Click to join the conversation with over 500,000 Pentecostal believers and scholars
Click to get our FREE MOBILE APP and stay connected
| PentecostalTheology.com
150
Book Reviews / Pneuma 33 (2011) 109-169
Ruth Marshall, Political Spiritualities: Te Pentecostal Revolution in Nigeria (Chicago: Uni- versity of Chicago Press, 2009), x + 349 pp. Paper, $24.00.
Tis is an interesting and valuable publication on the sociopolitical significance of contem- porary Pentecostal and Charismatic movements in Nigeria. However, it is a difficult read because the narratives do not weave together into a single story or into discernible stories. Tis is perhaps in part because the book offers varied interpretations and political analyses of the Charismatics’ project of redemption within the context of the predatory nature of governance and the crises in the Nigerian state. Te explosion of Pentecostalism in Nigeria inscribes itself within certain social and political activities and “to new modes of governing self and others’; hence, the author focuses on how various forms of power relations interact in an incessant and unstable mutual play in the lives of Charismatics (the author uses the term “Born Again”).
Understanding the remarkable growth of Pentecostalism in Nigeria and its complex political productivity demands a new methodology of looking at religion and politics not from the Western categories of formal institutions — the postcolonial state or the civil society or between the sacred and the secular — but focusing on how the collectivity in Pentecostalism positions itself as an alternative to the failing state and the burdened society. Tis new methodological approach is a major strength of the book.
Four major themes are discussed in the eight chapters. First, the author argues that Char- ismatic movements represent a form of rupture in the personal and collective lives of con- verts, and the religion acts by rescripting in an iconoclastic fashion the past while seeking a complete break from that past in order to offer a change, i.e., new means of personal redemption and national regeneration.
Second, the plausibility and pertinence of Charismatic movements stems from the way the religion provides opportunities for reinterpreting personal experiences as modes of directing conduct. Tus the goal of Charismatics’ evangelical programs is to transform and control individual conduct and also to create a moral community. Conversion is a principal agency in the path towards salvation, while preaching and Bible study create the values to which members are subjected and adhere to.
Tird, the Born Again identity should be understood less in terms of institutional affili- ation with churches but more as application of Born Again principles to benefit one’s life. Born Again ethics, according to Marshall, finds relevance and meaning by articulating elaborate strategies of overcoming unseen demonic powers and regulating modes of con- duct within the context of the political economy marked by corruption, illicit wealth, and “magic money.” Becoming a “Born Again” often provides a mode of tapping into spiritual power for one’s personal protection and social mobility. Terefore, Charismatics have been able to link together a dynamic relationship among salvation, wealth, and power.
Fourth, the political theology of Charismatics has been diffused and sporadic. In the 1970s, Charismatics were apolitical and considered the political sphere as a trapping of Satan, but in the 1990s a new political understanding emerged as Charismatics began to claim that they have a historic role to play in the political domain of the nation. Conversion programs try to secure connections between righteousness and authority by staging a con- scious engagement with the demonic in order to rescue the country. Some Charismatics
© Koninklijke Brill NV, Leiden, 2011 DOI: 10.1163/157007411X554956
1
Book Reviews / Pneuma 33 (2011) 109-169
151
believe that the conversion of individuals who take up their civic responsibilities will usher in a government of righteousness in the country, thus they continue to refer to the urgency of evangelism. Besides, the increasing authoritarian forms of pastoral power which acts as means of political influence even beyond the churches reveals a form of political participa- tion by Charismatics.
Te rise of Born Again political interests also coincides with the rise of radical Islamic reformism which also claims interests in the political sphere. Interestingly, both Charismat- ics and radical Muslims conjure the devil in the name of the other, a reflection of the com- petition between the two religions, whose adherents make up over 80% of Nigeria’s 140 million population. Te author draws the conclusion that Charismatic Christianity and the messianic action towards politics has failed to redeem the Nigerian past, just as it has failed to secure promises of security, mastery, and justice for the present.
Te book is rich in its analysis of the nature of Nigerian politics since the 1970s, but it has limitations. It generalizes about the Charismatic movements from a few case studies of churches based in Lagos and fails to show the peculiar doctrinal emphases among the churches. Secondly, one requires some familiarity with the history of Nigerian Christianity to make sense of the various events, churches, and names mentioned in the historical sec- tion in chapter two. Tirdly, there are a number of incorrect historical facts which cannot and should not be glossed over. Among these are:
1. Te author prefers the term ‘Born Again’ for the independent Charismatic churches, but
her assertion that this term is generally used by Nigerians lacks credibility.
2. Page 68 mentions that the Apostolic Church was established in Nigeria in the late
1920s. Te correct date is 1931.
3. Page 69 says that Scripture Union was founded in 1911. It was founded in England in
1867 and introduced to Nigeria in 1885.
4. Tere is some confusion on pages 69-70. Deeper Christian Life Ministry is the name of
the parent organization established in 1973, while Deeper Life Bible Church is the
congregational arm that was created in 1982.
5. Te Holy Ghost Camp is said to have been established in 1991 (p. 75). Instead the
Redemption Camp of the Redeemed Christian Church of God was established in 1982-
83, while the Holy Ghost Night developed from the Holy Ghost Service about 1991.
Overall, however, the book has made its mark as an important interpretative account of Pentecostalism in Nigeria. Te use of sources in French is novel and requires commenda- tion. Te book deserves to be read by scholars of African religion and politics, and those interested in contemporary religious change in Nigeria.
Reviewed by Matthews A. Ojo
Professor of Religious Studies
Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife, Nigeria matthews_ojo@yahoo.com; mojo@oauife.edu.ng
2
