This study examines the role of Christianity in Liberia under the corrupt regime of Samuel K. Doe (1980-1990). Paul Gifford shows that, in general, Liberian Christianity--far from being a force for justice and human advancement--diverted attention from the cause of Liberia's ills, left change to God's miraculous intervention, encouraged obedience and acceptance of the status quo, and thus served to entrench Doe's power. This Christianity, devised in and controlled from the United States, thus furthered regional American economic and political objectives, which were designed to support Doe's rule.

The Mask of Anarchy traces the history of the civil war that has blighted Liberia in recent years and looks at its roots in the way governments have been established in West Africa during the 20th century.

A Publishers Weekly Best Religion Book of the Year A Choice Outstanding Academic Title For many Americans, being Christian is central to their political outlook. Political Christianity is most often associated with the Religious Right, but the Christian faith has actually been a source of deep disagreement about what American society and government should look like. While some identify Christianity with Western civilization and unfettered individualism, others have maintained that Christian principles call for racial equality, international cooperation, and social justice. At once incisive and timely, Christian delves into the intersection of faith and political identity and offers an essential reconsideration of what it means to be Christian in America today. “Bowman is fast establishing a reputation as a significant commentator on the culture and politics of the United States.” —Church Times “Bowman looks to tease out how religious groups in American history have defined, used, and even wielded the word Christian as a means of understanding themselves and pressing for their own idiosyncratic visions of genuine faith and healthy democracy.” —Christian Century “A fascinating examination of the twists and turns in American Christianity, showing that the current state of political/religious alignment was not necessarily inevitable, nor even probable.” —Deseret News

Contextualization of Christianity in Africa: A Case Study of the Kpelle Tribe of Liberia by Rev. Dr. John Kallon is a meaningful book of Bible science that reveals how Liberian Christians learned to contextualize their faith as Christians within their African culture. Written with the wisdom and experience of members of St. John's United Methodist Church in Gbarnga, Liberia, this Bible study of the Book of Exodus focuses on issues of contextualization. The group identified issues common to Heb¬rew and Kpelle cultures and considers tribal elements such as proverbs and expressions to create a unique experience with a universal message of healthy Christian faith.

Issues of same-sex relationships and gay and lesbian rights are the subject of public and political controversy in many African societies today. Frequently, these controversies receive widespread attention both locally and globally, such as with the Anti-Homosexuality Bill in Uganda. In the international media, these cases tend to be presented as revealing a deeply-rooted homophobia in Africa fuelled by religious and cultural traditions. But so far little energy is expended in understanding these controversies in all their complexity and the critical role religion plays in them. This is the first book with multidisciplinary perspectives on religion and homosexuality in Africa. It presents case studies from across the continent, from Egypt to Zimbabwe and from Senegal to Kenya, and covers religious traditions such as Islam, Christianity and Rastafarianism. The contributors explore the role of religion in the politicisation of homosexuality, investigate local and global mobilisations of power, critically examine dominant religious discourses, and highlight the emergence of counter-discourses. Hence they reveal the crucial yet ambivalent public role of religion in matters of sexuality, social justice and human rights in contemporary Africa.

The received account on African evangelical Christianity regarding social witness in a section of Western scholarship is that it is anti-development and a-political. Such an account heavily draws from an instrumentalist and functionalist assessment of such Christianity without recourse to its emic perspective. Using the case-study method, this book presents an ethnographic examination of this functionalist reading by investigating, describing and analysing evangelical Christian theological and socio-political consciousness within the context of oil and conflict in Nigeria’s Niger Delta region. Adopting approaches from practical theology, congregational studies, and anthropology of religion, the author challenges such a reading using data gathered from three congregations in the region. His discourse revolves around answers to the following four critical questions: • What are the underlying theological issues and beliefs of Nigerian evangelical Christians within the context of oil and conflict? • What is their prevalent praxis within the context of Nigeria’s political economy of oil and conflict? •How accurate is the received account that African evangelical and ‘fundamentalist’ Christianity lacks social responsibility and is a-political and anti-development? • What would a contextual political theology for Nigeria’s political economy of oil look like? The theological issues are varied and the prevalent praxis nuanced, which then serves as a veritable critique of the claim that African evangelical Christianity lacks social responsibility due to its preoccupation with soul-winning. Whereas such Christianity places much emphasis on the winning of souls as an expression of its spirituality, it is neither oblivious nor indifferent to its socio-political milieu. Rather it sees such spirituality as a form of political praxis. Some of the trajectories of the spirituality include a theology of conversion, a theology of prayer, and an ethics of crude oil, with Total Freedom as the nomenclature for the specific theological perspective offered for Nigeria’s political economy of oil. While locating this theological perspective within the taxonomy of Liberation Theology, the affinity and dissonance between the two are identified.

Should the state be secular or religious. Here the author seeks to determine the extent of the role of religion in political life.

Liberian Politics tells the fascinating story of Liberia's early nation-building efforts, its attempts to establish democracy, and the pivotal role played by African Americans in exporting the American democratic experiment to Liberia. The story of the rise of Africa's oldest democracy is told through the writings of J. Milton Turner, an African American diplomat who served in Liberia from 1871 to 1878. Turner's official diplomatic correspondence--superbly organized and edited by Walton, Rosser, and Stevenson--document Liberia's struggle to define its political institutions and processes. They chart Liberia's struggle to establish its relationship with the wider world and offer an intimate portrait of Turner's role as the agent of U.S. foreign policy in Liberia. A comparative study in the best tradition of Tocqueville and Myrdal, this pathbreaking work reveals the global dimensions of nineteenth-century African American politics and offers rich insight into the direction of early U.S. diplomacy in Africa.

This powerful book argues persistently that the historical settlement of liberated Americans of African descent had a destabilizing impact on the geography, politics, social and economic structure, environment, and culture of Liberia. The author also draws attention to the environmental consciousness of indigenous Liberians and delves into the historical roots of the principle health problems and industrial activities threatening Liberia's environment. Contents: Glossary; Liberia Historical Roots; Geographical Description of Liberia; The Arrival of New Settlers; Historical Review; Environmental Devastation; Introduction; Principle Health Problems Which Have Historical Roots; Building of Monrovia: A Case Study; Impact of Foreign Capital on National Decision; Deforestation and Ecological Impact; The Impact of Iron Ore on Aquatic Biomass; Proposal of a New Environmental Policy in Liberia, Summary and Recommendations; Endnotes; Bibliography.

This volume provides a systematic and cross-regional analysis of radicalisation, militancy and violence in West Africa. Concern about terrorism in, or from, West Africa, has been recognised in academic research, and the adoption of militarised approaches to addressing it questioned. However, the basis for that questioning – the need to investigate factors such as the historical and socio-economic roots of militancy – is not developed, nor is it substantiated in existing studies. The significant impact of religiously motivated radicalisation and violence in West Africa upon international security makes it essential to understand the issues of militancy and violence in the region. In this volume, the authors draw upon empirical research in West Africa to develop understanding in these areas. Over the course of several chapters written by leading experts in the field, the book successfully blends historical and conceptual analysis with new empirical research gathered from focus group discussions and research interviews. Each of these core studies is structured around five interrelated issues: tracing the antecedents of radicalisation; monitoring trends; identifying actors; anticipating possibilities; and analysing the strength of existing preventive mechanisms. This book will be of much interest to students of African security, African politics, radicalisation, political Islam, war and conflict studies and security studies in general.