Christian Citizens and the Moral Regeneration of the African State

This edited collection captures the complex links between individual, spiritual, and moral conversion on one hand, and public transformation and socio-political redemption on the other. The book argues that modern Pentecostal-Charismatic Churches (PCCs) employ distinct practices of subjectification aimed at governing the self. These practices rely on a vision of a "Christian citizen" who actively redefines the public sphere, penetrating the political and social imaginary across sub-Saharan Africa. Christian citizens are charged not only with transforming their own lives through the unending process of rebirth starting with conversion, but also with transforming their broader communities and nations. The volume explores how believers seek to establish this new form of citizenship—often by supporting born-again politicians, promoting religious values through organs of the state, or attempting to have their countries officially declared "Christian nations" (such as in Zambia)—as a spiritual and structural salve for corruption, poor governance, and social ills. Ultimately, through its different chapters and an analysis of different African contexts, the book investigates how this project of shaping born-again Christians into the "ideal citizen" profoundly alters how religious movements exert political influence and shape public morality in contemporary Africa.