Abstract
The paucity of interdisciplinary research discourses that interrogate the mutation, transferal, and influence of Pentecostalism on ex-colonial societies, and particularly Caribbean people, makes Janice McLean-Farrell’s West Indian Pentecostals: Living Their Faith in New York and London a welcome contribution to the literature. There are approximately 279 million Pentecostals globally, and this group of believers account for 4% of the world’s population and 12.8% of Christians in the world who identify themselves as part of a movement (Hackett and Grim, 2011). In Jamaica, Pentecostal churches are among the fastest growing, which is telling of their appeal and capabilities, thus making this an area that warrants academic attention. McLean-Farrell addresses this gap by advancing understandings of how and in what ways Pentecostal church communities in Brooklyn and London help congregants to ‘construct, renegotiate and express their ethnic and religious identities’ (p. 184).
She does so by privileging the intergenerational intersectional voices of West Indian migrants, primarily those of Jamaican heritage. McLean-Farrell adopts a qualitative methodology, which includes her visiting three ‘Trinitarian Pentecostal churches’ (p. 10) to, among other things, undertake participant observations during services, meetings, fundraising, outreach, and auxiliary programs. A purposive sampling method is used to select the churches and the 52 individuals interviewed (33 in the London context; 19 in New York). The rich data presented on the shared attributes around which these West Indian Pentecostals coalesce are therefore the results of the author traversing the insider/outsider dichotomous identity in and out of the field and her making sense of the data based on an interpretivist approach. The methodology employed limits generalizations to theory which transcends history, cultural studies and religion.
Some parallels can be drawn with Émile Durkheim’s ideas on religion when using a sociological lens to understand the functions of the three West Indian Pentecostal church communities. ‘Spaces of belonging, empowerment and survival’ (p. 185) were the depictions offered by the author to illustrate the significance of these church communities facilitating the adaptation of migrants to the host context through the provision of various forms of support and spiritual guidance. The individual narratives shared in the text typify journeys of hardship, resistance, resilience, and a need to overcome vestiges of a colonial past in pursuit of an improved quality of life. In this regard, West Indian Pentecostal church communities were instrumental in filling gaps left open by other social institutions. For example, unauthorized migrants were assisted financially, and provided housing and opportunities to regularize their immigration status (p. 106). Through mentorship and becoming immersed in church activities first- and second-generation West Indians were equipped to stay ‘on the straight and narrow path’ (Matthew 7:13–14).
These portrayals are not quite the ‘immigrant enclave obstructing the social integration of migrants’ that John Arthur envisioned (p. 6). Rather, they are aspects of the normative functions of religious institutions, which Durkheim suggests are to uphold order, build solidarity, and strengthen stability, therefore contributing to society’s well-being. Such contributions are not limited to the host context. Home communities also benefit from remittances and other forms of investment that the church’s transnational network encourages. Social ills, such as Claudette Crawford-Brown’s ‘barrel children phenomenon’ (p. 76), which entails the neglect and abandonment of children left behind in the home context by their parents who have emigrated, could, however, cast a negative light on these types of connections. Such setbacks help to counterbalance the positive impact of foreign direct investments on the local economy. Overall, the churches visited are seen as enablers of the positive ‘transformation experienced by immigrants, the host society and the home country’ (p. 12) because of the multiple interactions they foster.
One church established a scholarship fund to support congregants who were pursuing higher education and in need of financial assistance. Even so, personal development through pursuing further studies and home and car ownership were life acquisitions encouraged across all three churches. Calvinists regard such acquisitions as indications of one’s salvation and God’s favor. In comparison, Pentecostals moderate such pursuits with the help of Matthew 6:33, which speaks about ‘seeking the Kingdom first.’ Yet the relevance of the Pentecostal churches as advocates of social justice, their styles of disseminating the gospel, organizational structure, and reach were called into question by second- and third-generation ‘West Indian Pentecostals.’ In particular, calls for ‘religious communities, not just Pentecostal churches, to become more relevant by giving sufficient consideration to, for example, the social structures that continue to oppress and marginalize minorities in the host context’ were championed by West Indian immigrant youth (p. 186).
This critique by youth of traditional classical Pentecostalism and other faith-based movements gives space to Karl Marx’s notion of the sanctuary of religion wherein followers are encouraged to accept their life situations, turn a blind eye to injustices, and instead look forward to rewards in heaven. In some ways, this notion highlights the advantage of the interpretivist approach in that it helps the reader to appreciate the nature of reality and how it is socially constructed. In particular, functionalists may disagree about the role of religion by arguing that social institutions such as the Pentecostal church exist to set controls by defining normative and legitimate behavior. However, like the Marxist perspective on religion, this undermines the agency of individuals who may experience the same reality in different ways. For example, even the exercise of glossolalia (speaking in a divine language) and xenolalia (speaking in a native tongue) in Pentecostalism can be viewed by outsiders as unnecessary displays of emotions. However, such persons may not know that the ‘spiritual gifts are subject to the prophet’ (1 Corinthians 14:32) and are for the edification of the church when used appropriately. As a result, the submitted will of individuals ‘moving in the Spirit’ highlights ‘striking similarities between Myalism, an Afro-Jamaican religion which draws on the powers of ancestral spirits, and Pentecostalism’ (p. 161). This element of submitted will also exposes the mistake of referring to the process of ‘moving in the Spirit’ as ‘possession’ (p. 43), which is a distinct process usually involving a demonic force occupying and taking control of a person’s mind and body against their will.
Marx’s notion of the sanctuary of religion does not readily lend itself to attempts to better understand interventions such as street pastors and the inaugural Jamaican Christian Diaspora Conference held in Montego Bay in October 2016 under the theme ‘Engaging Our Youth, Securing Our Future.’ Such interventions, which were not visible in the text, show how Pentecostal churches are working with other faith-based organizations to find novel ways of addressing challenges encountered by youths living in a globalized world. Therefore, it will be interesting to see in McLean-Farrell’s future work how the churches visited treat with and ultimately help shape the ethnoreligious identities of subgroups within their youth population, for example, youth with disabilities and those who are members of the lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender community.
Immigrant youths did not necessarily envisage themselves as ‘West Indians.’ Perhaps the weak sense of belonging to the home context and attempts to divorce oneself from the ‘racial and discriminatory connotations’ (p. 9) of the label might explain this ambiguity. For some, ‘performing menial jobs was unacceptable though they did not have the accreditations qualifying them for other jobs’ (p. 121). With few exceptions, immigrant youths were also less ‘concerned than their first-generation counterparts about preserving religious traditions such as “covering the head” ’ (p. 96). These and other symbols of holiness that are backed by biblical scripture underscore yet another divide within Pentecostalism in addition to existing debates on the ‘personhood of God and stages in the process of salvation’ (p. 10). The continuation of such traditions seemed dependent on the will of those who cling to them as valid indicators of righteousness and one’s salvation. ‘Others, especially immigrant youth, seemed more resigned to live the relational aspect of the faith while being cognizant of the “need to rend one’s heart and not one’s garment” ’ (Joel 2:13). Indeed, it is possible to do great works in the name of the Lord and cover one’s head without being led by the Holy Spirit (Matthew 7:21–23). Finally, these distinctions emphasize that West Indian Pentecostals are not a homogeneous group, whether in the Caribbean, Brooklyn, or New York. What unifies them is a belief in the ‘indispensable role of the Holy Spirit as power-for-mission’ (p. 9) and the divine inspiration and ‘infallibility of the Bible’ (p. 141).