Among Kenyan Christians, the distinction between the terms 'church member' and 'visitor' is widely used, and occasional visits to non-membership churches are a common practice. In our ethnographic research in urban Kenya (Nairobi and Kisumu), we observed how, across denominations, church visits abide by similar, formalized, and ritualized codes. Through an analysis of the subtleties of this institutionalized practice, we expose a fundamental tension in which even as church leaders are expected to act in the spirit of Christian unity and avoid proselytizing visitors from other churches, they also seek to maximize the use of church visits as an effective instrument for recruiting new members. Investigating how churches manage this 'sheep-stealing dilemma', we analyze some institutional strategies that favour membership retention and attraction without formally undermining the social legitimacy of church visits.
مجموعه
تاريخ نشر
2017
توصيف ظاهري
163-189
عنوان
Journal of Religion in Africa
شماره جلد
47/2
شماره استاندارد بين المللي پياييندها
1570-0666
اصطلاحهای موضوعی کنترل نشده
اصطلاح موضوعی
Christianity
اصطلاح موضوعی
Comparative Religion & Religious Studies
اصطلاح موضوعی
History of Religion
اصطلاح موضوعی
interdenominational relations
اصطلاح موضوعی
Kenya
اصطلاح موضوعی
Pentecostalism
اصطلاح موضوعی
religious mobility
اصطلاح موضوعی
Religious Studies
نام شخص به منزله سر شناسه - (مسئولیت معنوی درجه اول )