The Mercurial Characteristics in Kenya’s Afro-Pentecostalism: Exploring some critical Pointers

Abstract

In 21st century Africa, the Pentecostalism movement has demonstrated its unique characteristics in contrast to Euro-American Pentecostalism or any other form of Pentecostalism that has been witnessed on the global scene. In this article, I refer to it as Afro-Pentecostalism without any intended bias to those who may not prefer Afro as its prefix, as I consider its uniqueness as deserving of a unique recognition. In its hypothetical setting, the article resists placing Afro-Pentecostalism in either of the three traditional so-called historical categorisations of Pentecostalism (Neo-Pentecostal independent groups with prophets and apostles as their leaders; the classical Pentecostal movement that grew out of the 19th century Holiness Movement in the United States, and puts more emphasis on the baptism of the Holy Spirit; and the charismatic movements that have been in existence since the 1960s)—despite their huge differences. As a historical treatise, this article seeks to demonstrate that Afro-Pentecostalism, largely a blending of the three categorisations and indeed the fourth categorisation, is not necessarily keen on the three categorisations and strongly builds more on the commonalities rather than on its divergences. Appealing to the African ethos of wholeness stands out as the common denominator to which this article has given more attention. The mercurial characteristics among the various strands of Afro-Pentecostalism are certainly key concerns in this presentation. The methodology in this article includes interviews with selected people who are connected to this topic, participant observation, and an extensive review of relevant literature.