The Committee and the Uncommitted : Material Assistance to Members in Need at a Pentecostal Church in Western Kenya

DOI zum Zitieren der Version auf EPub Bayreuth: https://doi.org/10.15495/EPub_UBT_00006019
URN to cite this document: urn:nbn:de:bvb:703-epub-6019-2

Title data

Kroeker, Lena ; Gez, Yonatan N.:
The Committee and the Uncommitted : Material Assistance to Members in Need at a Pentecostal Church in Western Kenya.
Bayreuth Academy of Advanced African Studies
Bayreuth, Germany , 2022 . - VIII, 20 S. - (University of Bayreuth African Studies Working Papers ; 28 ) (Academy reflects; 5)

Format: PDF Name: WP 28_Academy Reflects 5_Kroeker and Gez.pdf Version: Published Version Available under License German copyright law. This contribution is freely accessible with the consent of the copyright holder on the basis of an (DFG-funded) alliance or national license. The document may be used free of charge for personal use. In addition, the reproduction, editing, distribution and any kind of exploitation require the written consent of the respective rights holder.

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Project information

Project financing:	Bundesministerium für Bildung und Forschung

Abstract

In Kenya today, churches serve as a central pillar of socio-economic support to people in their hour of need. Drawing on ethnographic research at a small Pentecostal church in Kisumu, Western Kenya, we present four modes of such material support. This classification allows us to examine the provision of church assistance as a subtle balancing act in which leaders and so-called ‘super-members’ seek to bind lay members into greater commitment by projecting institutional dependability while carefully avoiding excessive demands. Rejecting the caricature of the self-enriching charismatic leader, and focused on the intertwinement of religious commitment and class, we offer a fresh examination of churches’ mechanisms of welfare assistance beyond a simple vertical/horizontal (or institutional/congregational) binarism.

Further data

Item Type:	Working paper, discussion paper
Keywords:	Kenya; Social Support; Solidarity; Pentecostalism; Anthropology
DDC Subjects:	200 Religion 300 Social sciences 300 Social sciences > 360 Social problems, social services 300 Social sciences > 390 Customs, etiquette, folklore 900 History and geography > 960 History of Africa
Institutions of the University:	Faculties > Faculty of Cultural Studies > Chair Social Anthropology Profile Fields > Advanced Fields > African Studies Research Institutions > Central research institutes > Institute of African Studies - IAS > Bayreuth Academy of Advanced African Studies - BAAAS Research Institutions > Research Units > Bayreuth Academy of Advanced African Studies Faculties Faculties > Faculty of Cultural Studies Profile Fields Profile Fields > Advanced Fields Research Institutions Research Institutions > Central research institutes Research Institutions > Central research institutes > Institute of African Studies - IAS Research Institutions > Research Units
Language:	English
Originates at UBT:	Yes
URN:	urn:nbn:de:bvb:703-epub-6019-2
Date Deposited:	10 Nov 2022 08:27
Last Modified:	10 Nov 2022 08:27
URI:	https://epub.uni-bayreuth.de/id/eprint/6019

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