A Rhetoric of China’s Exploitation of Religion in West Africa

Bibliographic Data

ID22192203
AuthorsWincharles Coker (0000-0001-7350-5040, University of Cape Coast), De-Valera N Y M Botchway (0000-0003-4086-7330)
Year2023
Volume3
Issue2
Pages19-32
Publication date2023-12-19
Open AccessNo
TypeARTICLE
VenueKENTE - Cape Coast Journal of Literature and the Arts (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 2579-0285 • E-ISSN: 2579-0285
PublisherUniversity of Cape Coast (PUBLISHER)
DOI10.47963/jla.v3i2.1263
OpenAlexW4389980311
LanguageEN
References cited10

This paper attempts to deconstruct Chinese business agents’ exploitation of religion as an economic resource in West Africa. Focusing on three cases from Ghana sampled on YouTube, the paper argues that China’s religion project in Africa involves three rhetorical strategies. These are reverse proselytization, repackaging of African/Ghanaian Christian gospel songs, and enstoolment of Chinese as African chiefs. The analysis reveals that Chinese foreign workers employ this capitalist model based on the working hypothesis that the average African of the postcolonial/neocolonial epoch is economically vulnerable and yet passionately religious, and, thus, would look to religion for solutions. Implications of the findings are reported in the paper

China · Gospel · Political science · Rhetoric · Rhetorical question · Sociology · Theology · Anthropological Studies and Insights · Global Maritime and Colonial Histories · History · Law · Philosophy · Religion, Society, and Development

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