In, Of, and Beyond Diaspora? Mapping, Migration, and the Production of Space among Nigerian Pentecostals

Abstract

We explore the production of space and place among Nigerian Pentecostal members of the Redeemed Christian Church of God by looking at tensions and overlaps between diasporic and Pentecostal identities as verbally expressed or mapped by believers based in London, England. In doing so, we examine the utility but also the ambiguities involved in analyzing such Christians through theoretical frames suggested by scholars of diaspora. Spatial tropes of “homeland,” “horizon,” “city,” “nation,” and “globe” form much of the focus of our study as we show how they are invoked within and beyond church activity, and contribute to complex forms of mapping that are evident not only in conventional physical representations but also in sermons, conversations, and other narratives. We see such mapping as indicating the shifting saliences diasporic and Pentecostal identities may have in believers’ lives over time. Overall, we argue that it is possible to see informants as moving between different perspectives as they are positioned, and position themselves, “in,” “of,” and “beyond” a Nigerian diaspora.