Journal articles on the topic 'Free Pentecostal Church of Tanzania'

The report discusses neo-Pentecostal gospel, demonology and deliverance in the context of social transformations and economic reforms in Tanzania, via a detailed case-study of a single church in Dar es Salaam—the Glory of Christ Tanzania Church—which displays the conjuncture of a global religion with elements of local ontology such as witchcraft and zombies. It is proposed that the Pentacostal-Charismatic gospel provides the interpretative frame to explain experience of social and economic affliction that is deeply gendered. Further, the deliverance practices are suggested to free the individual believer from the occult forces associated with kinship relations.

Pentecostal ecclesiology, a lived charismatic experience rather than discursive theology, naturally leans toward the charismatic structure of the church and free flow of the Spirit. In dialogue with the Roman Catholic church, Pentecostal ecclesiologv has been challenged to develop a more nuanced understanding of the relationship between the Spirit, institution, and Koinonia. As charismatic fellowship, the church is a communion of participating, empowered believers.

Mary Johnson (1884–1968) and Ida Anderson (1871–1964) are described in pentecostal historiography as the first pentecostal missionaries sent from America. Both of these Swedish-American missionaries experienced baptism of the Spirit, spoke in tongues, and were called as missionaries to Africa by God, whom they expected to speak through them to the native people. They went by faith and completed careers as missionaries to South Africa. But who were these two figures of which relatively little has been written? They were Swedish-American “Free-Free” in the tradition of August Davis and John Thompson of the Scandinavian Mission Society—the first Minnesota district of the Swedish Evangelical Free Mission, known today as the Evangelical Free Church of America. This work examines the lives of these two female missionaries, their work in South Africa, and their relationship with Swedish Evangelical Free churches in America, particularly its pentecostal stream of Free-Free (frifria).

Interpretation is considered to be one of the most challenging professions in the world. This is due to its involvement of several abilities beyond language competence. Church interpretation is done predominantly by the untrained volunteering interpreters who in return, face a number of challenges. This paper examined the stakeholders’ perceptions towards the interpretation challenges facing the church interpreters by drawing examples from Charismatic and Pentecostal churches in the Tanzanian context. The study was conducted in Dar es Salaam, one of the largest commercial cities located in the Eastern Coastal regions of Tanzania in Africa. Data were collected through observation, interviews, questionnaires, and focus group discussions. It was found out that church interpreters encountered numerous challenges due to a lack of linguistic competence, experience, and professional training. Some of these challenges include; lack of enough biblical knowledge, difficulties in pronunciation, the use of difficult vocabulary, and poor preparations. It is recommended that church sermon interpreters should be provided with professional training in Translation and Interpretation Studies.

August Davis (1852–1936) led a group of Swedish Free Mission Friends in America known as the Free-Free, an early branch of what is today the Evangelical Free Church of America. Davis and his followers were known for such phenomena as falling down in the Spirit, having ecstatic visions, uttering unintelligible sounds, communicating the Holy Spirit through the laying on of hands, and teaching the baptism of the Holy Spirit as a second work of grace. Such activities occurred mostly in Chicago, Illinois, and throughout western Minnesota between 1885 and 1900. Davis and the Free-Free had direct organizational ties in the Scandinavian Mission Society U.S.A. to emerging Swedish-American Pentecostals in Minnesota and South Dakota such as John Thompson, Mary Johnson, and Jacob Bakken. This group known pejoratively as the Free-Free is another of several impulses that birthed a distinctly Pentecostal form of Christianity in America.

AbstractThe responses of Christian religions to HIV/AIDS in Africa have been described either with regard to the stigmatising attitudes of churches, or with reference to the charitable acts of Christian organisations in the context of the epidemic. Drawing on fieldwork in a Neo-Pentecostal church in urban Tanzania, this article shows that the Full Gospel Bible Fellowship Church in Dar es Salaam is becoming highly attractive to its followers because of the social, spiritual and economic perspectives that it offers, and particularly because of the networks of healing and support that it has established under the circumstances of urbanisation, structural reform programmes and the AIDS epidemic. The author argues for a stronger focus on practices of healing and community building in studies on Pentecostalism, which may shed light on the continuities as well as the ruptures that are produced by the rise of Neo-Pentecostalism in the context of globalisation, modernity and HIV/AIDS.

Christianity is one of the greatest institutions ever founded in the human race. It is a divine institution that was founded by Jesus Christ to carry out His mission in the world laying the foundation of love and salvation as a free gift to everyone. The Christian church history insulated into different periods that are separated by great events. The study focused on the historical beginnings, the rise and growth of Pentecostal Churches and contributing factors which led to its establishments, spread and expansion. It was mainly anchored on Mc Gavran’s theory on Church growth and Christian mission which discussed about the three main varieties of church growth namely: biological, transfer, and conversion growths. It utilized Qualitative and Quantitative procedures using Historical Approach. The study found out that upon the birth of Pentecostal Churches, they hold distinctive teachings yet they have some slight differences in the structure of leadership. Though they have almost the same practices of Christianity, what matters most is they follow the teachings of the Bible in a different dynamic ways.

This article is a descriptive account of early missionary work of the Swedish Free Mission (SFM) in Kenya during the last part of the colonial era after national independence in1964. It attempts to reconstruct a memory of surviving local clerics and missionaries on their collaborative work in birthing a local church, the Free Pentecostal Fellowship in Kenya (FPFK). It relies on 20 in-depth interviews conducted by the authors in 2014, as well as missionary records found in FPFK’s head office in Nairobi.

AbstractThe globally mushrooming Pentecostal-charismatic movement is a challenge, not only for the so-called mainline or historic churches, but also for the older traditional Pentecostal churches and also for the Mission Churches in the southern hemisphere who originate in the two former mentioned contributions in mission. Mostly these southern churches are independent in the meanwhile, but struggling for an authentic theological identity which is based in the scripture but is also able to respond to the questions of cultural and post-modern identity in the era of globalization. Focusing these developments in the multi-denominational and culturally diverse country of Tanzania might methodologically be a help as an example in a more and more complex world to avoid simplifying answers. My ecumenical concern is rooted in the insight that open culturally and socially diverse Christians all over the world are challenged to learn from each other in mutuality. What can I as a western German Lutheran learn from North American Pentecostals or from Tanzanian Christian believers? What could be my contribution to both of them especially concerning the question for a worldwide appropriate pneumatology?

Harry Lindblom of Chicago worked alongside Lewi Pethrus of Stockholm on both sides of the Atlantic and became Pethrus’s preferred interpreter. But who was Harry Lindblom, and how did he become a trusted colleague of Pethrus? In addition to examining Lindblom’s life and ministry with the Evangelical Free Church of America (EFCA), this study highlights his collaboration with Pethrus, including the American’s role as the interpreter of the first European Pentecostal Conference, held in 1939. Together Lindblom and Pethrus strengthened ties between Pentecostals in Sweden and Swedish Pentecostals and evangelicals in America.

Abstract This article uses archival sources and secondary sources to argue that narratives from various pentecostal church presses reflected shifts in the broader understanding of homosexuality when discussing the 1907 arrest of pentecostal founder Charles Fox Parham for “unnatural offenses.” In the early 1900s, gay men were free to pursue other men in separate spaces of towns and were generally left alone as long as they did not attract attention. Although there was growing recognition that homosexuality might be a matter of biology, the more popular literature on the topic through the 1920s proclaimed that homosexuality was a choice, influenced by environmental factors. Pentecostalism was then in its infancy, and two schools of thought became prevalent regarding Parham’s arrest: there were those like his wife, who denied the truth of the matter, and those like his protégé Howard Goss, who believed that the behavior was a temporary failing, not a permanent tendency. During World War II and the Cold War, beliefs about the causes of homosexuality shifted again, and as the gay rights movements flourished and the field of pentecostal history became professionalized, authors tended to examine the details of the incident rather than draw conclusions about the accusations. This examination of pentecostal narratives demonstrates the power that narrators have either to emphasize or to minimize certain details, allowing them to shape the reputations of leaders of the movement.

Abstract After a critical examination of western master narratives of modernization and secularization, David Martin focuses, first, on one of the variants of Christian modernity, Anglican modernity. The Anglican Church provides a simulacrum of the universal church as it ranges from the Catholic to the Evangelical and Pentecostal and is, hence, rigged also by many of the problems confronting the church in the contemporary world. Next, Martin considers some examples of unanchored spirituality and free-floating faith that have, in his opinion, no serious future as major expressions of Christianity—he discusses, in particular, Schumann’s paradigm of Romantic music. Though inevitably fallible, churches are to be regarded as pointers to transcendence, opening, in the words of William Blake, “the doors of perception.” Without the institutional church to protect and perpetuate the Christian language of transcendence and provide ritual re-enactment of the Christian story of ruin and restoration, the Anglican/Christian vision would be as vulnerable and ephemeral as most contemporary forms of non-institutional, un-anchored “spirituality” [the editors].

We explore judges’ approaches to asylum court appeals based on the issue of conversion from Islam to Christianity. Our court ethnography in Germany and Austria in 2018 and 2019 provides an insight into how such claims are discussed during appeals. At the time, they were increasingly common, especially concerning Iranians and Afghans involved in ‘free churches’ (e.g. Evangelical, Pentecostal or charismatic). We show how rumours, congregations’ reputations and assumptions about baptism and what genuine conversions entail are discussed. These factors can not only influence appellants’ cases, but reveal church–state tensions and some of the intractable challenges of refugee status determination.

Abstract The eucharistic celebration is the highest prayer of the church, where through Christ, with Christ, in Christ, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, all glory and honor is given to God. In this article I examine the modus of the prayer of the faithful at the Roman Catholic eucharistic celebration in Nigeria. Are individuals free to express themselves in worship? I study the church’s worship and prayer and offer proposals from the perspective of modern Pentecostalism, which, according to recent surveys and research, is seriously influencing Catholicism in many African countries. Furthermore, I articulate a model of adaptation that respects the church’s liturgy and, at the same time, permits the faithful to experience their freedom and the power of the Holy Spirit during liturgical celebrations. Finally, I contend that both intellectualism and emotionalism are valid dimensions of being human and, therefore, are pleasing and acceptable to God in the liturgy.

Studies from the United States (U.S.) show that opposition to climate policy is strong among some Christian groups, especially White evangelical Protestants. Much of this opposition is channelled through organisations such as the Cornwall Alliance, which argue against climate measures on religious, economic and what they claim to be science-based grounds. In the present study, we investigated to what extent these convictions were present among Swedish evangelical denominations. Representatives from the Evangelical Free Church, the Pentecostal Alliance, the Swedish Alliance Mission, and the Seventh-day Adventist Church were interviewed to identify the denominations’ views on the scientific underpinnings of climate change and the moral implications of climate policy. Our data show that the denominations’ views differ markedly from those expressed by climate-oppositional evangelical groups in the U.S. The denominations held homogenous views on the legitimacy of climate science, expressed a clear biblical mandate for climate policy based on the notion of human stewardship, and believed that climate change was inextricably linked to poverty and, thus, had to be addressed. Our results point to the need for further studies on the factors behind acceptance and denial of climate science within and between faith-based and other communities in different countries.

The concept of “civil society” has been used by major donors in the world of international development to justify the rechanneling of aid resources away from public sector services to nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) in an era of structural adjustment. Mozambique provides an especially valuable case study of the civil society experiment in Africa, given its dramatic conversion from state-centered development to civil society and free markets over the last decade. The rapid retreat of the state in the lives of ordinary Mozambicans during this period quickly cleared a space for the emergence of an “independent” civil society that has been quickly filled by two social currents: international NGOs and Pentecostal-influenced churches. This article argues that the NGO presence has intensified already growing social inequality by channeling resources primarily to elites, while the church movements have thrived in poor communities outside the foreign aid world. The enormous popularity of the churches reveals the deepening marginalization of poor communities in the market economy and exposes the inadequacy of the NGO-civil society model to meet the needs of vulnerable populations.

Kirke og menighed i Grundtvigs teologi og kirkepolitik 1806-61[Church and Congregation in Grundtvig’s Theology and Church Politics 1806-61]By Bent ChristensenFrom his 1806 work “Om Religion og Liturgie” (On Religion and Liturgy) and forthe rest of his life, N. F. S. Grundtvig was preoccupied with the substance andthe conditions of the church. In this paper, however, the latest text consideredis the final chapter of his book Den christelige Børnelærdom (Christian Childhood Teachings) (1861).The paper presents and analyses a number of statements showing whatGrundtvig understood by the terms “church” and “congregation” through threemain periods: 1. 1806-25 when Grundtvig by criticizing tried to clear the StateChurch of the Danish absolute monarchy of the current heterodox teachings andpractices. - 2. 1825-32 when Grundtvig had to admit that the battle was lost and that he himself was close to ending up as a separatist - 3. The years after 1832 when Grundtvig developed a freedom strategy based on the right of eachparishioner to choose another vicar or minister than the official incumbent ofthe parish (the so-called “sognebåndsløsning”).“On Religion and Liturgy” (written 1806 and printed 1807) was conceivedunder the State Church of the Danish absolute monarchy, a situation in whichit was not feasible to distinguish between the state and the church, nor betweenpeople and congregation. Grundtvig in his harsh criticism of contemporary clergy, however, was moving in the specific Christian dimension. He strove to change the state of things by criticizing them. In a poem dated 1811 he described in a strongly pentecostal and Apostolic perspective how he experienced his recent ordination and his future clerical calling.In his treatise “Om Kirke, Stat og Skole” (On Church, State and School)(1818-19), Grundtvig endeavoured to define the word and the conception of“church” and to examine the relationship between the church and the state. Heused the word “church” in a very broad sense, whereas he defined the Christian“kirkesamfund” (i.e. the community of Christians within the church) quiteprecisely.In his great poem Nyaars-Morgen (New Year’s Morn) (1824), Grundtvigfor the last time expressed his daring dream of a joint Christian and popular revival in Denmark, and in 1825 in the pamphlet Kirkens Gienmæle (The Church’s Retort) he used his “mageløse opdagelse” (i.e. his “matchless discovery”, as he termed it, that the confession of the Apostles’ Creed at the baptism is the only true basis for the authentic Church) for an attack on a heterodox professor of divinity. Grundtvig’s experiment to enforce true Christianity in this way was a failure. He lost the ensuing libel action brought against him by his victim, thus automatically, according to the Freedom of the Press Act of 1799, incurring life-long censorship.“Skal den Lutherske Reformation virkelig fortsættes?” (Should the LutheranReformation Really Continue?) (1830-31) represents Grundtvig’s last attemptto preserve the state church as a Christian community. From the autumn of 1831 until February 1832 he and his revivalist friends approached a separatist solution. However, the outcome was that on 1 March 1832 Grundtvig was granted permission to officiate in a Copenhagen church as a free preacher.From then on Grundtvig took on a radical freedom strategy. The state churchwas to be preserved as an institution embracing heterodox as well as orthodoxbelievers. This would be possible if the parish-defined obligations were abolished(the possibility of “sognebåndsløsning”) so that those Christians who did not feelconfident with the incumbent of their parish might choose to avail themselvesof the services of another vicar. This model was presented in two papers: OmDaabs-Pagten (On the Baptismal Covenant) (1832) and Den Danske Stats-Kirke upartisk betragtet (An Impartial View of the Danish State Church) (1834).Grundtvig could now, at one and the same time, be an orthodox Christianamong his co-orthodox supporters and engage in realizing the cultural programme presented in the comprehensive Introduction to his Nordens Mythologi (Norse Mythology) (1832). From around 1835 he was seized by strong optimism.In 1861 the final part of Den christelige Børnelærdom was published, subtitled“The Eternal Word of Life from the very Mouth of our Lord to his Congregation”.In it, Grundtvig took as a supposition the most radical version of a freechurch, i.e. one with a congregation of perhaps only a few thousand members.Above all, however, this was meant to legitimate that Grundtvig and his friendsremained in what was now, pursuant to the new Danish democratic constitutionfrom 1849, labeled the Danish People’s Church. With the possibility of secessionfrom the People’s Church, and after the passing in 1855 of the law legalizing“sognebåndsløsning”, there actually might be several good reasons to stay.Grundtvig now viewed the People’s Church as a state institution withroom for anything which could in any way be defined as Christianity, and indeedfor the true congregation of orthodox believers. Things never went so far,however. The 1849 Constitution states that the Evangelical-Lutheran Church is the Danish People’s Church. In practice, however—and to a high degree thanks to Grundtvig—there is a great liberality in the People’s Church, and those who desire so may break their ties to their parish and attach themselves to a minister they trust or even form their own elective congregation within the People’s Church.

Scholars of language believe that where there is no language there is no development, thus language is pivotal in the implementation of Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). This study aims to explore a language-based approach to the achievement of SDGs. Studies and reports describe language theories such as Edward Sapir-Benjamin Lee Whorf Linguistic Determinism Theory, Geoffery Leech’s five characteristics of language, Lev Vygotsky Developmental Theory, Jim Cummins Principles of Language – Basic Interpersonal Skills/Cognitive Academic Language Proficiency and other relevant linguistic concepts vis-à-vis sustainability goals and enumerate how the SDGs can be translated into a plan of action through the language-based approach. Specifically, the study focuses on Goal 3- Good health and wellbeing, Goal 4 - Quality education, Goal 16 - Peace, justice, and strong institutions, and Goal 17 - Partnership for the goal. Qualitative meta-analysis was employed using a five-step synthesis approach: 1) Exploring the field and defining research questions 2) search, selection, and appraisal of studies (sampling procedure) 3) data extraction 4) aggregation and 5) synthesis to analyze data from reports, symposiums, and studies as the main sources of data. In the iterative analyses, aggregates of concepts were identified: 1) language 2) language users 3) inclusiveness, equality, and sustainability 4) Sustainable Development Goals and language-based approaches. Other concepts were extracted from data such as diversity of language, language and culture, multilingualism, plurilingualism, multiculturalism, multilingualism, mother tongue-based multilingual education, literacy and reading skills, communication disabilities, minority vs. dominant languages, language loss and language maintenance, rights language to health care, inclusivity, vulnerability, diversity, equality, global citizenship, transparency and integrity, nationalism, national unity and collective identity and their centrality in the development, implementation, and successful completion of the SDGs.ReferencesBaart, J. L.G. (2003). Sustainable development and the maintenance of Pakistan’s indigenous languages. Conference on the state of the social sciences and humanities: Current scenario and emerging trends Islamabad, September 26-27, 2003Balčiūnaitienė Asta (2018). Challenges of foreign language teaching and sustainable development competence implementation in higher education 10.2478/vtrr-2018-0004 Vocational Training: Research and Realities, 29(1), 2018 44Brisset, N. & Radhika M. (March 2017). For function or transformation? A critical discourse analysis of education under the Sustainable Development Goals. Journal for Critical Education Policy Studies, 15(1). ISSN 1740-2743 https://www.researchgate. net/ publication/314243582Creswell, J. W. & Poth, C. N. (2018). Qualitative inquiry and research design: Choose among five approaches, 4th ed. Sage.Drape, T., Westfall-Rudd, LDM., & Lawrence, C. (May 2020). A qualitative meta-analysis examining equity and inclusion in undergraduate and graduate populations. https://www.researchgate. net/publication/341323420Ezeh. N. G. & Obiageli, U.R. (2020). The role of language in achieving the world’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). European Journal of English Language and Literature Studies. 8(6), pp.53-61Forman, L., Ooms, G & Brolan, C. E. (Dec., 2015). Rights language in the Sustainable Development Agenda: Has right to health discourse and norms shaped health goals? International Journal Health Policy Management. ; 4(12). 799–804. Published online 2015 Sep 29. https://doi.org.10.15171/ijhpm.2015.171Hussain, N., Jagoe, C., Mullen, R., O’Shea, A., Sutherland, D., Williams, C., & Wright, M. (2018). The importance of speech, language and communication to the United Nations sustainable development goals: A summary of evidence. International Communication Project.Language, the sustainable development goals, and vulnerable populations at the church center for the United Nations, 777 United Nations Plaza, New York, on 11 and 12 May 2017 Symposium: Study Group on Language and the United Nations. an independent group of scholars and practitioners on matters related to the international use of language (Final Report)Mweri, J. G. (2020). Sustainable development goals: Reaching people through their mother tongue. Linguistics and Literature Studies. http://doi.org.10.13189/lls.2020.080103Nwanyanwu, A. U. (2017). The place of indigenous languages in sustainable national development in the twenty-first Century: The Nigerian perspective. International Journal of English Language and Communication Studies 3(3), ISSN 2545 - 5702Obiegbu, I. (2015), The English language and sustainable development in Nigeria Open Journal of Political Science, 5(2) Article ID:54264,4 pages DOI: 10.4236/ojps.2015.52009.Ollinger, A. (2012) Communication strategies in ELF. Academia. Communication_strategies_in_ELF-with-cover-page-v2.pdfReyes, C. M., Albert, R.G., Tabuga, A. D., Arboneda, A.A., Vizmanos, V. & Cabaero, C. C. (2019). The Philippines’ voluntary national review on the sustainable development goals. Philippine Institute for Development Studies.Stein-Smith, K. (2016). The role of multilingualism in effectively addressing global issues: The sustainable development goals and beyond. ISSN 1799-2591 Theory and practice in language studies, 6(12), pp. 2254-2259Sustainability | Free Full-Text | Quality education as a sustainable development goal in the context of 2030 agenda: Bibliometric approach | HTML (mdpi.com) International communication project(www.internationalcommunicationproject.com)The Sustainable Development Goals Report (2021). United Nations. 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A Free Church Ecclesiology? Peter Halldorf’s View of the Church under Discussion There has been a change in the ecclesiology of the well-known Pentecostal pastor and author Peter Halldorf. His ecclesiology was first centered on the individual Christian and he appears to have regarded the church as a group of praying individuals. This ecclesiology could perhaps be regarded to be in line with the ecclesiology of the Swedish Pentecostal movement, the starting point of Halldorf’s ecclesiological processing. Halldorf’s later ecclesiology has taken a controversial turn and is influenced by the Orthodox Church and the Ecumenical Movement. The Pentecostal movement in Sweden has in recent decades undergone major changes which have led to an unclear self-understanding. In spite of the fact that Halldorf is very influential as a pastor and writer, his alternative ecclesiology has not been received as a serious alternative within the Pentecostal movement. In this article I discuss trajectories in Halldorf’s ecclesiology in relation to the ecclesiology of John Howard Yoder. My aim is to provide a Free Church evaluation of Halldorf’s trajectories and my claim is that his development does not necessarily stand in disagreement with the Swedish Pentecostal movement, if one considers the movement’s Baptistic roots. It is therefore possible that Halldorf’s trajectory is a path to follow for the Swedish Pentecostal movement, a movement searching for an identity. It is at the same time possible that the Free Church ecclesiology of Yoder may deepen Halldorf's own ecclesiology.

This article reconstructs the history of a Pentecostal denomination in Kenya that was established by Scandinavian missionaries from two missionary agencies, namely the Norwegian Pentecostal Mission (NPM) and Swedish Free Mission (SFM), during the early 1950s. It relies on oral narratives by early African clerics, missionaries and church leaders as well as archival materials such as minutes, correspondence and reports to argue that the 60-year history of the Free Pentecostal Fellowship in Kenya (FPFK) may be periodised into three major epochs: the period of beginnings (1955–1984); the period of collaboration (1984–1996); and the period of nationalisation (1997–2018). It further contests that the present challenges for the church, such as the schism between Swedish and Norwegian sections, financial instability and the collapse of its national institutions, as well as an over emphasis on rural evangelism and a failure to penetrate the Kenyan urban life, are directly linked to its Scandinavian heritage.

Abstract In the early 1960s a Pentecostal movement broke out in Ethiopia and formed the Mulu Wongel (the Full Gospel) Church throughout the country. During the free spirited revival at the early stage of the movement and when the church was closed during the socialist regime, women enjoyed key ministerial and leadership positions. However, women ministers were sidelined when peace was restored and an organized body was established. This article is mainly interested in uncovering women’s role in the history of Ethiopian Pentecostal revival and its aftermath based on the information gained from main participants of the movement and important secondary documents. It also underlines the eventual achievement of ministerial equality between men and women despite problems that are still hindering women’s involvement in the higher ministerial posts.

This article attempts to reconstruct an early history of the Norwegian Pentecostal Mission’s (NPM) work in Kenya. The Free Pentecostal Church (FPC), known as the Free Pentecostal Fellowship in Kenya (FPFK) until April 2018, was born out of a 1984 merger between the Swedish Free Mission and the NPM. The Norwegians came earlier in 1955, whereas their Scandinavian counterparts arrived in 1960. The article contests that during the period under review, the first 29 years of NPM’s presence in Kenya, the NPM was characterised by a fast-growing enthusiasm in establishing mission stations and local churches through evangelism and social work activities in education, medical care, orphanages, midwifery and compassionate handouts of commodities to villagers. These would be overtaken by the efforts to merge Swedish and Norwegian interests and establishments into one denomination in 1976 and the move towards nationalising the FPFK by handing over church leadership to the Kenyans by 1997. The article contests that the zeal and successes of the missionaries and local church workers in sowing the seeds of the gospel were checked by cultural and socio-economic setbacks in Kenya’s colonial context as well as the nationalisation process. The increased presence of Norwegian missionaries in Kenya during the 1960s were largely motivated by, among other factors, the channelling of Norwegian government aid monies to foreign development regions through missionary agencies and the imminent independence of the East African state.

Abstract This article examines the transformation of Pastor Josephat Gwajima of the Glory of Christ Tanzania Church in Dar es Salaam into a Pentecostal Big Man characterized by neopatrimonialism and clientelism. It argues that Pastor Gwajima’s status rests first, on religious mediation and individual as well as collective deliverance, and second, on the long-term creation of a Christian electorate. The paper focuses on Gwajima’s political activism during election campaigns that culminated in the 2020 elections when he became a member of parliament. The article concludes that Gwajima has built his religiopolitical profile on popular discourses of suspicion, witchcraft, and conspiracies, and that his Pentecostal politics expand the field of political power beyond political institutions to include demonic entities. Gwajima spiritually mediates people’s failed efforts to participate in the world of development while acknowledging the national and global inequalities, power asymmetries, and associated moral problems resulting from material and power accumulation.

Abstract In ruling T-1022/01, the Colombian Constitutional Court responded to a claim brought by a member of the United Pentecostal Church of Colombia against the Yanacona Indigenous Council. The claimants alleged the violation of their rights to freedom of conscience, worship, and dissemination of thought based on two facts: (a) the refusal of their petition to carry out a “Spiritual Renewal Day” in the main square of the indigenous reservation of Caquiona, and (b) the interruption of the religious gatherings of the United Pentecostal Church of Colombia, as well as the prohibition of their pastors entering the indigenous reservation territory. The Court found no violation of the rights alleged. The purpose of this comment is to explore the understanding by the Colombian Constitutional Court of the right to cultural identity of indigenous communities, focusing particularly on whether it encompasses the right to be free from religious proselytism.

Resumo: Para uma análise precisa da atual sociedade como um produto humanohistoricamente construído, é necessário considerar a Reforma Protestantecomo um dos seus principais marcos. A experiência religiosa é o que dá origema qualquer fenômeno religioso, que posteriormente é organizado em ritos e doutrinas.Nessa perspectiva, é mister observar que os principais acontecimentosoriundos da Reforma são frutos de uma nova perspectiva da relação entre o fiele o sagrado. Esta é caracterizada, principalmente, pela relação individual entreo fiel e o sagrado, livre das mediações da Igreja Católica Romana. No séculoXX, surgiu no meio protestante o Movimento Pentecostal, que transformou ocenário cristão mundial com sua nova vivência do sagrado, denominada batismono Espírito Santo.Palavras-chave: Experiência religiosa. Protestantismo. Pentecostalismo.Abstract: For a precise analysis of the present society as a human producthistorically constructed, it’s necessary to envisage the Protestant Reformation asone of its principal landmarks. Religious experience gives origin to any religiousphenomenon, which is afterwards organized in rites and doctrines. In this perspective,it’s necessary to observe that the main results from the Reformation arefruits from a new perspective of the relation between the faithful and the sacred.This is characterized mainly by an individual relation, free from the mediations ofthe Roman Catholic Church. In the XX century, aroused in the protestant milieuthe Pentecostal Movement, which transformed the world Christian scenery withits new experience of the sacred, called the baptism in the holy Spirit.Keywords: Religious experience. Protestantism. Pentecostalism.

Photo 3701647 © Jeremy Swinborne | Dreamstime.com INTRODUCTION Among the many unclear issues as interpretations of Employment Division v. Smith arise in the context of vaccination mandates is a simple question: Does any exception to a law at all (whether for a group or an individual) render a law not “generally applicable and religion-neutral” in the eyes of the current Supreme Court? I. Background Prior to Employment Division v. Smith,[i] Sherbert v. Verner[ii] set forth the free exercise test which called for strict scrutiny requiring a compelling state interest and the use of the least restrictive means to achieve the state interest when a law poses a substantial burden to the exercise of religion. Sherbert had a broad holding that prior to Smith applied to laws whether neutral on their face or not, and whether the asserted discrimination was intentional or not. One issue with Sherbert was that judges were not especially adept at judging the sincerity of beliefs and the importance of religious rituals to individuals, making it difficult to determine whether a law imposed a “substantial burden” on the practice of a religion. Employment Division v. Smith holds that laws that are generally applicable and religion-neutral need not be justified by a compelling government interest even if they do have the effect of (unintentionally) burdening a religious practice.[iii] Smith, decided in 1990, altered and narrowed judicial discretion in evaluating neutral laws that may impede the free exercise of religion. Justice Scalia aligned free exercise with other First Amendment rights.[iv] He also alleviated the need for judges to determine the burden on and the sincerity of religious beliefs in instances of neutral laws. “Smith therefore diminished judicial power to grant religious citizens exemptions from their civic obligations...”[v] Yet a carveout was maintained for laws that have a “mechanism for individualized discretion”; strict scrutiny still applies to those. Lukumi[vi] (1993) reaffirmed yet distinguished Smith. In Lukumi, the law in question was adopted to ensure that a religious group would be rendered unable to sacrifice animals. The law had numerous exemptions (clearly people may kill animals for many non-essential reasons like hunting and fishing for sport, etc.) and the lawmakers seemed to have the intent of interfering with animal sacrifice. It was not considered generally applicable on various grounds and the Lukumi Court states, “As we noted in Smith, in circumstances in which individualized exemptions from a general requirement are available, the government "may not refuse to extend that system to cases of 'religious hardship' without compelling reason." Ibid., quoting Bowen v. Roy, 476 U. S., at 708 (opinion of Burger, C. J.).”[vii] In Lukumi, arguably there were so many exceptions, the rule was clearly targeting religious sacrifices. The Court applied strict scrutiny and the law was deemed unconstitutional. II. The Current Supreme Court and Laws Outside of Smith The current and recent cases indicate that some justices on the Supreme Court assert that the caselaw supports religious exemptions to a broad array of laws. Two arguments support this result: either a limited interpretation of “generally applicable and neutral” or a slightly different tactic which argues that any laws with individual exceptions call for strict scrutiny. (One argument is that those which allow exceptions are not generally applicable and neutral, and thus fall outside of Smith and they require strict scrutiny;[viii] the other is that a law can be generally applicable and neutral, but if it has a system for exceptions, then it is subject to strict scrutiny.[ix]) In John Does 1-3 v. Mills, the Supreme Court denied an injunction on October 29, 2021. The case concerns Maine’s vaccine mandate and will be heard on the merits. Gorsuch dissented from the denial of injunctive relief. He applied Smith, Lukumi, and Fulton v. Philadelphia[x] saying that because there is a medical exemption, the law is not “generally applicable”[xi] and strict scrutiny will apply. Thomas and Alito joined Gorsuch. The Gorsuch dissent also implies that the Maine medical exemption may be somewhat bogus saying Maine finds the “mere trepidation over vaccination as sufficient” if it is expressed in medical rather than religious terms.[xii] Justice Barrett, joined by Kavanaugh, concurred in the denial of the injunction, but clarified that her reasoning was a wish to avoid giving a “merits preview” by enjoining the law, based on the applicants’ likelihood of success, noting the case is “the first to address the questions presented.”[xiii] III. Do Medical Exemptions Negate the Possibility of a Neutral and Generally Applicable Law? Are they a de facto “mechanism for individual exemption”? To me, it seems that under the current law, a medical exemption could make the absence of a religious exemption more problematic. The big issue now is whether Barrett and Kavanaugh and any (even all) other justices are likely to find the medical exemption is a “mechanism for individual exemptions” or whether it otherwise more simply makes a law not neutral or generally applicable. In previous recent COVID-19 cases, the argument of emergency authority was prominent. Caselaw regarding emergency use of governmental powers trumped some constitutional arguments and led to disparate COVID-19 caselaw.[xiv] For example, some courts applied Jacobson v. Massachusetts,[xv] giving deference to public health authorities while others applied strict scrutiny.[xvi] At the Supreme Court level, Justices Sotomayor, Kagan, and Breyer have been more willing to analyze COVID-19 regulations according to emergency powers.[xvii] a. In Favor of the Gorsuch Reasoning The Gorsuch dissent will require the state to offer proof of some rationale for why a medical exemption would be more acceptable, less dangerous, etc. than a religious one. Because there is a medical exemption, the causal nexus between the state’s goals and the restrictions will matter. For example, in Fraternal Order of Police v. Newark, a requirement that police be clean shaven was invalidated because there was a medical exception.[xviii] The problem with the rule was that the government interest in uniformity was not violated any more or less whether the person was noncompliant due to medical as opposed to religious reasons. Gorsuch correctly applied similar reasoning arguing that those not in compliance with the Maine vaccine mandate due to religious exemptions posed no more danger than those noncompliant due to medical conditions.[xix] An opposing side might argue that by the numbers, and without a need for a doctor’s signature, more people would apply for and receive religious exemptions, thus harming the ability to reach herd immunity more, or posing more risk of community spread. b. But, on the other hand There are many laws with medical exemptions. It would not seem right that they be subject to strict scrutiny for failing to offer religious outs as well. For example, places without motorized vehicles could allow motorized wheelchairs. Indeed, the ADA may even call for special treatment in many circumstances where religious special treatment would not be granted. Disability law often requires variances, changing zoning to allow ramps, or other accommodations.[xx] It does not appear that every disability accommodation equates to a need to allow a corresponding religious accommodation, nor that strict scrutiny would apply. Zoning cases are common where churches seek exceptions from historical landmark regulations and the results of those cases vary.[xxi] One of the biggest vulnerabilities of the Smith ruling is that arguably all laws have an individualized enforcement aspect. While it may not be an official exemption or a “mechanism for individual exemption”, individuals have the ability to use courts to challenge laws, there are laws that rely on wishy washy terms, like “good cause”, and there are groups whose failure to comply with laws may be traditionally ignored. In each of those scenarios, those seeking religious exemptions may have a stronger case, and eventually may chip away at Smith. c. Would a Different Built-In Exemption Preclude Application of Smith? Application of Smith may depend on whether the exemption is discretionary or built in. For example, if an exemption said anyone may apply for an exemption with good cause, religious ones should be fairly and equally considered. If an exemption reads anyone with an autoimmune disease is exempt, the class of people exempt would be delineated (unlike the Maine language) rather than discretionary as with the open-ended medical exemption language of the Maine statute. In the case of a class-like exemption, the argument that the law is neutral and generally applicable would be stronger. Smith was not really meant to declare that laws with any categories would be vulnerable to free exercise challenges. Similarly, objective criteria in providing exemptions differs. When criteria for exemptions are made clear, the religious argument could be weaker. However, the Gorsuch argument that in the end the religious objector poses no more danger to others than the medical (or other maybe conscientious, financial, or physical) objector may be the winning argument. IV. Side Note: Another Consideration for Neutral Laws In Roman Catholic Diocese of New York, Justice Kavanaugh created a peer group limitation in applying Smith. Kavanaugh found that a law that limited gatherings at religious services was not neutral. The law had various categories of entity.[xxii] An interesting twist is that other entities similar to churches in objective concrete ways (like theaters) were closed altogether, so arguably religion was favored over those, but disfavored compared to essential businesses (like food stores). The orange and red zones in the challenged Cuomo Executive Order did have specific rules for places of worship. Gorsuch referred to Lukumi in his concurrence and went directly to strict scrutiny without sincerely entertaining the concept that the Executive Order was a neutral and generally applicable law. That is in keeping with his dissent in Does 1-3 v. Mills. Yet, it remains possible to argue that laws with objective, defined categories may still be neutral and generally applicable. V. Time to Abandon Jacobson at this Juncture of COVID-19 Jacobson applies in public health emergencies and, while in recent Supreme Court cases, many justices rightly pointed to the emergency as a reason to compromise important rights, the emergency aspect of the pandemic is waning. In many areas, the positive rate is quite low, businesses are returning to normal, and the vaccination rate is high. As such, the abandonment of strict scrutiny in favor of Jacobson’s emergency deference to public health entities, something Gorsuch failed to entertain in South Bay Pentecostal Church v. Newsom[xxiii] anyway, is arguably no longer warranted. Deference to the state and to experts must be limited to emergencies. Justices Kagan, Breyer, and Sotomayor who rightly cautioned against “armchair epidemiology”[xxiv] during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic might return to stricter stances on protecting rights as the emergency dies down or becomes localized, and as increasing methods and treatments arise, like the COVID-19 pill by Merck. The calculus of whether we need strict COVID-19 regulations is dynamic. This is not a static emergency with powers to be left in place unconditionally. CONCLUSION The argument that vaccination is a civic and moral obligation that people should engage in regardless of religious beliefs is stronger in an emergency. Whether deemed to include a “mechanism for individual exemptions” or just declared not neutral or generally applicable, laws offering any exceptions are more vulnerable to free exercise claims. Under the current Supreme Court composition, anticipating that laws may face strict scrutiny is wise—Smith is unlikely to shield seemingly neutral laws in the face of free exercise cases. That is not necessarily a bad outcome in a country that purports to allow religious freedom and can do so safely. Strict scrutiny is merely a protection that would ensure the public that laws are meaningful, achieve compelling purposes, and do so without unnecessarily impeding fundamental rights. Yet one bad outcome of a rule that says if there are medical exemptions so must there be religious ones is that lawmakers will write laws that are more absolute, rigid, and unyielding to legitimate claims. [i] 494 U.S. 872 (1990). https://supreme.justia.com/cases/federal/us/494/872/#tab-opinion-1958253 [ii] 374 U.S. 398 (1963). https://supreme.justia.com/cases/federal/us/374/398/#tab-opinion-1944463 [iii] Smith, at 879 (religion does not excuse people from compliance with neutral laws.) [iv] Kaplan, Carol M., “The Devil is in the Details: Neutral, Generally Applicable Laws and Exemptions from Smith,” New York University Law Review, October 2000. https://www.nyulawreview.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/NYULawReview-75-4-Kaplan.pdf [v] Kaplan, at 1053. [vi] Lukumi Babalu Aye, Inc. v. City of Hialeah 508 U.S. 520 (1993). https://supreme.justia.com/cases/federal/us/508/520/#tab-opinion-1959281 [vii] Lukumi, at 537. [viii] Keeler v. Mayor of Cumberland. 940 F. Supp. 879 (D. Md. 1996) https://law.justia.com/cases/federal/district-courts/FSupp/951/83/1381605/; Kaplan, at 1066. [ix] Kaplan, at 1062, citing Swanson v. Guthrie Indep. Sch. Dist., 135 F. Supp. 694 (10th Cir 1998). [x] Fulton v. Philadelphia, 593 U.S. __ (2021) [xi] Does 1-3 v. Mills, 595 U.S. ____(2021). Gorsuch, dissent, p. 2. https://www.supremecourt.gov/opinions/21pdf/21a90_6j37.pdf [xii] Does 1-3 v. Mills, Gorsuch dissent, p. 3. [xiii] Does 1-3 v. Mills, Barret, concurring. https://www.supremecourt.gov/opinions/21pdf/21a90_6j37.pdf [xiv] Zimmerman, A. “Weeding Out Disingenuous Emergency Orders: A Consistent Ethical Justification to Determine Whether to Apply Jacobson V. Massachusetts’ Deferential Approach or the Tiered Scrutiny That Would Apply Absent an Emergency”. 2021. Voices in Bioethics, vol. 7, May 2021, doi:10.7916/vib.v7i.8037. [xv] 197 US 11 (1905). [xvi] Zimmerman, A. 2021. doi:10.7916/vib.v7i.8037. [xvii] South Bay Pentecostal Church v. Newsom (2021), Kagan, dissenting, joined by Breyer and Sotomayor (Justices are “not scientists”.) [xviii] Kaplan, at 1079, citing Fraternal Order of Police v. City of Newark, 170 F. 3d 359 (3d Cir. 1999). [xix] Does 1-3 v. Mills, Gorsuch dissent, p. 4. [xx] https://www.ada.gov/comprob.htm [xxi] Keeler v. Mayor of Cumberland (provisions deemed individualized exemptions so religious deserve strict scrutiny and consideration); Rector of St. Bartholomew’s Church v. City of New York (2d Cir. 1990)(discretion does not negate Smith if it is not discriminatory so religious does not get strict scrutiny); see Kaplan at 1066. [xxii] Cuomo executive order established zones. https://esd.ny.gov/cluster-action-initiative-faq [xxiii] 592 US __ (2021). https://www.supremecourt.gov/opinions/20pdf/20a136_bq7c.pdf [xxiv] South Bay Pentecostal Church v. Newsom (2021) (dissent).