Afro-Brazilian Pentecostal Re-formations of Relationships Across Two Generations of Mozambican Women

Abstract

Scholars of Pentecostalism in Africa have repeatedly shown that this religion generally attracts younger generations who perceive the Pentecostal theology of liberation from the bonds of kinship, tradition, and elders as very powerful. This article contributes to the existing scholarly field by examining how different generations of working women and female students in Mozambique find the Afro-Brazilian Pentecostal teachings and practices attractive, particularly when it comes to reshaping their relationships with kin, (ancestral) spirits, and men. It considers how AfroBrazilian Pentecostalism is helping both younger and older women to reorder their relationships. Drawing on the concept of heterotopia, the role of age is highlighted to demonstrate that AfroBrazilian Pentecostalism actively seeks to erase important generational hierarchies and differences, turning them into spiritual issues that affect all women regardless of age or generation.

A Gospel of Prosperity? An Analysis of the Relationship Between Religion and Earned Income in Ghana, the Most Religious Country in the World*

“…While the charismatic churches are united in their ability to incorporate the popular religion of Ghana, they are not united in terms of political support or ideologies, as was demonstrated with their varied support in the 2000 presidential election (Gifford ). The charismatic churches tend to teach that societal transformation will come from individual change, not from outward reforms (Gifford ; Ter Haar and Ellis ); in fact, Gifford () argues that their teachings actually prevent fruitful discussion of national issues.…”

New subjectivities: Aspiration, prosperity and the new middle class

“…My interlocutor's claim that the Bible or neo-charismatic churches are 'the key to the middle classes' is echoed in the literature (Frahm-Arp 2010), and similar links between class aspiration and Pentecostal affiliation has been noted elsewhere in Africa besides the two settings under consideration here (for example Meyer 2004;Van de Kamp 2012). Anticipating the arrival of democracy and the upward mobility and prosperity that was intended to accompany it, policy-makers in South Africa started to explore the role of these churches in the 1990s and early 2000s.…”

Secularist understandings of Pentecostal healing practices in Amsterdam: Developing an intersectional and post-secularist sociology of religion

“…Among the church leaders I interviewed for my research were scientists, academics and doctors, and all had at the very least a Master’s degree (Burgess, 2008; Burgess et al, 2010; Burgess and Knibbe, 2013; Knibbe, 2009; Marshall, 2009; Ukah, 2008). The promise of a born again life does not only involve the wiping away of sins, but also links people up to a global community of Christians (Binsbergen et al, 2004; van de Kamp, 2012: 2012; van Dijk, 1997). Furthermore, sexuality is a topic of discussion rather than a taboo topic in many Pentecostal churches: an increasing number of churches develop programs to highlight the joys of sex to encourage monogamy (Bochow and van Dijk, 2012; Prince et al, 2009; van de Kamp, 2012).…”