Belonging and friction – how tradition is negotiated within two Pentecostal congregations in post-colonial Windhoek, Namibia

Abstract

Religion has the potential to preserve collective memory and can therefore establish belonging. In colonial and imperial settings, religion was often used as a legitimation of inequalities and therefore as tool of oppression. At the same time, religion, and especially Pentecostal belief systems, can be employed as politicized and de-colonizing efforts in struggles of liberation and empowerment. In Windhoek, a distinction is drawn between the so called “traditional” mainline churches, which are pre-dominantly Protestant and the Pentecostal ones. Main markers of distinctions are worship practices. It can lead to a sense of belonging, but on the other hand to frictions with members of mainline congregations. Within this discourse the meaning of “tradition” is negotiated by members of Pentecostal congregations. In this paper, the different meanings, and consequences of the use of the word “tradition” in the context of pentecostal believe systems in Windhoek will be shown.