John Campbell

Africa in Transition

Campbell tracks political and security developments across sub-Saharan Africa.

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Showing posts for "Religion"

Zimbabwe Police Label Nigerian Televangelist a Sorcerer

by John Campbell
HIV/AIDS patient Miss Mary Udoh receives "miraculous healing" from Prophet T.B. Joshua of the synagogue Church For All Nations during a service at Ikotun-Egbe district in Lagos, the commercial nerve centre of Nigeria, in this January 20, 2003 file photo. (George Esiri/Courtesy Reuters) HIV/AIDS patient Miss Mary Udoh receives "miraculous healing" from Prophet T.B. Joshua of the synagogue Church For All Nations during a service at Ikotun-Egbe district in Lagos, the commercial nerve centre of Nigeria, in this January 20, 2003 file photo. (George Esiri/Courtesy Reuters)

Evangelical and Pentecostal Christianity are powerful forces in sub-Saharan politics. So, too, is the belief in prophecy and sorcery.

In Zimbabwe, it is tense times, with uncertainty about President Robert Mugabe’s health, the dates of the next election, and whether constitutional and other reforms will be achieved. Taken together, faith and politics are the context for the Zimbabwean partisan wrangling over a Nigerian Pentecostal preacher. Read more »

Guest Post: West African Religion in the United States

by Guest Blogger for John Campbell
Photo of Victory Temple courtesy Jim Sanders, Alexandria, Virginia, May 8, 2012. Photo of Victory Temple courtesy Jim Sanders, Alexandria, Virginia, May 8, 2012.

This is a guest post by Jim Sanders, a career, now retired, West Africa watcher for various federal agencies. The views expressed below are his personal views and do not reflect those of his former employers. In Jim’s post, he illustrates another example of not only the close relationship between the United States and Nigeria but also how Nigerian religion influences the United States. Read more »

The Anglican Church and Homosexuality in Africa

by John Campbell
Britain's Archbishops of York and Canterbury, John Sentamu (L) and Rowan Williams (2nd L), march through central London, to commemorate the Bicentenery of the Act for the Abolition of the Slave Trade, March 24, 2007. (Toby Melville/Courtesy Reuters) Britain's Archbishops of York and Canterbury, John Sentamu (L) and Rowan Williams (2nd L), march through central London, to commemorate the Bicentenery of the Act for the Abolition of the Slave Trade, March 24, 2007. (Toby Melville/Courtesy Reuters)

Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams’ departure at the end of the year as leader of the Church of England and Anglican churches around the world brings to mind the growing importance of Africans in the Anglican Communion and the other “mainstream” churches, particularly as African Anglicans are exploding in numbers. Read more »

A Moral Approach to State Failure

by John Campbell

Father Stan Chu Ilo at St Michael’s College, University of Toronto, has written a perceptive review of Dancing on the Brink that appeared in Nigeriaworld last Friday. Following a detailed and accurate analysis of the book’s argument — with which he does not always agree — he suggests adding a moral and religious dimension to state failure, which he agrees is underway in Nigeria. His lens goes beyond my essentially political approach and contributes a deeper element to the conversation that is worth considering.

Key Issues in Nigeria

by John Campbell

Some short background videos on key issues in Nigeria:

Christian-Muslim Relations in Nigeria

CFR Senior Fellow for Africa Policy Studies John Campbell discusses the relations between Muslims and Christians in Nigeria. Campbell emphasizes that where religious divisions correspond to ethnic and economic differences, conflict often acquire a religious coloration. Read more »

Electoral and Religious Conflict in Africa

by John Campbell

As we watch the events unfold in Africa, keep a careful eye on the shifting national and religious identities — and the rhetoric that masks and reveals them — in Sudan and Nigeria alike. Weak states are dangerous places for citizens, not least because peaceful transitions there are all-too-frequently elusive. Read more »

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