Fragile Wars: Anti-Ecumenism in a South African Church

Abstract

In South Africa, where ecumenism historically characterised popular Christianity, the post-apartheid entry of certain Pentecostal Charismatic Churches (PCCs) has introduced decidedly anti-ecumenical tendencies. This article focuses on one such church, the Universal Church of the Kingdom of God (UCKG), a PCC of Brazilian origin. Under the rubric of spiritual warfare and a politics of suspicion, UCKG preachers urged believers to take up both visible and invisible arms against ‘unbelievers’. These injunctions made for fraught interpersonal relationships, especially in socio-economic conditions where believers were fundamentally dependent on large social networks. For many believers, however, such visible strife did not mark a radical break in their social imaginary; ‘fighting’ bravely exposed a hitherto uncontrolled social reality, while the UCKG’s anti-catholic sentiments promised protection from, and control over, the fragility that marked adherents’ social and economic lives.