Book review: revisionism and diversification in new religious movements edited by Eileen Barker

What links The Church of Scientology, the Family International, and the Québécois group La Mission de l’Esprit-Saint? All are New Religious Movements which have undergone significant changes over the last few decades. Afe Adogame finds that this book is a must-read for scholars of NRMs, historians of religion, social scientists, and policy makers

Building Bridges and Barricades

The Celestial Church of Christ (CCC) has been identified as a distinct brand of Christianity which has much affinity with the Yoruba cultural matrix. CCC on the other hand maintains its self-image as a Christian Church sui generis and vehemently refuses any connecting nexus with traditional religious thought and praxis. In our view, CCC cosmology is a synthesis of biblical belief, christian liturgical tradition and elements from Yoruba cultural milieux. This paper is concerned with situating Celestial Christianity holistically within the wider Yoruba religio-cultural context. It will examine whether and to what extent the Yoruba understanding of the cosmos has shaped CCC's worldview in their construction of ritual space. It also investigates their attitudes towards supernatural forces, and probes into how the members manipulate these forces in their church life and worship for individual and collective benefits

Editor’s Note

Jan G. Platvoet’s encounter with Africa, first as a missionary and later as a scholar, has earned him a significant place in the academic study of religion on the continent and beyond. As a historian of religion, he has made remarkable contributions to the academic study of indigenous religions in Africa and thus contributed in launching African religion into the global academy. His works in the areas of historiography, theory and methodology in the study of African religions and religions in Africa have immensely contributed to knowledge in the field. His notable roles in the African Association for the Study of Religions (AASR), as one of its pioneers but also one of the most proactive actors, and in the International Association for the History of Religions (IAHR) are not only outstanding, they have earned him a conspicuous place as one who has contributed to putting the academic study of religions in Africa on the global academic map. This Special Issue comprising nine contributions is the first set of essays written to honour him for his impact and mentorship in this area of scholarship. Similarly, the variety of essays in this volume demonstrate his broader engagement in the field as well as the growing interest of contemporary scholars of religion

Advantageous comparison: using twitter responses to understand similarities between cybercriminals (“Yahoo boys”) and politicians (“Yahoo men”)

This article is about the manifestations of similarities between two seemingly distinct groups: cybercriminals and politicians. Which linguistic strategies do Twitter users use to express their opinions on cybercriminals and politicians? The study undertakes a qualitative analysis of ‘engaged’ tweets of a Nigerian law enforcement agency. We analyzed and coded over 100,000 ‘engaged’ tweets based on a component of mechanisms of moral disengagement (i.e., advantageous comparison), a linguistic device. The results reveal how respondents defend the actions of online fraudsters (“the powerless group”) by strategically comparing them to the wrongful acts of corrupt politicians (“the powerful group”). Similarly, the results show how respondents positioned this linguistic strategy to compare “the powerless group” (online fraudsters) and “the powerful group” (politicians) in society. Indeed, tweet responses suggest that the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) generally looks downwards for culprits (i.e., online fraudsters) while ignoring fraudulent politicians. We conclude that the process by which some actions are interpreted as a crime compared to others is a moral enterprise

O Brasil na nova cartografia global da religião

Este artigo analisa as mudanças sociais, econômicas, culturais e religiosas que fizeram do Brasil um polo importante de produção do sagrado numa emergente cartografia global. Esta cartografia é policêntrica e entrecortada por uma miríade de redes transnacionais e multi-direcionais que facilitam o rápido movimento de pessoas, ideias, imagens, capitais e mercadorias. Entre os vetores que vamos examinar estão: imigrantes brasileiros que na tentativa de dar sentido ao processo deslocamento e de manter ligações transnacionais com o Brasil levam suas crenças, práticas, identidades religiosas para o estrangeiro, missionários e outros "entrepreneurs" religiosos, o turismo espiritual de estrangeiros que vão ao Brasil em busca de cura ou desenvolvimento espiritual, e as indústrias culturais, a mídia e a Internet que disseminam globalmente imagens do Brasil como uma terra exótica onde o sagrado faz parte intrínseca de sua cultura e natureza