Between the Private and the Public Sphere: Pentecostals Dealing with Witchcraft in Ibadan, Nigeria

Since the 1980s, Pentecostalism has grown immensely in Nigeria. At the same time, witchcraft fears have intensified and stories about flying women, ritual murders and secret cults have been spread through the Nigerian media. Books allegedly written by former initiates of witchcraft are read by Pente...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:PentecoStudies
Main Author: Bachmann, Judith (Author)
Format: Electronic Article
Language:English
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Published: Equinox Publ. [2017]
In: PentecoStudies
Standardized Subjects / Keyword chains:B Ibadan / Pentecostal churches / Witchcraft / Publicity / Privateness
RelBib Classification:CB Christian life; spirituality
KBN Sub-Saharan Africa
KDG Free church
KDH Christian sects
NBG Pneumatology; Holy Spirit
Further subjects:B Pentecostalism Islam witchcraft Yoruba African traditional religion Christianity
Online Access: Volltext (Verlag)
Volltext (doi)
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Summary:Since the 1980s, Pentecostalism has grown immensely in Nigeria. At the same time, witchcraft fears have intensified and stories about flying women, ritual murders and secret cults have been spread through the Nigerian media. Books allegedly written by former initiates of witchcraft are read by Pentecostals and non-Pentecostals alike. Witchcraft beliefs are cultivated in Pentecostal churches, and researchers credit much of their appeal to the fact that they take such beliefs seriously and address them publicly. This paper gives an example from the field by comparing two Pentecostal churches in urban southwestern Nigeria to discuss how and under which circumstances Pentecostals deal with witchcraft in a public or private manner. It concludes that Pentecostals appropriate global discourses when dealing with witchcraft and oscillate between the private and the public sphere in doing so.
ISSN:1871-7691
Contains:Enthalten in: PentecoStudies
Persistent identifiers:DOI: 10.1558/ptcs.32072