Dena Freeman

The Pentecostal ethic and the spirit of development

The practice and discipline of development was founded on the belief that religion was not important to development processes.1 As societies developed and modernised, it was assumed that they would also undergo a process of secularisation. The irrelevance of religion for development is a cornerstone of ‘modernisation theory’, with its narrow focus on economic growth, which dominated development theory and practice from the 1950s to the 1980s (Deneulin & Rakodi 2011: 46). From the 1980s onwards there has been a broadening of scope within development studies, with the expansion of work on the multi-dimensional nature of poverty (e.g. Kakwani & Silber 2007) and the theoretical reorientation of development’s aims from economic growth to more holistic concerns for human wellbeing and environmental sustainability — first through the livelihoods approach in the 1980s (e.g. Chambers & Conway 1991, Scoones 1998), and then in Amatya Sen’s human development approach in the 1990s (Alkire 2005, Sen 1999), and more recently with interest in development and wellbeing (Gough & McGregor 2007). During the progression through these different approaches there has been increasing appreciation for the importance of non-material matters — such as beliefs, values and morality — in the development process (e.g. Goulet 1997).

From Warrior to Wife: Cultural Transformation in the Gamo Highlands of Ethiopia

This article focuses on cultural transformation in the Gamo Highlands of Ethiopia and seeks to explain the way in which certain initiation rituals have transformed over time. The article begins by considering two structural variants of the initiation ritual that exist in two neighbouring communities, Doko Gembela and Doko Masho, and argues that one is an historical transformation of the other. After comparing the contemporary form of these two variants, the article then moves to consider the macro-level forces of change that have impinged on the two communities over the past two hundred years or so. It then seeks to bring ethnography and history together by considering how the macro-level changes might have been experienced in the interpersonal relations of individuals. It explores the new types of situations that would have arisen and discusses how these new situations would have put strains on particular interpersonal relations, leading in many cases to conflict and dispute. After describing the local methods of conflict resolution, it is shown that on some occasions solutions are found which involve communal decisions to make a small change in cultural practice. In some cases these small changes have a knock-on effect leading to overall structural change. The article ends with a hypothetical reconstruction of the way in which the Doko Masho initiation rituals might have transformed.

Development and the Rural Entrepreneur: Pentecostals, NGOs and the Market in the Gamo Highlands, Ethiopia

Since the late 1980s structural adjustment programmes and neoliberal economic policies have been implemented across Africa, largely at the behest of the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund (IMF). These policies include financial liberalisation, export-oriented industrial policy, the promotion of private sector development and a major cutting back in state spending (Bond & Dor 2003: 1). The neoliberal project in Ethiopia began in 1992, after the fall of the Marxist government of the Derg (1974–1991) and with the new government of the Ethiopian Peoples Revolutionary Democratic Front (EPRDF) privatising the economy, devaluing the currency and abolishing state monopolies and price controls (Demissie 2008). With major cuts in state spending, particularly in social welfare, there has been a huge growth in third sector organisations which have expanded to fill this gap. Most of these organisations fall into one of two groups: secular development non-governmental organisations (NGOs) and Pentecostal churches.1

De-democratisation and rising inequality: the underlying cause of a worrying trend

This article is concerned with the question of why economic inequality has increased so dramatically in recent decades and what can be done about it. It suggests that the fundamental cause of the recent rise in economic inequality, underlying all the more proximate factors, is a major process of de-democratisation that has taken place since the 1970s, which has increased the political representation of capital while reducing that of labour. The article pulls together a wide range of research from different disciplines in order to decisively show the ways in which economic governance has been de-democratised in this period. This analysis has important consequences with regard to policy attempts to reduce inequality and suggests that these must focus not on technical issues but on ways to strengthen democracy. And if the dynamics of de-democratisation are fundamentally global, then solutions must also be global. These conclusions are in stark contrast with current academic and policy approaches which tend to focus on technical, rather than political, solutions, and which focus overwhelmingly at the national, rather than the global, level. This article thus calls for a major rethinking of the causes of rising inequality and the policy changes needed to reduce it.

Pentecostalism in a rural context: dynamics of religion and development in Southwest Ethiopia

Pentecostal Christianity originated as an urban movement in America, and as it spread to Africa it was initially taken up most enthusiastically in towns and capital cities. In Ethiopia the Pentecostal movement largely started in towns, but is increasingly being taken up by rural communities. This paper will explore why rural Ethiopian communities are attracted to Pentecostalism, and how it impacts on their social, cultural and economic practices. In particular, I consider the developmental consequences of Pentecostalism, and how Pentecostal beliefs and practices encourage or block processes of change that are generally termed “development”. As part of this I will explore the theory of development – of what constitutes “good change” – that is implicit in Pentecostal philosophy and that is generally known as “transformational development”. I will show how this notion of change is significantly different to notions of change prevalent in the secular development world in that they emphasize transformations of subjectivity and social relations first, then leading to economic transformation, rather than focusing solely on the economic, as is apparent in the work of many secular development NGOs.

Cultural Variation in Southern Ethiopia: An Introduction

There are many similarities and patterns of variation between the cultures of southern Ethiopia, and yet traditional forms of fieldwork and ethnography tend to restrict researchers to one particular people, society, or village. Differences in language can further hinder the curious researcher from exploring other cultures in the area, and differences in ethnographic style and focus can make it difficult to carry out detailed comparative research from the literature. The end result is that researchers tend to stay focused on one particular locale, and there is little exploration of regional linkages and interconnections. Thus we felt it was important to get people together to “talk across cultures.” Moreover, we believed that viewing cultural phenomena through a wider lens would allow for more insight into any one society. Phenomena such as “divine kings,” rain chiefs, and initiations are found throughout the whole of southern Ethiopia, among agriculturalists and pastoralists, highlanders and lowlanders, Omotic-speakers and Cushitic-speakers. It seemed to us that the structure, function, and meaning of these institutions in any one society would be better understood when seen as one version of a regional set. Looking at their workings in other societies would suggest new connections and open up new lines of thought. This much would be true of any area, but we felt that southern Ethiopia was a particularly appropriate area to look at for cultural

From ‘Christians doing development’ to ‘doing Christian development’: the changing role of religion in the international work of Tearfund

ABSTRACT This article seeks to bring more nuance to recent discussions about the role of faith in religious development NGOs. It takes an in-depth look at Tearfund, a leading Evangelical development NGO, and explores the ways in which faith shapes its conceptualisation of development, its programme design, and its implementation strategy. The article traces the process through which Tearfund actively sought to bring faith into the centre of its development work, and argues that grappling with faith in this way can lead religious development NGOs to innovate new approaches to development that are at least somewhat outside of mainstream development thinking.