‘The Altars Are Holding the Nation in Captivity’: Zambian Pentecostalism, Nationality, and African Religio-Political Heritage
Human Development Science—Human Sciences Research Council—(HDS-HSRC), School of Religion, Philosophy and Classics, University of KwaZulu-Natal (UKZN), Scottsville 3209, Pietermaritzburg, South Africa
Religions 2018, 9(5), 145; https://doi.org/10.3390/rel9050145
Received: 8 February 2018
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Revised: 18 April 2018
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Accepted: 23 April 2018
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Published: 28 April 2018
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Current Trajectories in Global Pentecostalism: Culture, Social Engagement, and Change)
The study draws on ontocracy political theory to investigate Zambian Pentecostal interpretations of politics as a sacred realm of contestations between forces of good and evil. It argues that Zambian Pentecostal theology of nationality is a continuation of traditional African religio-cultural ethnonational heritage. It demonstrates how Zambian Pentecostal theology of nationality is based on socio-historically constructed conceptions that drew their foundation from traditional myths, symbols and cultures. It concludes that Zambian Pentecostalism has failed to make distinctions among various types of human authorities, thereby promoting a theology of nationality that mystifies the source of the political authority of the presidents of the nation, who are perceived as absorbing both secular and spiritual responsibilities.
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Keywords:
altars; ethnonationality; Zambian Pentecostalism; religio-political heritage; ontocracy political theory
This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited
MDPI and ACS Style
Kaunda, C.J. ‘The Altars Are Holding the Nation in Captivity’: Zambian Pentecostalism, Nationality, and African Religio-Political Heritage. Religions 2018, 9, 145. https://doi.org/10.3390/rel9050145
AMA Style
Kaunda CJ. ‘The Altars Are Holding the Nation in Captivity’: Zambian Pentecostalism, Nationality, and African Religio-Political Heritage. Religions. 2018; 9(5):145. https://doi.org/10.3390/rel9050145
Chicago/Turabian StyleKaunda, Chammah J. 2018. "‘The Altars Are Holding the Nation in Captivity’: Zambian Pentecostalism, Nationality, and African Religio-Political Heritage" Religions 9, no. 5: 145. https://doi.org/10.3390/rel9050145
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