Political Spiritualities: The Pentecostal Revolution in Nigeria

361 Pages·2009·1.92 MB·English

by  Ruth Marshall

Political Spiritualities

Political
Spiritualities
The Pentecostal Revolution
in Nigeria
RUTH MARSHALL
The University of Chicago Press Chicago and London
RUTH MARSHALL is assistant professor of religion and political
science at the University of Toronto and coeditor of Between Babel and
Pentecost: Transnational Pentecostalism in Africa and Latin America.
The University of Chicago Press, Chicago 60637
The University of Chicago Press, Ltd., London
© 2009 by The University of Chicago
All rights reserved. Published 2009
Printed in the United States of America
18 17 16 15 14 13 12 11 10 09 1 2 3 4 5
ISBN-13: 978-0-226-50712-5 (cloth)
ISBN-13: 978-0-226-50713-2 (paper)
ISBN-10: 0-226-50712-2 (cloth)
ISBN-10: 0-226-50713-0 (paper)
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Marshall, Ruth, 1964–
Political spiritualities : the Pentecostal revolution in Nigeria / Ruth
Marshall.
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN-13: 978-0-226-50712-5 (cloth : alk. paper)
ISBN-13: 978-0-226-50713-2 (pbk. : alk. paper)
ISBN-10: 0-226-50712-2 (cloth: alk. paper)
ISBN-10: 0-226-50713-0 (pbk. : alk. paper)
1. Pentecostalism—Nigeria. 2. Pentecostalism—Political aspects—
Nigeria. 3. Christianity and politics—Nigeria. 4. Nigeria—Religious
life and customs. 5. Nigeria—Church history. I. Title.
BR1644.5.N6M37 2009
276.69'082—dc22
2008043576
The paper used in this publication meets the minimum require-
ments of the American National Standard for Information Sciences—
Permanence of Paper for Printed Library Materials, ANSI Z39.48-1992.
FOR CHLOË, ELISE, AND ANNA

Contents
Acknowledgments ix
Introduction 1
1 Rethinking the Religious and the Political in Africa 17
2 Rupture, Redemption, and the History of the Present 51
3 Revival and the Postcolonial Crisis of Government 92
4 God’s Subjects 128
5 Born-Again Ethics and the Spirits of the
Political Economy 166
6 The Politics of Conviction 201
Conclusion 239
Appendix 245
Notes 265 Bibliography 311 Index 339

Acknowledgments
Over the fi fteen years of research that has gone into this
study, I have accumulated so many debts that it is impossi-
ble to recognize them all here. I must thank fi rst my adop-
tive extended family in Nigeria, whose friendship and sup-
port made this work possible: the Onuzos, to whom I owe
my original interest in the subject; Kehinde and Taiwo
Johnson, who taught me everything I needed to know
about Lagos but was afraid to ask; Tokunbo, Yomi, ‘Lara,
Segun, Clement, and a host of other friends. I owe a great
deal to Professor Claude Ake, whose spirit is present in
these pages. I thank the Department of Political Science at
UNILAG and Professor Jinadu for their warm hospitality,
and the numerous colleagues and students who assisted
me with my research and made my experience in the de-
partment so rewarding. I thank Pastor Tony Rapu for al-
lowing me to work with his ministry; Pastor Abiona, Pastor
Okotie, Brother Tosin, Brother Bernard, and Sister Funmi
for teaching so much about their movement; and those
countless others who gave their time and energy to help
me during my fi rst two years in Lagos. I thank the British
Academy for funding my Research Fellowship at SOAS be-
tween 1996 and 2000. I am ever grateful to Louis Brenner
and J. D. Y. Peel at SOAS, and Karin Barber and Paulo de
Moraes Farias at Birmingham for the remarkable oppor-
tunity of working with them for three years on the New
ix