Côte d’Ivoire: Pentecostalism, Politics, and Performances of the Past

In August 2010, Côte d’Ivoire commemorated fifty years of independence. Local Pentecostal churches likewise celebrated the jubilee, marking the liberation of slaves after seven times seven years of servitude as promised in Leviticus 25: 8–10. This reading of independence was closely linked to the in...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Nova religio 2015-02, Vol.18 (3), p.80-100
Main Author: N’Guessan, Konstanze
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Christianity
Civil wars
Collective memory
Countries
Emancipation of slaves
Memory
Muslims
Pentecostal churches
Pentecostalism
Political discourse
Politics
Prayer
Protestantism
Religion & politics
Rhetoric
Sovereignty
Theology
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Summary:In August 2010, Côte d’Ivoire commemorated fifty years of independence. Local Pentecostal churches likewise celebrated the jubilee, marking the liberation of slaves after seven times seven years of servitude as promised in Leviticus 25: 8–10. This reading of independence was closely linked to the incumbent president’s political project of refondation based on a premillennial understanding of the interrelatedness of past, present and future. In this article, I explore Pentecostal political rhetoric and performances of the past during the jubilee celebrations, and the post-electoral crisis of 2010–2011. Drawing on empirical research into memory at work in Côte d’Ivoire, I question the instrumentalist paradigm used in analysis of religious ways of thinking about the world. By emphasizing performances of the past and collective memory, I explain how being born-again is enacted as politics and how politics are perceived in terms of faith.
ISSN:1092-6690
1541-8480
DOI:10.1525/nr.2015.18.3.80