform mystical ceremonies involving exorcism and deliverance in order to free the people from Evil' s influence. Still, these ceremonies are not enough to get rid of the Devil: To reach a state of purification; people must change their habits and traditional relations. This "negation" of tradition leads people to deny the only social links they have to survive in their daily lives. So a young woman, is exhorted by the preachers to abandon her household because her problems are related to her extended family, although the only relief she could expect would be to face her problems and to find a solution within her traditional social network, that is, her extended family.
The desire for emancipation from past and tradition reflects a tendency of social mutation in Africa. Individuals, especially in the urban areas, are seeking to update their traditional identity, often strongly shaped by their role within the extended family. This process is a consequence of recent urbanisation and the individualised way of life it brings. Conversion to Pentecostalism, because it implies a break with tradition, is perceived as a path to individual emancipation. On this basis Pentecostalism meets the people's desire for freedom and a modern way of life. Nevertheless, a rupture with the extended family often remains an aspiration hard to concretise, considering the essential role to be fulfilled by traditional networks in current African socio economical conditions.
This article has been translated from French into English: for an extended bibliography please refer to the French edition (LINK)