The increasing prominence of born-again Christian politicians in several African countries has sparked discussions about the 'Pentecostalization' of African politics and its impact on secular governance and inter-religious harmony. However, the premise that Pentecostalism is ushering in a new era of African politics warrants closer examination. To what extent are these changes driven by religious factors versus other political dynamics? Are they to be read as signs of foreign cultural influences or beholden to local epistemologies? And to what extent are these anxieties yet another instance of the spectacularisation of African politics in the postcolony?
The case of Ethiopia offers a fresh perspective on these questions. When the Pentecostal Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed assumed power in this predominantly Orthodox Christian and Muslim nation, observers were surprised by his use of religious rhetoric alongside his radical restructuring of Ethiopian politics, which ultimately led to civil war and instability. His invocations of divine blessings marked a departure from his predecessors' secularism and seemed to reveal Pentecostal leanings in his politics: from transforming his governing coalition into the Prosperity Party to proclaiming miraculous interventions in the Tigray War.
However, as this paper will demonstrate, portraying Abiy as a figure of prosperity Pentecostalism or the evangelical right is an overly narrow and ultimately misinformed interpretation of his tumultuous reign. Instead, his mode of religious governance echoes an older tradition of governance in Ethiopia, whose revival made political sense from both ethnic and religious perspectives. Moreover, Abiy's political alliances have transcended religious boundaries while being fractured by ethnic divisions, clearly showing the limits of a Pentecostal constituency. Ethiopia thus presents a useful case study to question overgeneralized notions of Pentecostal politics in the post and prompt better analysis rooted in local historiography.
The increasing prominence of born-again Christian politicians in several African countries has sparked discussions about the 'Pentecostalization' of African politics and its impact on secular governance and inter-religious harmony. The case of Ethiopia offers a fresh perspective on these questions. When the Pentecostal Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed assumed power in this predominantly Orthodox Christian and Muslim nation, observers were surprised by his use of religious rhetoric alongside his radical restructuring of Ethiopian politics, which ultimately led to civil war and instability. Ethiopia presents a useful case study to question overgeneralized notions of a postcolonial Pentecostal politics in the post and prompts better analysis rooted in local historiography.