The Paradoxes of Pentecostalism in Sub-Saharan Africa Note de l'Ifri, April 2008

Summary: The rise of evangelic churches in Sub-Saharan Africa is often perceived as the result of support from rich American churches and the reaction to the growth of Islam. Cédric Mayrargue, studying in particular the Pentcostal movement, recontextualizes the dynamism of these churches in recent African religious history. He shows on the first hand the complex and moderate relations between Pentecostal discourse and practices and secondly how quickly the movement is gaining momentum in societies South of the Sahara (urbanization, changes in the political field, individual practices).

Cédric Mayrargue, researcher at the Centre d'Etude d'Afrique Noire (CEAN) located in Bordeaux.