South Africa’s Jacob Zuma and the Deployment of Christianity in the Public Sphere

Through the dialogue between an emerging pan-Africanist political scholar and a Christian theologian, this study interrogates key aspects of the deployment of Christianity in the public domain under the presidency of Jacob Zuma. After giving an overview of Zuma’s controversial public career, the art...

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Bibliographic Details
Authors: Urbaniak, Jakub 1983- (Author) ; Khorommbi, Tshinyalani (Author)
Format: Electronic Article
Language:English
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Published: Routledge, Taylor & Francis Group [2020]
In: The review of faith & international affairs
Year: 2020, Volume: 18, Issue: 2, Pages: 61-75
RelBib Classification:AF Geography of religion
KBN Sub-Saharan Africa
NCD Political ethics
Further subjects:B Church
B Charismatic
B Jacob Zuma
B South Africa
B Pentecostal
B Politics
B Christianity
Online Access: Volltext (Verlag)
Description
Summary:Through the dialogue between an emerging pan-Africanist political scholar and a Christian theologian, this study interrogates key aspects of the deployment of Christianity in the public domain under the presidency of Jacob Zuma. After giving an overview of Zuma’s controversial public career, the article focuses on the role of religion and culture in Zuma’s political demagogy, and particularly on his deployment of the Pentecostalized public culture. A “product” of the ANC’s moral absolutism which got out of control, Zuma can be seen—it is argued—as an emblem of the entanglement of Pentecostal-Charismatic Christianity and politics in South Africa post-1994, and perhaps as a part of a broader global trend toward religious-populist politics.
ISSN:1931-7743
Contains:Enthalten in: The review of faith & international affairs
Persistent identifiers:DOI: 10.1080/15570274.2020.1753992