Pentecostalism and Nigeria: New Forms of Religious Life
Total Page：16
File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb
PENTECOSTALISM AND NIGERIA: NEW FORMS OF RELIGIOUS LIFE. Gabriel Olumide Apata Goldsmiths College University of London Doctor of Philosophy 1 Declaration I declare that this research is the result of my own independent research except where I have indicated my indebtedness to other sources. I certify that this work has not already been accepted in substance for any other degree, nor is it being submitted concurrently for any other degree. 2 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS It is my good fortune to have come under the supervision of Professor Mike Featherstone and Professor Scott Lash as my first and second supervisors, respectively. I wish to thank them both for their support, patience and intellectual contribution to this project. Professor Mike Featherstone in particular being my first supervisor took over the supervision of this thesis at a very difficult time but has made immense contribution to its progress through frequent supervisory interactions, discussions all the way through to its completion. Professor Lash has been a source of encouragement and an unstinting supporter of mine from the beginning and his contribution has been considerable. I am also grateful Dr. Abby Day whose assistance and critical assessment, particularly with the ethnography has been invaluable. Without them this project would not be the work that it is although the many flaws remain mine. I am grateful to Pastor Thomas, Evangelist Kingsley Akpabosah and the congregation of Christ Apostolic Church Stockwell for welcoming me into their church and to the many that agreed to speak to me about their Pentecostal experiences. Finally I thank my wife, Funmi, Mummy T., T. Awe, and C. Y. K for all their support. For Anjola. 3 ABSTRACT Pentecostalism is on the rise in various parts of the world, particularly in Africa. Several studies have emerged in recent years that have attempted to explain the reasons for the movement’s proliferation. The focus of this thesis is on the Pentecostal revival in Nigeria, which, it is argued, can be seen as a new form of religious life that revolves around three central themes. The first is a new form of religious attitude that I describe as the Pentecostal experience that is generated by the ‘collective effervescence’. This experience is achieved through the rites and rituals of worship that consists in prayer, praise-worship and other forms of religious performance underpinned by feelings of spirituality. I argue that a consideration of the Pentecostal experience not only offers greater insight into the African religious attitude, but also marks an improvement on the religious experience theories of thinkers like William James. The second theme is the vehicle through which the Pentecostal experience is achieved: the body. The thesis discusses the role of the body and argues for its centrality to Nigerian Pentecostalism through its dynamic expressivity and sacred performance. The third theme of the thesis is the Nigerian Pentecostal approach to the scriptures. I contrast the oral aspects of African cultures with Western literary culture of the scriptures to argue that the dynamism of ecstatic performance that we find in the oral culture has informed the Pentecostal approach to biblical texts. Additional insights into these themes are provided by an ethnographic study of a Nigerian Pentecostal Church in London. The thesis also argues against the highly influential social deprivation explanation that has been advanced by a number of authorities. Overall it builds on existing studies of African Pentecostalism and breaks new ground in Pentecostalism scholarship. 4 TABLE OF CONTENTS Title Page..…..………………………………………………………………………………………………..1 DECLARATION ......................................................................................................... 2 ABSTRACT ............................................................................................................... 4 LIST OF PENTECOSTAL AND NEO-PENTECOSTAL CHURCHES IN NIGERIA……..8 MAP OF NIGERIA ................................................................................................... 10 INTRODUCTION ..................................................................................................... 11 0.1 Religions on the Move .............................................................................................................................. 11 0.2 Nigerian Pentecostalism as a new African religious reformation. ........................................... 12 0.3 Socio-economic disadvantages as explanation for religious attitude. .................................... 18 0.4 Modernity/secularism versus religion .............................................................................................. 19 05. Weber’s ‘rationalization’ versus Durkheim’s ‘Collective effervescence’. ............................... 22 0.6 Methodology ................................................................................................................................................ 30 0.7. Structure of the thesis. ............................................................................................................................ 31 0.8 Notes on Terminological Usage ............................................................................................................ 32 CHAPTER 1 PENTECOSTALISM: THE MAKINGS OF A MOVEMENT .................... 34 1.0 Introduction ............................................................................................................................................ 34 1.2 Decentering the Pentecostal Discourse ............................................................................................. 35 1.3 The socio-economic explanation .......................................................................................................... 37 1.4 Pentecostalism – belief and Doctrine ................................................................................................. 38 1.5 Birth of American Pentecostalism ....................................................................................................... 40 1.6 Race and culture in American Pentecostalism. ............................................................................... 41 1.7 Origins of Nigerian Pentecostalism ..................................................................................................... 50 1.8 Pre-colonial Nigerian Cultures .............................................................................................................. 51 1.9 The Post- colonial space .......................................................................................................................... 60 1.10 The beginnings of the religious revival in Nigeria. ...................................................................... 74 5 CHAPTER 2 POVERTY, PROSPERITY AND AFRICAN PENTECOSTALISM .......... 79 2.1 Introduction ................................................................................................................................................ 79 2.2 Religion and deprivation ........................................................................................................................ 82 2.4 Poverty, prosperity and Pentecostalism. .......................................................................................... 91 2.5 The Gospel of wealth - From poverty to prosperity ..................................................................... 102 2.6 Consumer Culture and the concept of poverty in an African context .................................... 105 CHAPTER 3 VARIETIES OF PENTECOSTAL EXPERIENCE ................................. 117 3.1 Introduction .......................................................................................................................................... 117 3.2. Ethnographic study ................................................................................................................................ 136 3.4 The Pentecostal Worship ...................................................................................................................... 142 3.4:1 Prayer as communication ............................................................................................................................... 143 3.4:2 Prayer as experience ......................................................................................................................................... 151 3.4:3 Prayer as thanks-giving ................................................................................................................................... 153 3.4:4 Glossolalia: making sense of nonsense ..................................................................................................... 154 3.5 Praise-worship – music, song and dance ......................................................................................... 158 3.6 Performance .............................................................................................................................................. 163 CHAPTER 4 THE BODY AND AFRICAN PENTECOSTALISM .............................. 166 4.1 Introduction .............................................................................................................................................. 166 4.2 The body in sociological discourse .................................................................................................... 167 4.3 The body and sin .....................................................................................................................................