Africa, with its complex mosaic of countries and communities, is in the throes of religious revolution. Some trends are troubling--witness the Nigerian Muslim who tried to blow up a plane and the move to make homosexuality a capital offense in Uganda. Yet other trends may offer hope.
One little studied development is the rapid spread of Pentecostal churches. A conference organized by the Hebrew University in Jerusalem last week explored how these churches are involved in social change.
Data is hard to come by, but as a gauge of this growth, one scholar said that a majority of Kenyans today can be considered Pentecostals. (Attendees also reported on followers in South Africa, Ethiopia, Ghana, Botswana, Togo and Madagascar.) The religion takes many forms, and its churches are highly decentralized. The common threads are said to be a conviction in the role of the Holy Spirit; a "born again" experience, which often takes the form of speaking in tongues; and faith healing. Worship is enthusiastic and charismatic.
The meeting addressed a bevy of questions: Are Pentecostal churches conservative or are they forces for change? Urban or rural? Proponents of prosperity and friends of the market, or preachers of austerity? The answer seems to be "all of the above". And there is no simple answer to the question of what kind of modernity they advocate, even what kind of "moral economy" they support. Extraordinary variety is a leading feature of Pentecostalism.
Nonetheless, aspects of the Pentecostal movement are quite distinct from traditional Christian churches. Pentecostals generally represent a sharp break from the past. Many Pentecostal churches reject community rites like ancestor or spirit worship. Some promise that prosperity will come with belonging. Others are very "home-grown" and raise considerable resources through tithing of members. But there are complex links with churches elsewhere, including the United States. A very modern focus on communications, including large broadcasting networks, goes with the Pentecostal revolution.
In Africa as in other regions, women often join Pentecostal churches because they promise behavior change for husbands: above all cutting drink and womanizing. And in many places women experience a new empowerment in the far less hierarchical Pentecostal communities. Women pastors and bishops are far more common there than in traditional religions.
The Jerusalem conference honored Professor Shmuel Noah Eisenstadt, renowned sociologist and guru for many in the field. The new scholarship on Pentecostalism, he suggested, represents a "resurrection" of Max Weber's insights on the roles religion plays in social transformation.
Africa's religious revolution offers a potential for enormous good: the strength of communities, emergence of new leadership, and the entrepreneurial and creative spirit that are at work are part of the treasure of Africa, part of the continent's enchanting quality. Yet some of the other events I mentioned earlier also highlight forcefully the dangers lurking in societies buffeted by globalization, where traditional ways are shattered.
The greatest mystery is what this explosion of new churches across Africa means for society, economy, and politics. Do church members in fact do better? Does drinking and extramarital philandering stop? Are women truly empowered? Are deeply held beliefs in the spirit world changed? Will corrupt practices be curtailed? These important questions still beg for answers. But the force of the phenomenon is plainly something to be reckoned with.
(Read more on Pentecostal traditions.)
