The rise of Christian fundamentalism in the Horn of Africa - The Economist

Hezekiel

On the thread  'prayers for Eritrea', I was arguing that the Pentecostal Charismatics are the main culprit behind the repression of Christians in traditionally Orthodox countries such us Ethiopia and Eritrea. The Economist has an article on their dirty tactics and how they profit from it.
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The religious right in east Africa

Slain by the spiritThe rise of Christian fundamentalism in the Horn of Africa

Jul 1st 2010 | Nairobi

AT A rally in Nairobi’s Uhuru Park on a Sunday afternoon last month, Bishop Margaret Wanjiru, parliamentarian, assistant minister for housing and one of the country’s foremost Pentecostal preachers, was passing around a paper bag for contributions from the crowd. Some tens of thousands of Kenyans had gathered to campaign against a proposed new constitution, which Ms Wanjiru and other preachers urged them to reject in a referendum to be held on August 4th. Two provisions, one allowing for Muslim courts to settle marriage and land disputes, the other to allow abortion where the life of the mother is in danger, were a direct threat to Christianity, they said. On the stage, people were being slain by the spirit; sometimes just a fingertip was enough to throw believers back across the boards.

Then someone tossed two grenades into the crowd, killing six people and wounding many others. Almost immediately, there were accusations that government security agents had attacked the rally. That is evidence, for some, that the government is rattled by the vibrant opposition of the “new churches”, mainly Pentecostal, to a new constitution that most members of the government support. Whatever the truth, there is no doubt that, as elsewhere, Kenya’s politicians have underestimated the drawing power of a fresh generation of Protestant churches, most of which were set up in the 1980s.

Officially Pentecostals and other “charismatics” count for no more than 5% of the population. In reality, their ministers preach to about a third of the country every week. Their rise reflects an important trend across Africa. According to the World Christian Encyclopedia, about 17m Africans described themselves as born-again Christians in 1970. Today the figure has soared to more than 400m, which accounts for over a third of Africa’s population. And as in Nigeria on the other side of the continent, they are now having a noticeable effect on public-policy debates in east Africa. Regardless of the outcome of the vote on the constitution in Kenya, for example, their interventions are likely to make abortion a defining political issue in the country. Similarly, the efforts of new churches in neighbouring Uganda have made political controversies out of homosexuality and the right of Muslims to convert to Christianity.
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Ms Wanjiru’s own church, Jesus Is Alive Ministries, is a good example of the new genre. She can draw 100,000 worshippers to a meeting. Add in a visiting televangelist and the number can rise to as many as 500,000. Ms Wanjiru has lived the Pentecostal dream. She is from a poor family of casual labourers and eked out a life as a housemaid and toilet cleaner before working her way up to a marketing job. She then experienced a vision from God calling on her to save Africa. These days videos, CDs and other accessories can be bought from her website using credit cards or phone credit. She makes good use of Facebook, Twitter and other social media. She is not afraid to court controversy, last year baptising the boss of the Mungiki organised-crime outfit, Maina Njenga. Mr Njenga’s gang had been involved in extortion and had a history of hacking off the heads of its enemies.

But the business of owner-operated churches is competitive. A few dud sermons and the crowd thins. That is one reason why they are so upbeat and aspirational. Indeed, their insistent calls for self-discipline and education, striving and victory prompt some people to say Pentecostalism should be encouraged in Africa as the new version of Max Weber’s Protestant work ethic. The churches are certainly prominent in anti-corruption campaigns.

However, there is also plenty of hucksterism. You will be blessed with health and wealth by God, congregants are told, especially if you give generously. As in other parts of the world, the new churches in Kenya and Uganda provide a place for the ambitious poor to get ahead. Yet the real competitive advantage of the new churches in east Africa seems to be their willingness to tap, at least subliminally, into traditional beliefs. “They give full play to the enchanted mentality, which holds the world to be inhabited with ghosts and spirits,” explains Paul Gifford, a professor of African Christianity at the University of London. It makes economic sense: getting spells lifted and spirits cast out on a Sunday morning saves money on a visit to the witch doctor during the week.

New churches are good at exploiting gaps in the market and profiting from them. A Ugandan Pentecostal preacher, Martin Ssempa, for instance, has mined a rich seam of homophobia in Uganda to help build up his standing. He and other Pentecostals pushed for the tabling of an anti-homosexuality bill in the Ugandan parliament, which advocates spying on gays and proscribes imprisonment for sodomy. Earlier versions of the law called for the death penalty in some instances. Mr Ssempa has in the past had ties with a prominent American evangelical, Rick Warren (who has condemned the anti-gay law), and with Uganda’s born-again first lady, Janet Museveni. “In Africa sodomy is an abomination,” he says. Some of his actions, such as screening gay pornography to his congregants, look clownish and self-publicising, but Mr Ssempa has been astute in targeting students at Makere, Uganda’s best university. Other Pentecostals have also had success in Uganda with missions to convert Muslims to Christianity.

New churches are making headway in other parts of east Africa too. Despite threats of imprisonment from a repressive government they are enjoying success in Eritrea and have also built a large following in traditionally Coptic Christian Ethiopia, where all Protestants are simply known as “Pentay” for Pentecostal. The largest denomination, Kale Heywet, which claims 5m members, has been influenced by the new church movement, as has the 2.5m strong Evangelical Lutheran Church in Tanzania. It now says that it will reject money from Lutheran churches in richer countries to protest against their support for gay marriage. Returning refugees have introduced Pentecostalism into Burundi and Rwanda. Burundi’s president, Pierre Nkurunziza, is a born-again Christian. He holds prayer sessions and has overseen the introduction of new laws criminalising homosexuality in the country.

However, the new churches may not be able to translate today’s assertiveness into permanent political power. There have been investments from Pat Robertson and others, but the influence of the American Christian right is often overstated. Nigerian Pentecostals are more important in establishing business models and preaching styles. Being independent has helped with growth, but it makes it harder to lobby governments. Then there is the question of class. Pentecostalism cannot quite shake off its impecunious roots. The cabal of civil servants, soldiers, and businessmen who dominate the golf and social clubs of Nairobi and Kampala, the capitals of Kenya and Uganda, are mostly Anglican and Roman Catholic and are unlikely to be swayed by any casting out of demons. Likewise, the former Marxist rebels running Eritrea and Ethiopia probably won’t be moved by speaking in tongues.

Besides, the swagger of preachers like Mr Ssempa can backfire. Support for the anti-homosexuality bill in the Ugandan parliament has fallen away after Mr Ssempa and other preachers accused a rival Pentecostal, Robert Kayanja, of sodomy. Mr Kayanja, coincidentally a half-brother of the Archbishop of York, John Sentamu, has himself been criticised in Uganda for milking the poor to live a luxury life. And the clear anti-Muslim sentiment scares politicians who want to win the sizeable Muslim vote.

Even so, the emphasis on youth in new churches means they cannot be discounted. A new generation of born-again political leaders may seek to win power on Christian votes alone, even at the cost of division.

Theophilus 1

I truly sympathize with your post. As an Orthodox Christian, it makes me cringe to see such an influx of converts to Pentecostalism; especially in places that were historically Orthodox such as Eritrea and Ethiopia.

Though the advent of evangelical pentecostalism has changed the social dynamics, it is a bit of a stretch to label pentecostalism as “the main culprit behind the repression of Christianity”. I know for a fact the cause of repression in Eritrea is the governments communist ideology, which sees all religion as a threat. This is corroborated by first hand accounts and also the literature (Amnesty International and U.S. State Department report on Eritrea as well as other human right organizations).

The following video explains the background as well as the current situation: 



Original source of the video: http://www.inchainsforchrist.org/

In Christ
Theophilus