Trajectoires et enjeux contemporains du pentecôtisme en Afrique de l'Ouest

• Published in: Critique internationale (Paris. 1998) no. 22; pp. 95 - 109
• Main Author: Mayrargue, Cédric
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: French
• Published: Presses de Sciences Po 01-01-2004
• Subjects: Variations: La résistible expansion du protestantisme conservateur
• ISSN: 1290-7839; 1777-554X

The expansion of Pentecostalism in West Africa is examined through the prism of endogenous dynamics and local habits, with a view to arriving at an understanding of the contemporary – and notably political – challenges which it engenders. The processes through which religion is transmitted and transformed and undergoes modification have made Africa a player in the area of Pentecostal revival. The success encountered by this movement runs parallel to the social change and modernisation sweeping through local societies, and which can be observed even in the uncertainty and fragility affecting these churches. Pentecostalists participate increasingly in local political struggles, with the intensity and precise nature of their interventions in the public arena varying from one country to another.