‘Break Down These Walls’: Space, Relations, and Hierarchy in F ijian Evangelical C hristianity

Abstract

Abstract Patterns of sociality inFijian evangelicalChristianity differ from the mainlineFijianMethodist church in being notably less integrated with relations ofvanuaand chiefly hierarchy, leading scholars to speculate as to whether such traditions are more individualised. Analysing teachings, hymns, worship styles and spatial arrangements within a prominentFijianPentecostal ministry, I explore how sociality is produced through the interaction of spatial, conceptual, and embodied processes. Competing dynamics of hierarchy and equality, connections and boundaries, are mobilised within an overall framework that emphasises individual moral authority and personal relationship withGod. Through this analysis, in conversation with previous studies, this paper argues for a critical examination of schemes of ‘egalitarian individualism’ and ‘hierarchical holism’, which, through the influence ofLouisDumont in particular, have been prominent in studies ofChristianity and sociality inOceania.

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