An Indigenous Force of Pentecostalism in Africa: Indigenous Knowledge System Approach to Decolonization
Mookgo Solomon Kgatle 
Issue: Vol.9 No.11 November 2023 Issue Article 1 pp. 538 – 546
DOI : https://doi.org/10.38159/erats.20239111 | Published online 10th November, 2023.
© 2023 The Author(s). This is an open access article under the CCBY license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).
Pentecostalism in Africa has many expressions, types, and shadows contributing to the challenge of categorisations in the movement. There are some forms of Pentecostalism in Africa that resemble the American context in terms of theology and practice. However, the literature review also demonstrates that other forms are uniquely indigenous, meaning, non-American. In this article, the indigenous force of Pentecostalism was studied through the indigenous knowledge system approach. This was done by making links between indigenous Pentecostalism in Africa and the early indigenous forces. The indigenous Pentecostal liturgy characterized by a song, prayer, and sermon was discussed in detail. The article also demonstrated how the indigenisation of the gospel of Jesus Christ within the Pentecostal movement in Africa has made the movement relevant to Africans. The aim was to demonstrate that the indigenous force of Pentecostalism is relevant to the decolonisation of Westernized Christianity. The article proposes the acknowledgement of the indigenous knowledge system in the Pentecostal tradition which is relevant to the decolonization of the religious sphere in the African context.
Keywords: Indigenous Force, Indigenous Liturgy, Indigenous Knowledge, Pentecostalism, Decolonization.
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Mookgo Solomon Kgatle is a Professor of Missiology at the department of Christian Spirituality, Church History and Missiology, University of South Africa (UNISA). He has published several peer-reviewed articles in the Pentecostal tradition, particularly New Prophetic Churches in South Africa. He is an NRF rated scholar in the area of African Pentecostalism. He won the Vision Keeper Award at the University of South Africa (2020-2022).
Kgatle, Mookgo Solomon. “An Indigenous Force of Pentecostalism in Africa: Indigenous Knowledge System Approach to Decolonization, “ E-Journal of Religious and Theological Studies, 9 no.11 (2023): 538 – 546. https://doi.org/10.38159/erats.20239111
© 2023 The Author(s). Published and Maintained by Noyam Journals. This is an open access article under the CCBY license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).
