This Article Full Text (PDF) References Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Citation Map Services Email this article to a friend Similar articles in this journal Alert me to new issues of the journal Add to Saved Citations Download to citation manager Request Permissions Request Reprints Add to My Marked Citations Citing Articles Citing Articles via HighWire Citing Articles via Google Scholar Citing Articles via Scopus Google Scholar Articles by Hunt, S. Search for Related Content Social Bookmarking                         What's this?

`Neither Here nor There': The Construction of Identities and Boundary Maintenance of West African Pentecostals

School of Sociology, University of the West of England Stephen.Hunt{at}uwe.ac.uk

The often taken-for-granted `decline of religion' thesis has frequently led to the failure to recognize the significance of religion in both forging and articulating aspects of identity in the contemporary western context. In addressing such an issue this article seeks to explore the importance of religion in aiding the construction of the identities of West African migrants to Britain through a distinct and innovatory mode of Pentecostalism. While this vibrant form of Christianity has long been understood as a faith relevant to the needs of black ethnic minorities, its changing theodicies and value-orientation have helped the formation of identity and provide meaning to the experiences of a new generation of migrants.

Key Words: boundary maintenance • ethnicity • globalization • identity • migration • Pentecostalism

Sociology, Vol. 36, No. 1, 147-169 (2002)
DOI: 10.1177/0038038502036001008


CiteULike    Complore    Connotea    Del.icio.us    Digg    Reddit    Technorati    Twitter    What's this?

This article has been cited by other articles:

				C. Mitchell The Religious Content of Ethnic Identities Sociology, December 1, 2006; 40(6): 1135 - 1152. [Abstract] [PDF]