‘Warfare’ Pentecostalism, Poverty and Welfare Provisioning in Southwestern Nigeria

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International Journal of Critical Diversity Studies

Volume 2, Issue 2

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‘Warfare’ Pentecostalism, Poverty and Welfare Provisioning in Southwestern Nigeria

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Author(s): Olufikayo Kunle Oyelade , Ayokunle Olumuyiwa Omobowale

Publication date (Print): 1 December 2019

Journal: International Journal of Critical Diversity Studies

Publisher: Pluto Journals

Keywords: “Warfare” Pentecostalism, poverty, welfare provisioning, Southwestern Nigeria

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Abstract

Warfare Pentecostalism entails a brand of the Pentecostal movement, which views the world in terms of evil machinations of enemies whom every individual must battle spiritually. Warfare Pentecostalism is associated with symbolic demonstrations of offensive and defensive mechanisms against the “enemy” through prayers. The warfare Pentecostal movement has been popular in Nigeria since the 1930s, and research on it has been limited to the larger spectrum of Pentecostalism and its structure, while little is known about the contribution of this brand of Pentecostalism to poverty reduction and welfare provision. Qualitative data was collected through 16 key informant interviews (KIIs), 28 in-depth interviews (IDIs), 6 Focus group discussions (FGDs) and 4 Case studies conducted at Christ Apostolic Church (CAC), Mountain of Fire and Miracle Ministries (MFM), Gethsemane Prayer Ministries (GPM) and Redeemed Christian Church of God (RCCG) in Lagos, Ibadan and Ilesa. The study examines the context of warfare Pentecostalism, its connection to poverty and misery and consequent spiritualist constructions and the welfare interventions provided by warfare Pentecostal churches.

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Author and article information

Contributors

Olufikayo Kunle Oyelade

Ayokunle Olumuyiwa Omobowale

Journal

Journal ID (doi): 10.2307/j50020082

Journal ID (jcode): intecritdivestud

Title: International Journal of Critical Diversity Studies

Publisher: Pluto Journals

ISSN: 2516-550X

ISSN: 2516-5518

Publication date (Print): 1 December 2019

Volume: 2

Issue: 2 ( doiID: 10.13169/intecritdivestud.2.issue-2 )

Pages: 37-54

Affiliations

Department of Sociology, University of Ibadan, Ibadan, Nigeria

Article

Publisher ID: intecritdivestud.2.2.0037

DOI: 10.13169/intecritdivestud.2.2.0037

SO-VID: e71efec6-8eb4-417d-9a9a-82cfb0eefec6

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ScienceOpen disciplines: Social & Behavioral Sciences

Keywords: welfare provisioning,“Warfare” Pentecostalism,Southwestern Nigeria,poverty

References

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Anderson, A. (2004). An introduction to Pentecostalism: Global charismatic Christianity. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Asamoah-Gyadu, J. K. (2010a). Spirit, mission and transnational influence: Nigerian-led Pentecostalism in Eastern Europe. PentecoStudies, 9(1), 74–96.
Asamoah-Gyadu, J. K. (2010b). “The evil you have done can ruin the whole clan”: African cosmology, community, and Christianity in Achebe's Things Fall Apart. Studies in World Christianity, 16(1), 46–62.
Awoniyi, P. R. (2008). Charismatic movements' appropriation of indigenous spirituality in Nigeria. Ogbomoso Journal of Theology, 13(2), 122–133.
Ayegboyin, D. (2010). Spirituality in African independent churches. A paper presented at Edinburgh 2010 West Africa Consultation, Akrofi-Christaller Institute for Theology, Mission and Culture, 23–25 March. Available at http://www.edinburgh2010.org/fileadmin/files/edinburgh2010/docs/SPIRITUATITY%20-20DEJI%20%5B1%5D.doc.
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Ayuk, A. A. (2002). The Pentecostal transformation of Nigerian church life. Asian Journal of Pentecostal Studies, 5(2), 189–204.
Baker, J. O. (2008). An investigation of the sociological patterns of prayer frequency and content. Sociology of Religion, 69(2), 169–185.
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Fatokun, S. A. (2009). The great move of God in an African community: A retrospect of 1930s indigenous Pentecostal revival in Nigeria and its impact on Nigerian Pentecostalism. Exchange: Journal of Missiological and Ecumenical Research, 38(7), 34–57.
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Gould, R. V. (2002). The origins of status hierarchies: A formal theory and empirical test. American Journal of Sociology, 107(5), 1143–1178.
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Ingelhart, R. (1977). The silent revolution in Europe: Intergenerational change in post-industrial society. Political Science Review 65: 99–117.
Jorgensen, D. (2005). Wave evangelism and the politics of the global in Papua New Guinea: Spiritual warfare and the recreation of place in Telefolmin. Oceania, 75(4), 444–446.
Jua, N. (1991). Cameroon: Jump-starting an economic crisis. Africa Insight, 21(3), 162–170.
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Konings, P. (1996). Plantation labour and economic crisis in Cameroon. Development and Change, 26(3), 525–549.
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Obiora, F. K. (1998). The divine deceit: Business in religion. Enugu, Nigeria: Optimal Publishers.
Okai, M. O. (2008). Religion and social conflict management the case of the Niger Delta Region of Nigeria. Port Harcourt, Nigeria: Cal. Integrated Resources Ltd.
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Oyelade, O. K., and Omobowale, A. O. (2015). Ethnography of Pentecostal warfare prayer among the Yoruba of South-West Nigeria. Orita, Ibadan Journal of Religious Studies, 47(1–2), 197–202.
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Peel, J. D. Y. (1968). Aladura: A religious movement among the Yoruba. London: Oxford University Press.
Tazanu, P. M. (2018). Of polluted spirits and compromised identity: Pentecostal depictions of causality and the repositioning of human agency in Cameroon. Journal of Asian and African Studies, 53(6), 970–983.
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Comments

Comment on this article

[1] Ajayi, A. A. (2010). A discourse of the indigenous worldview in the doctrinal construct of MFM. Lumina, 21(2), 6–11.

[2] Anderson, A. (2004). An introduction to Pentecostalism: Global charismatic Christianity. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

[3] Asamoah-Gyadu, J. K. (2010a). Spirit, mission and transnational influence: Nigerian-led Pentecostalism in Eastern Europe. PentecoStudies, 9(1), 74–96.

[4] Asamoah-Gyadu, J. K. (2010b). “The evil you have done can ruin the whole clan”: African cosmology, community, and Christianity in Achebe's Things Fall Apart. Studies in World Christianity, 16(1), 46–62.

[5] Awoniyi, P. R. (2008). Charismatic movements' appropriation of indigenous spirituality in Nigeria. Ogbomoso Journal of Theology, 13(2), 122–133.

[6] Ayegboyin, D. (2010). Spirituality in African independent churches. A paper presented at Edinburgh 2010 West Africa Consultation, Akrofi-Christaller Institute for Theology, Mission and Culture, 23–25 March. Available at http://www.edinburgh2010.org/fileadmin/files/edinburgh2010/docs/SPIRITUATITY%20-20DEJI%20%5B1%5D.doc.

[7] Ayegboyin, D., and Nihinlola, E. (2008). Pentecostalism and Nigerian Baptist Convention Churches: The way forward. Ogbmoso Journal of Theology, 13(2), 213–228.

[8] Ayegboyin, D., and Ishola, S. A. (1999). African indigenous churches: An historical perspective. Lagos: Greater Height Publication.

[9] Ayuk, A. A. (2002). The Pentecostal transformation of Nigerian church life. Asian Journal of Pentecostal Studies, 5(2), 189–204.

[10] Baker, J. O. (2008). An investigation of the sociological patterns of prayer frequency and content. Sociology of Religion, 69(2), 169–185.

[11] Berger, J., Rosenholtz, S. J., & Zelditch, M., Jr. (1980). Status organizing processes. Annual Review of Sociology, 6(1), 479–508.

[12] Cohen, I. J. (1968). Theories of action and praxis. In B. S. Turner (Ed.), The Blackwell companion to social theory (pp. 73–111). Oxford: Blackwell.

[13] Danfulani, U. H. D. (2008). Globalisation, fundamentalism and Pentecostal/charismatic movement in Nigeria. Ogbomoso Journal of Theology, 13(2), 1–39.

[14] Davidson, J. D., Johnson, C. L., & Mock, A. K. (1990). Faith and social ministry: Ten perspectives. Chicago, IL: Loyola University Press.

[15] Durkheim, E. [1915] (1965). The elementary forms of the religious life. Tr. J. W. Swain. New York: Free Press.

[16] Dzugba, A. (2002). God and Caesar: A study in the sociology of religion. Ibadan: John Archers (Publishers).

[17] Ehusani, G. O. (1996). A prophetic church. Ede, Nigeria: Provincial Pastoral Publications.

[18] Essien, D. P. (1999). The sorrows of Eve: Gynecological disorders and related health problems of women. Aba, Nigeria: Desmac Publication.

[19] Fatokun, S. A. (2009). The great move of God in an African community: A retrospect of 1930s indigenous Pentecostal revival in Nigeria and its impact on Nigerian Pentecostalism. Exchange: Journal of Missiological and Ecumenical Research, 38(7), 34–57.

[20] Gardner, J. (1998). Spiritual warfare: A study in contemporary thought. WRS Journal, 5(1), 2–13.

[21] Gifford, P. (1998). Some recent developments in African Christianity. African Affairs, 93(373), 513–534.

[22] Gifford, P. (2004a). Persistence and change in contemporary African religion. Social Compass, 51(2), 169–176.

[23] Gifford, P. (2004b). Ghana's new Christianity: Pentecostalism in a globalizing economy. Bloomington, IN: Indiana University Press.

[24] Glock, C. Y. (1964). The role of deprivation in the original and evolution of religious groups. In R. Lee and M. E. Marty (Eds.), Religion and social conflict (pp. 24–36). New York: Oxford University Press.

[25] Goldhamer, H., and Shils, E. A. (1939). Types of power and status. American Journal of Sociology, 45(2), 171–182.

[26] Gordon, D. (2005). Indicators of poverty and hunger. In Expert group meeting on youth development indicators (pp. 1–13). New York: United Nations Headquarters, December.

[27] Gould, R. V. (2002). The origins of status hierarchies: A formal theory and empirical test. American Journal of Sociology, 107(5), 1143–1178.

[28] Hadden, R. W. (1997). Sociological theory: An introduction to the classical tradition. Peterborough, Ont.: Broadview Press.

[29] Haralambos, M. and Holborn, M. (2008). Sociology: Themes and perspectives, 7th ed. London: Harper Collins.

[30] Hunt, J. S. (2000) The ‘new’ Black Pentecostal churches in Britain. A paper presented at CESNUR 14th International Conference, Riga, Latvia, 29–31 August.

[31] Hunt, J. S. (2002). Deprivation and western Pentecostalism revisited: Neo pentecostalism. PentecoStudies (Online Journal for the Interdisciplinary Study of Pentecostalism and Charismatic Movement), 1(1), 1–32.

[32] Ingelhart, R. (1977). The silent revolution in Europe: Intergenerational change in post-industrial society. Political Science Review 65: 99–117.

[33] Jorgensen, D. (2005). Wave evangelism and the politics of the global in Papua New Guinea: Spiritual warfare and the recreation of place in Telefolmin. Oceania, 75(4), 444–446.

[34] Jua, N. (1991). Cameroon: Jump-starting an economic crisis. Africa Insight, 21(3), 162–170.

[35] Kalu, O. U. (1995). The dilemma of grassroot inculturation of the gospel: A case study of a modern controversy in Igbo-land, 1983–1989. Journal of Religion in Africa, 25(1), 48–72.

[36] Keane, W. (1997). Religious language. Annual Review of Anthropology, 26(1997), 47–71. Retrieved from http://www.jstor.org/stable/2952514.

[37] Konings, P. (1996). Plantation labour and economic crisis in Cameroon. Development and Change, 26(3), 525–549.

[38] Krinsky, S. (2007). Pentecostal prosperity and the political economy of contemporary Nigeria. Nigerian Journal of Sociology and Anthropology, 5(1), 1–2.

[39] Marx, K. (1970). A contribution to the critique of Hegel's philosophy of right introduction. In Marx/Hegel's Collective Works, vol. 3. New York: International Publishers.

[40] Maxwell, D. (1998) Delivered from the spirit of poverty? Pentecostalism, prosperity, and modernity in Zimbabwe. Journal of Religion in Africa, 28(3), 350–373.

[41] Obiora, F. K. (1998). The divine deceit: Business in religion. Enugu, Nigeria: Optimal Publishers.

[42] Okai, M. O. (2008). Religion and social conflict management the case of the Niger Delta Region of Nigeria. Port Harcourt, Nigeria: Cal. Integrated Resources Ltd.

[43] Olupona, J. K. (2008). West Africa. In S.M. Burgess (Ed.), The new international dictionary of Pentecostal and charismatic movements (revised and expanded ed.) (pp. 61–82). Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan.

[44] Omobowale, O. A., & Oyelade, O. K. (2017). Spiritual embodiment in Yoruba Pentecostalism in Southwestern Nigeria. In M. Wilkinson and P. Althouse (Eds.), Annual review of the sociology of religion, vol. 8, Pentecostals and the body (pp. 196–213). Boston, MA: Brill.

[45] Omotoye, R. W. (2010). A critical examination of the activities of Pentecostal churches in national development in Nigeria. CESNUR Centro studi Sulle Nuove Riligioni, Retrieved from http://www.cesnur.org/2010/omotoye.htm.

[46] Onah, N. G., Okwuosa, L. N., & Uroko, F. C. (2018). The church and poverty alleviation in Nigeria. HTS Teologiese Studies/Theological Studies, 74(1), 4834. Available at htps://doi.org/10.4102/hts.v74i1.4834.

[47] Owoeye, S. A. (2005). Pentecostal Churches and prosperity in South Western Nigeria. In E. A. Odumuyiwa et al. (Eds.), God: The contemporary discussion (p. 505). Ilorin: Decency Printers.

[48] Oyelade, O. K., and Omobowale, A. O. (2015). Ethnography of Pentecostal warfare prayer among the Yoruba of South-West Nigeria. Orita, Ibadan Journal of Religious Studies, 47(1–2), 197–202.

[49] Oyelade, O. K. (2018). Pentecostal warfare prayer and church development in South western Nigeria. Unpublished PhD Thesis, University of Ibadan.

[50] Peel, J. D. Y. (1968). Aladura: A religious movement among the Yoruba. London: Oxford University Press.

[51] Tazanu, P. M. (2018). Of polluted spirits and compromised identity: Pentecostal depictions of causality and the repositioning of human agency in Cameroon. Journal of Asian and African Studies, 53(6), 970–983.

[52] Udoh, B. E. O. (2008). Religion and society: Socio-ethical, religious and cultural life of Ibibio people. Aba, Nigeria: OKMAN Publishers.

[53] Umanah, M. (2000). Why deliverance ministries are inevitable? Christian World, 4(3), 20.

[54] VanDuzer, J. B. (2010). Why business matters to God (and what still needs to be fixed). Downers Grove, IL: IVP Academic.

[55] Wagner, C. P. (1988). The third wave of the Holy Spirit: Encountering the power of signs and wonders today. Ann Arbor, MI: Vine Books.

[56] Weber, M. (1968). Economy and society: An outline of interpretive sociology. New York: Bedminster Press.

[57] Wilson, B. (1973). Magic and millennium. London: Heinemann.

[58] Wong, K. L., and Scott, B. R. (2011). Business for the common good: A Christian vision for the marketplace. Downers Grove, IL: IVP Academic.