Experiments of Inculturation in a Catholic Charismatic Movement in Cameroon

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ludovic Lado
Keyword(s):  
Sub Saharan Africa ◽  
Local Production ◽  
Charismatic Movement ◽  
Cultural Hybridization ◽  
Church Hierarchy ◽  
Charismatic Renewal ◽  
Sub Saharan ◽  
The Masses ◽  
Catholic Charismatic Renewal ◽  
The Church

This chapter looks at a particular instance of the local production of Catholicism in Cameroon by focusing on the agency of a ritual specialist and promoter of inculturation, Father Hebga, a Jesuit charismatic priest, who negotiates the related contradictions through ambiguous processes of religious and cultural hybridization. The leading pastoral concern at the heart of his praxis is the satisfaction of the needs of the faithful searching for healing in the framework of the catholic charismatic renewal. As one of the pioneers of Catholic charismatic renewal in Sub-Saharan Africa, Hebga’s agency mediates between the institutional constraints of the church hierarchy and the religious needs of the masses. The wider ideological framework is the discourse of Inculturation which has dominated theological debates in Africa Catholicism since the 1970s. In this context we see how Father Hebga operates as a cultural broker of postcolonial discourses, vying to restore the dignity of Africans violated by symbolic violence associated with the slave trade, colonization and Christian missionization.

scholarly journals Demography of Anglicans in Sub-Saharan Africa: Estimating the Population of Anglicans in Kenya, Nigeria, South Africa, Tanzania and Uganda

2020 ◽  
Vol 18 (1) ◽  
pp. 42-60
Author(s):  
Andrew McKinnon
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
Population Growth ◽  
Absolute Number ◽  
Statistical Estimate ◽  
Sub Saharan Africa ◽  
Sub Saharan ◽  
The Church

AbstractThere is an emerging debate about the growth of Anglicanism in sub-Saharan Africa. With this debate in mind, this paper uses four statistically representative surveys of sub-Saharan Africa to estimate the relative and absolute number who identify as Anglican in five countries: Kenya, Nigeria, South Africa, Tanzania and Uganda. The results for Kenya, South Africa and Tanzania are broadly consistent with previous scholarly assessments. The findings on Nigeria and Uganda, the two largest provinces, are likely to be more controversial. The evidence from statistically representative surveys finds that the claims often made of the Church of Nigeria consisting of ‘over 18 million’ exceedingly unlikely; the best statistical estimate is that under 8 million Nigerians identify as Anglican. The evidence presented here shows that Uganda (rather than Nigeria) has the strongest claim to being the largest province in Africa in terms of those who identify as Anglican, and is larger than is usually assumed. Evidence from the Ugandan Census of Populations and Households, however, also suggests the proportion of Ugandans that identify as Anglican is in decline, even if absolute numbers have been growing, driven by population growth.

The Politics of Pentecostalism in Africa

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
John F. McCauley
Keyword(s):  
Social Services ◽  
Sub Saharan Africa ◽  
Spiritual Warfare ◽  
African Countries ◽  
Pentecostal Movement ◽  
Sub Saharan ◽  
The Individual ◽  
Good And Evil ◽  
The Church ◽  
Big Men

Charismatic Pentecostalism constitutes perhaps the most important contemporary movement in sub-Saharan Africa, combining extremely rapid growth with an informal political presence. The movement has expanded in Africa by bringing traditional spirituality into a modern setting, offering social and economic hope to both the upwardly mobile and the destitute. Despite having minority status, its messages of pending prosperity and spiritual warfare, and its astute exploitation of mass media, have positioned the Charismatic Pentecostal movement to exert important if informal influence on politics in the region. It is reshaping the channels through which resources flow from Big Men to their followers; it is implicating new and different international actors; and it is allowing followers to live fully within the church through the provision of social services. Perhaps most importantly, the movement has introduced language of national identity—of good and evil, and Christian nations—that captivates just as it divides. Its potential to influence the formal politics of institutions and parties is limited by the absence of organizational hierarchy and a central focus on remaking the individual rather than addressing social injustices. Nevertheless, by informal means, the movement has “Pentecostalized” politics in many African countries.

Le renouveau charismatique au Bresil

1978 ◽  
Vol 25 (1) ◽  
pp. 37-42 ◽  
Author(s):  
Pedro A. Ribeiro De Oliveira
Keyword(s):  
Empirical Data ◽  
Kingdom Of God ◽  
Religious Movement ◽  
Central Theme ◽  
Charismatic Movement ◽  
The Social ◽  
Social Bases ◽  
Charismatic Renewal ◽  
Spiritual Movement ◽  
Catholic Charismatic Renewal

This article, based upon a survey carried out in Brazil, is a study of the charismatic renewal as it presents itself within Brazilian Catholicism. First of all, it poses the question of the religious status of the members of this movement : the empirical data which have been gathered indicate clearly that the charismatic renewal is not a movement of conversion, but of re ~activation of Ca tholic spirituality. When we approach the problem of the social bases of the Catholic charismatic movement in Brazil, it appears that these bases are composed of the culturally and professionally privi ledged social strata. In this regard, the Charismatic renewal is clearly distinguished from the " popular Catholicism" widely present in the subordinate classes of society. The central theme of the Catholic charismatic renewal is that of liberation in Jesus-Christ. But this liberation is viewed in almost exclusively optimistic and intimistic terms. This corresponds well to the social position of the members of this movement which is composed of people whose basic needs — food, lodging, clothing — are satisfied. Does this necessarily lead to the conclusion that the Catholic charismatic renewal in Brazil is merely a spiritual movement ? This is by no means the case, for its function within Brazilian Catholicism as a whole could well be that of opposition to the liberation movement as it is conceived in basic Church communities. It thus would oppose the religious movement which is developing in a popular milieu and which views the question of the Kingdom of God as a reality which occurs within history, through the struggle against diverse forms of oppression and injustice.

scholarly journals DINAMIKA INTERAKSI ANTARA GERAKAN DAN INSTITUSI. Gerakan Koperasi Kredit (dapat) Menjiwai Gereja dan Negara

2017 ◽  
Vol 13 (2) ◽  
pp. 195
Author(s):  
George Ludwig Kirchberger
Keyword(s):  
Industrial Revolution ◽  
Credit Union ◽  
Social Teaching ◽  
Charismatic Movement ◽  
Union Movement ◽  
Church Hierarchy ◽  
The Social ◽  
The Church ◽  
Changing Society

<p align=”justify”>This essay looks at the dynamics between movement and institution, where each movement has to ripen in an institution and each institution has to be loosened again and again by new movements and inspirations. The author wishes to outline the dynamics between movement and institution by focusing on the credit union movement. At the beginning the development of the Church from a charismatic movement to an institution is outlined, which in time became extremely rigid. Then, the industrial revolution in the 19 century is looked at with its spirit of liberalism which produced the plight of the workers, which in turn triggered socialist movements which to overcome their plight by changing society radically. The appearance of the social teaching of the Church is seen as an effort to overcome the impasse of these two forces in the industrial revolution. On this background appeared the credit union movement, which embodied a number of the fundamental principles of the social teaching of the Church and is able to become an agent to loosen the structure of the Church hierarchy and support efforts in the country to hold back neo-liberalism and nurture democracy. In taking up the case of the largest credit union on Flores Island, the essay shows how the CU itself lies between the tension between movement and institutionalisation, while pointing out what needs to be done that this tension is maintained creatively, so that the CU is able to offer its spirit to the Church, and support democratisation in the country. <b>Kata-kata kunci:</b> credit union, gerakan, Gereja, koperasi, institusi, struktur</p>

scholarly journals Green Computing: A Machinery for Sustainable Development in the Post-Covid Era

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Wilson Nwankwo ◽  
Paschal Uchenna Chinedu
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Global Warming ◽  
Green Computing ◽  
Sub Saharan Africa ◽  
Policy Makers ◽  
The Social ◽  
The Common ◽  
Sub Saharan ◽  
The Masses ◽  
Political Governance

Socio-economic sustainability has emerged the common song of the policy makers globally. It has been projected as a developmental strategy by international and regional agencies. There has been several campaigns and programs all of which are intended to promote sustainability. In developing countries, the masses have been bamboozled with often unrealistic bogus policies hypocritically crafted in a bid to deceive the uninformed who are undoubtedly helpless in the midst of the conundrum. However, the 2019 reports of the IPCC and OECD respectively on global warming, sustainability and climate change is not a phenomenon that should be swept under the carpet by any sensible government. Though in many jurisdictions, campaigns and policies have long assumed political undertone, it must be stressed that it is time for talking the walk. Governments must put up implementable strategies that are all encompassing across the various sociopolitical classes and the different industry levels. According to the said reports, global warming and climate change pose severe challenges to sustainability and this is attributed to social, and economic root causes. The social sources are conflicts and poor socio-political governance structures whereas the economic sources are connected to industry, electricity, residential, agriculture, and transport. It is reported that 60% of greenhouse emissions globally emanate from the economic source. The worst hit is the sub-Saharan Africa where the dumping of electronic wastes and uncontrolled deployment of unregulated hardware for industry operations have remained a major environmental menace in the last decade. Having regard to the foregoing, this paper seeks to provide a systematic inquiry into the green computing policies and legislations in a major economic hub in the sub-Saharan Africa. The essence of this investigation is to critically review the present status of existing policies, strategies, and legislation vis-à-vis their strengths, lapses, and the contributory effect of these on driving the sustainability programs in the general developmental outlook of the sub region.

scholarly journals THE CHURCH AND SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT IN SUB-SAHARAN AFRICA

2015 ◽  
Vol 41 (2) ◽  
pp. 164-179
Author(s):  
Komi Ahiatroga Hiagbe
Keyword(s):  
Well Being ◽  
Sub Saharan Africa ◽  
Technological Advancement ◽  
The People ◽  
Social And Economic Development ◽  
Sub Saharan ◽  
The Right ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Point Of Departure ◽  
The Church

The snail-pace of social and economic development within sub-Saharan Africa is of major concern not only to the development community, but to all who have the continent’s well-being at heart. Various attempts (many rather elusive) at diagnosis and prescription of the right antidotes to the problem have been made for decades. This paper, however, shares Jeffrey Sachs’s optimism in End of Poverty with the point of departure being that organised religion holds the key to a reversal of the trend. The paper explores the impact of religious beliefs on the development of some communities in the past and the present before concluding that Christianity could unlock the prospects to sub-Saharan Africa’s economic fortunes. In the view of this researcher, African theological reflections, in response to the challenges of endemic corruption, nepotism, superstition, and bad work ethics on the continent, must be grounded in the language, traditional beliefs, values and practices (i.e. culture) of the people as grounds for integration with the modern scientific and technological advancement that confronts the continent. This underscores the need for Christianity itself to become that culture which is willing to accommodate a consciously reconstructed past as the pathway to a developed future.

Political communication strategies of sub-Saharan Africa nationalist movements in the era of (de)colonization: The case of the UPC in Cameroon (1948‐56)

2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (2) ◽  
pp. 123-136 ◽  
Author(s):  
Christian Tatchou Nounkeu
Keyword(s):  
Political Communication ◽  
Communication Strategies ◽  
Communication Strategy ◽  
Sub Saharan Africa ◽  
The Political ◽  
Political Messages ◽  
Media System ◽  
French Colonial ◽  
Sub Saharan ◽  
The Masses

This article is about the political communication strategies of the Union des Populations du Cameroun (UPC), a political party in Cameroon which fought for the independence of the country. We particularly focus on the communication channels used by the UPC to transmit political messages, in a context marked by severe administrative repression and restrictions of freedom of press and expression. Theoretically, our article relies on the concept of media system. Methodologically, we use text analysis to map the choices of the UPC. The period of analysis ranges from 1948 when the UPC was created to 1956 when the party was banned by the colonial authorities. The results show that the political communication strategy of the UPC mainly gave preference to letter writing to mobilize the masses. In addition, the UPC owned several newspapers to cover its activities and criticize the French colonial administration in Cameroon.

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