Pentecostalism and the Encounter with Traditional Religion in Tanzania: Combat, Congruence and Confusion

This research article explores how expressions of Pentecostal/Charismatic Christianity in Tanzania have taken shape through a complex entanglement with African traditional religion and traditional healing. On the one hand, Tanzanian Pentecostals/Charismatics conceive of figures associated with the w...

全面介绍

Saved in:  
书目详细资料
发表在:PentecoStudies
主要作者: Lindhardt, Martin (Author)
格式: 电子 文件
语言:English
Check availability: HBZ Gateway
Journals Online & Print:
载入...
Fernleihe:Fernleihe für die Fachinformationsdienste
出版: Equinox Publ. [2017]
In: PentecoStudies
Year: 2017, 卷: 16, 发布: 1, Pages: 35-58
Standardized Subjects / Keyword chains:B Tansania / 五旬节运动 / 灵恩运动 / Traditionale Kultur / 宗教
IxTheo Classification:BB Indigenous religions
CC Christianity and Non-Christian religion; Inter-religious relations
KBN Sub-Saharan Africa
KDG Free church
KDH Christian sects
NBG Pneumatology; Holy Spirit
Further subjects:B Pentecostalism Charismatic Christianity African traditional religion healing witchcraft spirits
在线阅读: Volltext (Verlag)
Volltext (doi)
实物特征
总结:This research article explores how expressions of Pentecostal/Charismatic Christianity in Tanzania have taken shape through a complex entanglement with African traditional religion and traditional healing. On the one hand, Tanzanian Pentecostals/Charismatics conceive of figures associated with the world of tradition (witches, traditional healers, different kinds of spirits) as the main adversaries in the spiritual warfare they understand themselves to be engaged in. At the same time I show how many of the beliefs that we might lump under the category of “tradition” constitute something of a common cultural ground that cuts across ethnic and religious divides. While Pentecostal/Charismatic Christianity does in some ways represent a particular religious culture, I argue that we are also well served by considering Pentecostals/Charismatics as participants in a common and highly vibrant religious/spiritual/medical field where different kinds of interchanges, overlaps and mutual inspirations occur. For instance, I show how a concern with healing inspires multifaceted practices of positioning as Pentecostals/Charismatics both demonize traditional healers, and simultaneously take pains to highlight similarities between the power of God and the powers of traditional healing. Finally, I argue that processes of adaptation and the highlighting of similarities also imply a risk of confusion, as it sometimes becomes difficult to distinguish the power of God from the powers of healers and
ISSN:1871-7691
Contains:Enthalten in: PentecoStudies
Persistent identifiers:DOI: 10.1558/ptcs.32092