{"id":160900,"date":"2020-04-30T22:47:39","date_gmt":"2020-04-30T20:47:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.myza.co.za\/pentecostals-and-the-spiritual-war-against-coronavirus-in-africa-the-conversation\/"},"modified":"2020-04-30T22:47:39","modified_gmt":"2020-04-30T20:47:39","slug":"pentecostals-and-the-spiritual-war-against-coronavirus-in-africa-the-conversation","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.myza.co.za\/press\/pentecostals-and-the-spiritual-war-against-coronavirus-in-africa-the-conversation\/","title":{"rendered":"Pentecostals and the spiritual war against coronavirus in Africa | The Conversation"},"content":{"rendered":"

Pentecostals and the spiritual war against coronavirus in Africa<\/a>: <\/p>\n

<\/span> Stefan Heunis\/AFP\/Getty Images<\/span><\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Since the emergence of COVID-19, a number of media commentators and academics have reflected on the \u201cspiritualisation\u201d of the pandemic among responses in different African settings. <\/p>\n

There\u2019s 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. <\/p>\n

We\u2019ve 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. We consider examples from Tanzania and Zimbabwe, drawing on our ongoing research in these settings.<\/p>\n

Many Pentecostal Christians, in Africa as well as other continents, portray the coronavirus as a \u201cspiritual force of evil\u201d rather than as a biomedical disease. <\/p>\n

Through this lens, the world is presented as a battleground between God and the agents of Satan. For those who enlist to \u201cfight for Jesus\u201d, the most effective weapon is prayer. <\/p>\n

Spiritual warfare provides a framework for explaining and responding to both mundane and extraordinary events \u2013 from a cancelled flight to a global pandemic. But despite their close association with Pentecostals, these militarised idioms may also resonate with other groups.<\/p>\n

The prophet<\/h2>\n

In Zimbabwe, Prophet Emmanuel Makandiwa has been criticised for reassuring his congregants that they will be \u201cspared\u201d from the virus. This will happen through prayer and the divine protection he mediates. \u201cYou will not die, because the Son is involved in what we are doing,\u201d he says, calling it <\/p>\n

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the freedom that no medication can offer. <\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

This declaration epitomises a sense of Pentecostal \u201cexceptionalism\u201d, embodied in the claim to be \u201cin this world but not of this world\u201d. It clearly risks instilling a level of complacency among his followers about the threat of the virus. It amplifies the possibility of noncompliance with government safety measures.<\/p>\n

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Advert for online service led by Prophet Makandiwa.<\/span> Christ TV Channel\/Twitter<\/span><\/span> <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Prophet Makandiwa has also been accused of perpetuating conspiracy theories. Drawing Biblical allusions to the \u201cmark of the beast\u201d, he has warned followers about \u201cmicrochip\u201d implants. These, he predicts, will accompany future vaccination campaigns. This claim has also been made by pastors elsewhere in the African continent. <\/p>\n

In Uganda, steps have already been taken to prosecute pastors spreading misinformation.<\/p>\n

The president<\/h2>\n

Efforts to \u201cspiritualise\u201d the virus have also been pursued by some African leaders. For example, Tanzanian President John Pombe Magufuli described COVID-19 as a demon (shetani<\/em>). Through it Satan seeks to \u201cdestroy\u201d Tanzanian citizens. <\/p>\n

Despite the government promoting physical distancing, he declared that churches or mosques would not be closed because this is where God and \u201ctrue healing\u201d (uponyaji wa kweli<\/em>) are found.<\/p>\n

Invoking the idiom of spiritual warfare, Magufuli explained that COVID-19<\/p>\n

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cannot survive in the Body of Jesus (and) will be burned away.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Commentators have observed that Magufuli is himself a Roman Catholic (albeit with Pentecostal ties). Yet few have acknowledged his implication that God can also be \u201cfound\u201d in mosques, nor his recommendation that Tanzanians also embrace indigenous medicinal practices for protection. <\/p>\n

In a country where Christians don\u2019t constitute a clear religious majority, Magufuli invokes the rhetoric of spiritual warfare to articulate a sense of national religious identity.<\/p>\n

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A woman walks past an election billboard featuring now president of Tanzania, John Magufuli in Dar es Salaam.<\/span> Daniel Hayduk\/AFP\/Getty Images<\/span><\/span> <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

These invocations mostly adopt a rhetorical style reminiscent of Pentecostal pastors but maintain a broad, inclusive focus on God (Mungu<\/em>). <\/p>\n

Tanzanians responded enthusiastically to Magufuli\u2019s call for citizens \u201cof every faith\u201d to participate in three days of national prayer. Many took to social media to circulate photos and videos featuring the Tanzanian flag and words of prayer. <\/p>\n

Some perspective<\/h2>\n

Yet a growing number of commentators have criticised Magufuli. As with Makandiwa, they argue that his use of spiritual warfare rhetoric generates a dangerous expectation of viral immunity. <\/p>\n

Some commentators have taken Magufuli\u2019s emphasis on prayer to be emblematic of the government\u2019s perceived failure to adequately address the pandemic. <\/p>\n

The government, say critics, has fallen prey to \u201csuperstitious\u201d thinking. Some draw allusions to the use of water-based medicine in the Maji Maji rebellion against German colonial rule. <\/p>\n

As others have observed, the act of giving spiritual agency to the virus as a \u201cpersonal demon\u201d can also serve to downplay structural failures which have contributed to its spread. It divests responsibility to both COVID-19 as a sentient \u201cenemy\u201d and citizens.<\/p>\n

There is a risk, however, that exaggerating the \u201cidiosyncrasy\u201d of the Tanzanian government\u2019s response to COVID-19 \u2013 and indeed that of Prophet Makandiwa \u2013 may perpetuate another myth of \u201cexceptionalism\u201d. One which echoes colonial depictions of African populations as singularly \u201csuperstitious\u201d and \u201cincurably religious\u201d. <\/p>\n

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A billboard in Lagos, Nigeria.<\/span> Markus Matzel\/ullstein bild\/Getty Images<\/span><\/span> <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

In truth, spiritual warfare idioms have been diversely invoked \u2013 and unevenly received \u2013 across the continent. They have prompted lively \u201creligion and science\u201d debates. <\/p>\n

Moreover, the plausibility of spiritual warfare idioms should not be exclusively attributed to people\u2019s religious sensibilities. After all, \u201cwarfare\u201d is the signature trope with which global political figures, health experts, and media commentators have framed COVID-19. <\/p>\n

Like Magufuli, world leaders like the UK\u2019s Boris Johnson, France\u2019s Emmanuel Macron and the US\u2019s Donald Trump have all invoked warfare motifs against the single, identifiable \u201cenemy\u201d. <\/p>\n

European governments have also been accused of using this framing to shift responsibility onto citizens as \u201ccombatants\u201d, whether for failing to adhere to physical distancing or for their biomedical frailty. Narratives of individuals heroically \u201cwinning their war\u201d against a decidedly personal demon are no less persuasive to some in Europe than to some in Africa.<\/p>\n

None of this is intended to take away from the ambivalent and sometimes plainly harmful effects of attempts to spiritualise the pandemic. Nor is it to imply that religiously informed strategies of communication and implementation are incompatible with more \u201ctemporal\u201d methods. <\/p>\n

Religious groups like Pentecostal congregations may indeed constitute an important \u201cpublic health resource\u201d when it comes to delivering services and messaging. And they can cultivate a sense of hope and mutual care in the face of uncertainty. <\/p>\n

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. An impersonal demon. <\/p>\n

As literary critic Anders Engberg-Pederson articulates it:<\/p>\n

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We declare war on the virus, because we want it to be something that it is not.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

\"The <\/p>\n

Dr Benjamin Kirby receives funding from the British Academy.<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n

Josiah Taru has previously received funding from a Human Economy Programme (University of Pretoria) to conduct fieldwork between 2015-17. <\/span><\/em><\/p>\n

Tinashe Chimbidzikai receives funding from Max Planck Institute for the Study of Religious and Ethnic Diversity, Germany. <\/span><\/em><\/p>\n

Source:<\/strong> The Conversation \u2013 Articles (AFRICA)<\/a><\/small>
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Read more on The Conversation<\/a>.<\/p>\n

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Pentecostals and the spiritual war against coronavirus in Africa: Stefan Heunis\/AFP\/Getty Images Since the emergence of COVID-19, a number of media commentators and academics have reflected on the \u201cspiritualisation\u201d of the pandemic among responses in different African settings. There\u2019s been particular interest in the influence of prominent Pentecostal pastors on public health messaging. Some have […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[4584],"tags":[428,2324,8890,37255,37902,3460],"class_list":{"0":"post-160900","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-africa-news-2","7":"tag-africa","8":"tag-against","9":"tag-conversation","10":"tag-coronavirus","11":"tag-pentecostals","12":"tag-spiritual","13":"entry"},"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.myza.co.za\/press\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/160900","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.myza.co.za\/press\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.myza.co.za\/press\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.myza.co.za\/press\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.myza.co.za\/press\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=160900"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.myza.co.za\/press\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/160900\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.myza.co.za\/press\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=160900"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.myza.co.za\/press\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=160900"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.myza.co.za\/press\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=160900"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}