Abstract

FORMENTI, Ambra. Towards a global faith: history of the Evangelical movement in Guinea-Bissau. Etnográfica [online]. 2017, vol.21, n.2, pp.293-318. ISSN 0873-6561.

This article describes the historical trajectory of the Evangelical minority in Guinea-Bissau, from the 1940s to the present. Against the backdrop of the crisis of the post-colonial state in Guinea-Bissau, the author illustrates how the evangelical movement has evolved from a small and marginal community to a minority which is expanding and emerging in the public space. To interpret these changes, two possible lines of analysis are proposed. Firstly, the author shows how the evangelical minority is actually pursuing a double strategy of intervention in public life, which includes both an effort to repair state’s shortcomings through social action, and a project of “state redemption” through evangelization. Secondly, she examines the growth of evangelical Christianity in the context of a general move towards universal religions, showing how the success of global religions can be related to their ability to meet the desire of modernity of many Guineans, and to connect the believers with the rest of the world.

Keywords : religion; evangelical Christianity; Guinea-Bissau; post-colonial state; modernity; mobility.

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