RT Article
T1 Pentecostal Theology, Identity Politics, and Racialized Xenophobia: Claiming A New Social Order
JF Journal of religion in Africa
VO 50
IS 3/4
SP 299
OP 327
A1 Hankela, Elina
LA English
PB Brill
YR 2020
UL https://www.ixtheo.de/Record/1777581753
AB Abstract Applying the methodological lens of ethnographic theology, the article argues that grounded Pentecostal theologies participate in reimagining a new social order, particularly in relation to racialized xenophobia. This argument is made in the specific context of two Pentecostal churches in Johannesburg, South Africa, both led and frequented by people who have come to Johannesburg from other parts of the African continent. The argument is outlined by unpacking three theological themes prominent in the collected ethnographic data: positive confession, Word-centred ecclesiology, and Christlike lifestyle. Taken together, these themes highlight a social conscience that other societal actors would do well to take seriously when considering combatting xenophobia. Overall, the article challenges the scholarly emphasis on Pentecostal theologies as uninterested in life-affirming structural change, building on Nimi Wariboko’s formulation of blackness, chosenness, and Nigerian Pentecostalism ‘that reads against the existing social order’ within the particular context of xenophobia in urban South Africa.
K1 Xenophobia
K1 South Africa
K1 Social Justice
K1 Social Change
K1 Pentecostalism
K1 ethnographic theology
DO 10.1163/15700666-12340193