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van Klinken, Adriaan (2012) 'Men in the Remaking: Conversion Narratives and Born-Again Masculinity in Zambia.' Journal of Religion in Africa, 42 (3). pp. 215-239.

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Abstract

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.

Item Type: Journal Article
Keywords: men, masculinities, conversion, Pentecostalism, born-again Christianity, Zambia, HIV/AIDS
SOAS Departments & Centres: Legacy Departments > Faculty of Arts and Humanities > Department of the Study of Religions
Legacy Departments > Centre for Gender and Religions Research
ISSN: 00224200
DOI (Digital Object Identifier): https://doi.org/10.1163/15700666-12341229
Date Deposited: 03 Oct 2012 14:43
URI: https://eprints.soas.ac.uk/id/eprint/14273

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