Contemporary Christians in Benin Challenged by Competitors

New Christianities in Africa
Religious Expansion and Integrity
By Cédric Mayrargue
English

Over the past twenty years in Benin, Christian Evangelical and Pentecostal movements, while still in the minority, have grown stronger and more visible. This article takes the angle of religious pluralization to view and understand the dynamics of their expansion. The concept of religious pluralization captures a dual process that affects clergymen and the faithful, one that fragments and shatters denominations while renewing conversations and interactions. The author’s reading emphasizes how these Christian movements cause religious fragmentation by separating promise from practice. The article also shows that these movements create new interactions between the clergy and other, competing religious leaders, leading to newly shared territories and heretofore unseen forms of religious comingling.

Keywords

  • Benin
  • Christians
  • Evangelism
  • Pentecostalism
  • religious pluralization
  • religious competition
Go to the article on Cairn-int.info