A% focus% on% modernity% is% arguably% one% of% the% de?ining% attractions% of% the% doctrine% in% developing%contexts,%which%currently%forms%the%biggest%market%for%conversion%(Robbins% 2004).% Corten% and% MarshallCFratani% (2001)% explore% this%in% relation% to% Pentecostalism% offering% an% ‘alternative% route% to%modernisation’,% relating% to%the% ‘failed% promises% of% the% nationCstate’% (2001:% 3).% As% noted% above,% spiritual% salvation% is% ‘this% worldly’,% and% thus% members%of%the%church%believe%they%can%access%increased%material%wealth,%professional% success%or%better%health%through%prayer%and%commitment%to%the%church.%This%is%a%central% draw%for%new%converts%and%the%Pentecostal%churches%in%Freetown%take%advantage%of%this% by% encouraging% large% public% events% called% ‘crusades’.% Crusades% are% touring% missions% which% are%coordinated%by%both%local%and%foreign%Pentecostal%organisations.% They%often% take% place% in% public% spaces% such% as% playing% ?ields% or% sports% stadiums,% with% specially% erected%stages%and%enormous%sound% systems.%These% events%can%run% through%the% night,% sometimes% lasting% over% 24% hours.% Rather% than% delivering% a% traditional% sermon,% they% include% prayer%sessions%and% the% performance% of% particular%‘miracles’% often% relating% to% physical%healing%or%the%driving%out%of%demons%that%are%‘blocking’%the%upward%mobility%of% the%congregation.
During%?ieldwork%I%lived%for%a%month%in%an%area%called%Grass?ields%in%Lumley.%The%‘?ield’%is% not% particularly%‘grassy’,% but% is% rather%a% large% dusty% area% used% regularly%by% the% local% community%as%a% football%pitch% or%a% place%for%children%to%play.%It%is%also%the% location% of% frequent%crusades.%During%the%sessions%the%preachers’%voice%would%reverberate%through% huge% speakers% ensuring% that%the% Pentecostal%message% was% heard% by% every% household% within% a% mile% radius.% It% would% rise% in% volume% and% pace,% inciting% numerous% climactic%
points%throughout%the% night.% On% one% memorable% occasion% the% preacher%fuelled%an% enC mass%call%for%luxury%4Cwheel%drive%vehicles,%as%he%stamped%his%feet%and%boomed%into%his% microphone% ‘Jesus%buy%me%a%fourCbyCfour!%Give%us%prosperity!%Buy%me%a% fourCbyCfour!%It% is% done!% He% has% come!% You% will% see% it,% you% will% have% a% car!’.% Miriam% described% these% events%as%‘giving%glory%to%God’,%but%also%noted%that%they%‘encouraged%souls’,%commenting% that%people% who% were% not%Born% Again%Christians% were% drawn% to% them.% One% was%hardC pushed% to%ignore% the%promises%of% prosperity%delivered%at%such%intensity%of% noise,% with% numerous%participants%all%committed%to%energetic%prayer%from%dusk%till%dawn.%
In%this%sense,%the%church%offers%an%alternative%form%of%‘development’%to%the%State%and%its% development%partners.% Members%believe%fervently%in% its%ability%to%cure% illness,% provide% the%conditions%for%personal%success%and%the%associated%perks%which%many%associate%with% modernity%including% a% ?lashy%car,% a% big% house,% a% laptop%computer%and% a% smartCphone.% Returning% to%an% earlier%discussion,%the% Church% arguably% plays% a% role% in% Sierra% Leone’s% postCwar%recovery.%Unlike%the% Government,%the% United%Nations%Mission% in%Sierra%Leone% or% the% TRC,% however,% it% does% so% through% ?ighting% off% dangerous% demonic% forces% and% praying%for%prosperity,%rather,%for%example,%than%rebuilding%an%electricity%infrastructure,% putting%war%criminals%on%trail%or%providing%‘Peace%Education’%in%schools.%Key%here%is%also% the%recent%academic%focus%on%the%potential%for%‘heritage’%to%play%a%role%in%‘healing’%(cf.%de% Jong%and%Rowlands%2008).%A%key%component%of%the%RCH%project%was%to%explore%whether% dispersed%Sierra%Leonean%museum%collections%could%play%a%role%in%postCwar%civil%society% strengthening,% likewise% in% Chapter% 4% I%argued% that% ‘building% national% conciseness’% in% Sierra% Leone% is%a% project%which% needs%to% be% more% deeply% engaged% with% heritage% than% dressing% in% the% national% colours% allows.% The% Pentecostal% Church,% however,% seems% to% abandon% ‘heritage’% and% the% Sierra% Leonean% past,% seeking% its% moment% of% recovery% in% modernity%and%promises%for%the%future.%
Evidence% for% the% Church’s% success% is% seen% in% the% everyday.% Congregation% members% display%their%own%moral%rigour%through%the%public%consumption% of%wealth%(Corten%and% MarshallCFratani%2001:%9),%attending%church%services%in%their%?inest%and%most%expensive% cloths,%donating%large%sums%of%money,%and%arriving%in%shiny%new%cars%or%chartered%taxi’s%
depending%on%their%means.%Ironically,%much%of%the%wealth%of%this%new%urban%middle%class% is% likely% to% come% from% jobs% in% internationally% funded% NGO’s% or% development% programmes,% still% one% of% the% highest% employers% in%Sierra% Leone.% However,% here% this%is% converted%into%an%even%more%powerful%sign%of%success,%demonstrating%that%‘God%is%on%my% side’%(a%hymn%sung%at%the%Christian%Life%Era%Church%service).%
Wether%or%not% being% Born%Again% really%does% result% in% greater%personal%prosperity,% the% grandeur%and% scale% of% its% church% buildings% exude% immense% wealth% and% power.% These% buildings%compete%with%many%of%the%new%internationally%funded%Government%ministries% in% size.% Freetown’s% Pentecostal% churches%distribute% ?lyers,% posters,% and% banners% on% a% scale% that% far% exceeds% more% subtle% attempts% to% in?luence% deeper%change% through% the% curriculum,% or% the% ‘attitudinal% change’% campaign% led% by% the% most% recent% Poverty% Reduction%Strategy%(PRSP%II,%Government%of%Sierra%Leone%2008).%Preachers%are%?lown%in% from%London,%Accra,%Lagos%and%Los%Angeles%and%address%the% congregation%in%expensive% suits,% gold%chains,%shiny%shoes%and%open%arms.%When% compared%to%many%of% the%scruffy% brigade%of%International%NGO%workers,%Ph.D%students%and%aid%researchers,%these%visiting% foreigners%impress%on%a%whole%different%level.%