Postcolonial nationalism and neo‐Pentecostalism: A case from Papua New Guinea

Abstract

Abstract This article offers an anthropological analysis of a Papua New Guinean nationalist ideology deeply inspired by neo‐Pentecostalism. The basis for this study comes from ethnographic material collected during my fieldwork in the Parliament of Papua New Guinea (PNG), where I worked with a group of politicians and bureaucrats who have become known for their iconoclastic and evangelical actions, including their (in)famous destruction of traditional carvings. By mapping their narratives of nation building, I examine how two dimensions of Evangelical Christianity, namely, its focus on the Biblical scriptures and its demonology, were central to the formulation of this group's nationalist and postcolonial ideology. This work provides a contribution towards broader discussions on the effect of evangelical movements on nationalism around the contemporary world and, in particular, in the Global South.

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