Men in the Remaking

Conversion Narratives and Born-Again Masculinity in Zambia

Bibliographic Data

ID4908355
AuthorsAdriaan Van Klinken (0000-0003-2011-5537, SOAS University of London, corresponding author), Adriaan S Van Klinken (SOAS, University of LondonThornhaugh Street—Russell Square, London WC1H 0XG, United Kingdom)
Year2012
Volume42
Issue3
Pages215-239
Publication date2012-01-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessNo
TypeARTICLE
VenueJournal of Religion in Africa (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0022-4200 • E-ISSN: 1570-0666
PublisherWalter de Gruyter GmbH (PUBLISHER • DE)
DOI10.1163/15700666-12341229
OpenAlexW2156068026
LanguageEN
Citations received39
References cited41

The born-again discourse is a central characteristic of Pentecostal Christianity in Africa. In the study of African Christianities, this discourse and the way it (re)shapes people's moral, religious, and social identities has received much attention. However, hardly any attention has been paid to its effects on men as gendered beings. In the study of men and masculinities in Africa, on the other hand, neither religion in general nor born-again Christianity in particular are taken into account as relevant factors in the construction of masculinities. On the basis of a detailed analysis of interviews with men who are members of a Pentecostal church in Lusaka, Zambia, this article investigates how men's gender identities are reshaped by becoming and being born-again and how born-again conversion produces new forms of masculinity. The observed Pentecostal transformation of masculinity is interpreted in relation to men's social vulnerability, particularly in the context of the HIV epidemic in Zambia

Christianity · Context (archaeology · Gender relations · Masculinity · Narrative · Sociology · African cultural and philosophical studies · Gender Studies · History · Philosophy · Poverty, Education, and Child Welfare · Religion, Society, and Development · Religious studies

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