Evangelical Christianity and Democracy in Africa

by Ranger, Terence O.

• ISBN13: 9780195174779
• ISBN10: 0195174771
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2008-04-22
• Publisher: Oxford University Press

Summary

This is one of four projected volumes to emerge from a massive, Pew-funded study that sought to answer the question: What happens when a revivalist religion based on scriptural orthodoxy participates in the volatile politics of the Third World? Is the result a democratic politics of the ballot box, or is it more like an authoritarian politics of command from on high? Does the evangelical faith of the Bible hinder or promote a politics of the ballot box? At a time when the global-political impact of another revivalist and scriptural religion - Islam - fuels vexed debate among analysts the world over, these volumes offer an unusual comparative perspective on a critical issue: The often combustible interaction of resurgent religion and the developing world's unstable politics. The present volume considers the case of Africa, the region with the world's fastest expanding population. Christianity, especially in its evangelical and Pentecostal forms, has acquired many millions of new adherents in Africa in recent decades. The attitudes and behavior of these believers could have vast consequences for growth, development and democratization. In his introduction, editor Terence Ranger provides a historical overview. The book then offers individual case studies of six countries: Nigeria, Zimbabwe, South Africa, Kenya, Zambia, and Mozambique. The contributors, mainly younger scholars based in Africa, bring first hand-knowledge to their chapters and employ both field and archival research to develop their data and analyses. The result is a groundbreaking work that will be indispensable to everyone concerned with the future of this volatile region.

Table of Contents

Preface	p. vii
Contributors	p. xxiii
Abbreviations	p. xxvii
Introduction: Evangelical Christianity and Democracy in Africa	p. 3
Evangelicals, Muslims, and Democracy: With Particular Reference to the Declaration of Sharia in Northern Nigeria	p. 37
Evangelical Attitudes toward Democracy in Kenya	p. 67
President Frederick Chiluba and Zambia: Evangelicals and Democracy in a "Christian Nation"	p. 95
Foundations for Democracy in Zimbabwean Evangelical Christianity	p. 131
Evangelicals and Democracy in Mozambique	p. 161
From Apartheid to the New Dispensation: Evangelicals and the Democratization of South Africa	p. 191
Evangelical Christianity and Democracy in Africa: A Response	p. 225
Afterword	p. 231
References	p. 243
Index	p. 261
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