Search Results (27)

Regionally, nationally, and globally, new churches are formed. This continues to divide the church due to traditions, theological, doctrinal matters, and denominational practices. In Africa—and Zimbabwe in particular—the formation of neo-Pentecostal denominations and prophetic movements exacerbates antagonism and division among Christians, posing a threat to the unity of the Body of Christ. Consequently, it is necessary to explore ways in which churches can find one another to promote unity among Christians, and this raises the need for local ecumenism. Christianity and the church are always found in specific cultural settings. Church life is guided by both its understanding of mission and the cultural context it operates. As churches need to be united, there is a need to explore ways in which the church can navigate its mission and cultural dynamics to promote unity. This article investigates the challenges and the missio-cultural factors that facilitate ecumenism among the Karanga people in Mberengwa, Zimbabwe. Mberengwa, a rural district in Zimbabwe, predominantly Karanga, presents a unique context where diverse Christian traditions coexist, often with varying degrees of tension and cooperation. This article examines the extent to which the complexity of ecumenism affects church cooperation in Mberengwa, Zimbabwe, and beyond, thereby exploring the cultural and missional factors that can promote church cooperation. Full article

This systematic theological study critiques the utilitarian religiosity among neo-Pentecostal prophets (NPPs) for promoting a dealmaking or ‘spiritual hustling’ approach to faith, rather than fostering a personal relationship with God. Utilitarian religiosity refers to the use of spirituality as an instrument to extract material blessings from God. NPPs represent a contemporary form of African Pentecostalism, characterised by prophetic figures who claim unique divine mandates to liberate individuals from the evil spirits believed to hinder prosperity in this life. The primary question answered in the article is as follows: how does the relational nature of faith in God in Christian theology challenge the utilitarian view of spirituality among neo-Pentecostal prophets (NPPs) in Zimbabwe? The secondary question is as follows: how should Christian faith be understood and articulated to challenge NPPs to move from utilitarian spirituality to relational spirituality? Utilitarian religiosity is critiqued for promoting a works-based relationship with God, which violates the biblical teaching that faith alone is sufficient to establish a connection with God. The NPPs’ utilitarian spirituality is critiqued from a Reformed theological emphasis on salvation by faith and challenges them to propagate a relational spirituality that comforts and empowers the poor, rather than a utilitarian spirituality rooted in dealmaking that renders God distant from those who most urgently need his presence amid existential struggles. Full article

After his questionable re-election in 2018, Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro Moros (NMM) began a campaign to attract the attention of evangelical leaders, apostles, prophets, pastors, and church members to secure their votes for the 2024 campaign. The main reason for this move was the surprising growth of the evangelical population in the country, which reached almost 30% by the end of 2023. Several independent churches and denominations accepted NMM’s invitation to meet and participate in government programs specifically targeted at evangelical churches. Despite allegations of human rights abuses, corruption, and violations of the Venezuelan constitution, some evangelicals created a narrative about NMM as the “protector of families” and as God’s chosen one to usher in a new era of prosperity for the nation. Through acts of “identificational” repentance staged at the Miraflores Palace, a contrite NMM received prophetic declarations and prayers from apostles and pastors, and the country was cleansed of curses and satanic influences. This article seeks to document, analyze, and situate these discourses in relation to contemporary theological trends, as an important case of evangelical alignment with left-wing politics in Latin America. Moreover, the article also seeks to show how these events relate to the evolution of Venezuelan evangelical involvement in national politics, particularly under 25 years of socialist governments of Hugo Chávez Frías and Nicolás Maduro Moros. Full article

Growth in forms of violence germinates from the abject soil of racism and colonialism. This article investigates religious racism in Brazil in the State of Rio de Janeiro through in-depth case studies and published data. First, I analyze how religious racism is utilized as a means to legitimize the demonization and consequent violence directed at Afro-Brazilian religions. Through an analysis of terreiro leaders’ discourses, I present a conception in which demonization and deliberate attacks imply the persecution of ways of being, existing, doing, and living of Black African origin. I use this lens to highlight the role that neo-Pentecostal churches and the theology of spiritual battle play in the resurgence of violence against Afro-religious people. Then, I problematize the harmful relationships between the demonization of terreiros and the extremely warlike conception of Christian faith. Ultimately, I argue that racist theological discourse of demonization manifests itself through verbal, physical, psychological, moral, and patrimonial aggression, putting the existence of terreiro peoples and communities at risk. Full article

In Southern Africa in recent years, the governance and ecclesiologies of mega-Pentecostal churches have been drifting away from upholding collective and complementary fivefold ministries to individualistic and selfish five-in-one ministries. Studies indicate that a fivefold ministry advances inclusive ecclesiological leadership, edification, and transformational integral mission. At present, mega and related forms of emerging neo-Pentecostalism have developed exclusive, prophetic, apostolic, and executive ecclesial leadership, which are characterized mainly by authoritarian governance, celebrity leadership, leader-centered ecclesiology, and congregational manipulation and exploitation. Such church governance and ecclesiologies enable leaders to indoctrinate their subordinates and congregants to submit to and depend on them for everything. The effect is that followers are rendered dormant, under what this submission describes as five-in-one ministry, which leaves one person claiming to possess all ministerial gifts and leadership capabilities and relegating everyone else to being idle followers. Although much has been published about African Pentecostal leadership and ecclesiologies, studies on African megachurch governance, leadership styles and ministries are few. Through a literature review and participant observation, this paper uncovers and troubleshoots the effects of five-in-one megachurch governance and ecclesiologies in Africa. It discerns and addresses drivers of the five-in-one ministry and makes recommendations, such as reforming megachurch governance, leadership styles, and ecclesiologies; integrating ecumenism with leadership development; and developing inclusive economic sustainability. Full article

This article seeks to understand neo-Pentecostalism in Latin America as a religious and political movement within the framework of multiple modernities, based on an ethnographic study in evangelical churches in Chile and Mexico. The study focuses on two main axes: the discourse of the “Kingdom of God” and the experience of the Holy Spirit. The former explores the conception of public space, while the latter examines the experiential dimensions, both individual and collective, that confer meaning and legitimacy to this religious movement. Neo-Pentecostalism emerges as a complex phenomenon where religion and politics intertwine in novel ways, responding to the intricacies of the region. Contrary to the notion of a monolithic and reactionary movement, this article demonstrates how neo-Pentecostalism is a movement that navigates the interstices between the religious and the secular. Full article

The African religiosity that permeates all human existence is driven by a consuming desire for connection with the spiritual world that provides and protects human flourishing. African neo-Pentecostal prophets (ANPPs) respond to this need by imposing themselves as the sacral agents that can connect people to God. The sacralisation of prophets leads them to personalise the church as their personal property. The question answered by this article is as follows: from a Christian soteriological perspective of Jesus as the only sufficient intermediary between God and humanity, how can we address the African need for connection with God that fosters a reliance on African neo-Pentecostal prophets and leads to the sacralisation of these prophets and the personalisation of the church? This article uses Christ’s redemption of believers to challenge ANPPs’ response to the African need for connection with God that leads to these prophets’ domination and exploitation of their followers. This article challenges ANPPs to promote the freedom of Christ’s redemptive work instead of sacralising themselves and personalising the church, which instils a religion of fear that keeps their followers subservient to prophets. The contribution of this article lies in assisting Christians, in this case the followers of ANPPs, to realise that sacralising the prophets provides grounds for these prophets to personalise the church. Therefore, Christ’s redemptive work should be affirmed and promoted as a means of protecting the church from being personalised by sacralised prophets. Full article

The emergence of African Christianity from missionary tutelage towards the close of the nineteenth century and early twentieth century raised concerns of syncretism that only eased with arguments of contextualisation in the 1970s. The arguments some missiologists in Southern Africa made, especially about the older Spirit churches (Zion and Apostolic churches) as indigenising agents, almost retired the concept of syncretism in relation to these churches in favour of recognising them as being responsive to their context—hence, agents of contextualisation. The advent of the neo-prophetic movement requires a reconsideration of both the concepts of syncretism and contextualisation of the Christian faith, especially in light of the alleged interaction of some in this movement with ancestral spirits. The article concerns itself with the question: why does the advent of neo-prophetism require a conceptual reconsideration of syncretism and contextualisation and to what end? The search for an answer to this question adopts a qualitative desktop research approach. The study seeks to understand the reasons for the traditional healing (sangoma) prophet phenomenon requiring a reconsideration of the mentioned concepts. Full article

African Pentecostal Christianity presents interconnectedness with African cultures, spiritualities, and religiosity in many ways. Among many other practices that demonstrate this interconnectedness is the use of material objects common within some African Pentecostal Christian spaces, African cultures, spiritualities, and religions. The advent of neo-Pentecostalism in South Africa has brought some controversies in the use of material objects within the broader African Pentecostalism. This has led to the outright demonization and to the conclusion that this practice was fundamentally syncretistic. This article investigated the syncretism narrative given the use of material objects within some neo-Pentecostal spaces in contemporary South Africa. It scrutinized the syncretism narrative and problematized it as the continuation of the missionary-colonial project that demonized African religious and cultural practices. It was argued that this constitutes coloniality that uses a “cultural bomb” that seeks to eradicate African customs, cultures, religions, and practices including the use of material objects. The study was conducted through the desktop research methodology focusing on secondary literature on African Pentecostalism, African neo-Pentecostalism, and syncretism. The findings indicated that the syncretism narrative is often applied to African Pentecostalism and seldom used with other Christian traditions, especially those of Western descent. Again, when the term is used, non-syncretistic elements are often not acknowledged. Thus, the need to transform the current narrative was highlighted. Full article

This article builds on and contributes to work in the field of syncretism in some neo-Pentecostal ministries. While some studies have investigated the increasing syncretistic practices within certain neo-Pentecostal groups, there has been a lack of emphasis on the similarities and differences between sangomas who strictly follow African Indigenous Religion and sangomas who are spiritual leaders in certain ministries. In certain neo-Pentecostal ministries, sangomas have risen to leadership roles, even founding their congregations. The rapid growth or trend of sangomas on the pulpit is sometimes characterised by condemnation and hostility against “born-again” Christians. Sangomas, who are usually prophets or pastors, attempt to ascertain that the “born-again” have lost their identities because they believe in Western theologies. This article draws strongly on the concept of syncretism as the theoretical framework. Employing the evidence provided in the literature through a literary analysis, this article intends to examine and expose the current trends of syncretism. This article also uses a few cases of neo-Pentecostal ministers who have adopted sangomic practices in their pulpits. Some of the practices were observed by the authors through the participant observation method. Accordingly, it will further identify the failure of westernised Christianity, which was one of the stumbling blocks for Christianity to be integrated into the indigenous historical tradition. Full article

African neo-Pentecostal prophets (ANPPs) address the issue of economic powerlessness in un(der)developed regions of Africa by reviving elements of the premodern African magical economy. They use anointed objects, such as anointed water, for economic purposes, while African Traditional Religions (ATR) use magical charms in their economic life. Therefore, with their anointed objects, ANPPs revive the premodern ATR worldview of the economy. This research is guided by the following question: in what ways do ANPPs’ anointed objects syncretise with the occult economy of African Traditional Religions (ATRs) in their responses to the prevailing economic powerlessness in African contexts? ANPPs perpetuate the magical economy practiced by premodern African societies who sought to alleviate their un(der)development by using magic to exert control over the spiritual world to acquire material wealth. Thus, ANPPs are challenged to adopt a scientifically informed response that empowers Africans to address structural elements that perpetuate un(der)development in contemporary Africa. Full article

Pentecostalism has experienced massive growth and evolution, both within Africa and beyond, as is evident through the emergence of dynamic neo-Pentecostal movements, including independent, prophetic, and charismatic churches. However, all its establishments have been primarily characterized by problematic governance. While neo-Pentecostal founders and leaders often asserted that they were breaking away from regressive bureaucracy and supposedly “cold” spiritual practices to embrace a more dynamic approach that advances the missio Dei and missio ecclesiae through expressive and demonstrative ministries, they paradoxically ended up becoming similarly, if not more, regressive. Rather than being focused on serving others (being other-centred), they became self-centred in their actions and priorities. Drawing on missional ecclesiology, extensive engagement with relevant literature, and in-depth phenomenological observation, this paper undertook a qualitative examination of their polities. It interpretively and descriptively assessed and explored the fact that all ecclesial governments exhibit both strengths and weaknesses. In light of this analysis, the paper argues and proposes that churches should integrate their predominant governmental systems with inclusive and empowering principles from other polities. By doing so, they can transform their administrative structures and enhance their missionality. Full article

In most societies where Christianity is dominant, it has manifested itself in different ways, reflecting its admixture with indigenous religious practices, an admixture commonly seen in most African contexts. This is evidenced by overt syncretic practices and rarely covert syncretic practices that conceal the blending of beliefs, including belief in the mystical powers of water. In part, this explains why African Christian believers, particularly African Pentecostal believers in most African countries, often uncritically believe claims about holy water. To that end, this article examines the literature to uncover the existence of covert syncretic holy water in African Neo-Pentecostal Churches (ANPC), particularly in South Africa, where ANPC pastors make arbitrary claims about the power of holy water. Contrary to the apparent syncretism, claims about holy water as witnessed among ANPCs in South Africa, covertly combine elements of two belief systems (ancient African traditions and contemporary African Christianity), resulting in covert syncretic holy water. As little or no literature understands the covert syncretic holy water, the work of this paper warrants future research to further examine the covert syncretic holy water, particularly in relation to ANPC holy water claims. Full article

The growing political influence of evangélico Christians in traditionally Catholic Brazil has caught the attention of social and political scientists as well as theologians. Among others, the reasons for two-thirds of the mainly Pentecostal and Neo-Pentecostal electorate voting for Jair Messias Bolsonaro include a moral agenda concerning human sexuality and the “traditional family,” namely the rejection of abortion under any circumstance and same-sex marriage. This conservative agenda is shared in other countries and churches and shows as “traditionalist” (Benjamin Teitelbaum), especially in Brazil, the USA under Trump, and Russia. At the same time, other, more social aspects of Christian diaconia in caring for the integrity of the body are left aside, although they are foreseen in those churches’ declarations of faith and ethical catechisms. The 2019–2022 government’s blatant failure to cope with the COVID-19 pandemic, the appalling rise of hunger, and the destruction of the Amazon rainforest should give rise to what I call an “evangélico sense of shame” as a consequence of the incompatibility of many of the faith convictions of that part of the electorate with Bolsonaro’s stances and actions, retrieving shame as an ethical category. To this end, I analyze biblical notions and theological reflections on shame, as well as publications of evangélico churches with a focus on the largest of its churches in Brazil, the Assemblies of God. Thus, I intend to reclaim an integral diaconia for evangélico churches. Full article