The Witch, the Zombie and the Power of Jesus: A trinity of spiritual warfare in Tanzanian Pentecostalism

Abstract

The report discusses neo-Pentecostal gospel, demonology and deliverance in the context of social transformations and economic reforms in Tanzania, via a detailed case-study of a single church in Dar es Salaam—the Glory of Christ Tanzania Church—which displays the conjuncture of a global religion with  elements of local ontology such as witchcraft and zombies. It is proposed that the Pentacostal-Charismatic gospel provides the interpretative frame to explain experience of social and economic affliction that is deeply gendered. Further, the deliverance practices are suggested to free the individual believer  from the occult forces associated with kinship relations.