There’s been particular interest in the influence of prominent Pentecostal pastors on public health messaging. Some have expressed concern about the possible consequences of their invocations of spiritual warfare. Researchers have examined how idioms of (spiritual) warfare have been deployed in response to the coronavirus pandemic and wish to bring a broader perspective to recent debates about these dynamics. The study considers examples from Tanzania and Zimbabwe, drawing on their ongoing research in these settings. Many Pentecostal Christians, in Africa as well as other continents, portray the coronavirus as a “spiritual force of evil” rather than as a biomedical disease. Rather, we suggest as anthropologists and scholars of religion, this warfaring rhetoric might stem from a shared discomfort among Africans and Europeans alike at the prospect of an adversary without discernible self-will or conscience.
SOURCE: THE CONVERSATION
More Stories
Holding Thumbs for Kenya’s Miracle Birth
New Infrastructure Project Puts Government and Residents at Loggerheads
The Devastating Impact of Boko Haram’s Activities Transcends Nigeria’s Borders
Namibia Not Backing Down on its Gay Laws
How to Get Back Learners Who Dropped Out of School
Liberia Mourns the Deaths of Worshippers
The Rise and Rise of Facebook in Africa
Horrific Blast Rocks Ghana’s Mining Town
Donors Called Out for Bringing Near to Expiration Vaccines
Africa’s Digital Economy Could Contribute $180bn to the Region’s Growth by Mid-decade
Las Vegas Resident’s Three-week Adventure through Egypt
Tunisia Needs “Deep Reforms” Such as Drastically Reducing its Vast Public Wage Bill