Christianity and Public Culture in Africa

9: Believing Practically and Trusting Socially in Africa: The Contrary Case of the Universal Church of the Kingdom of God in Durban, South Africa

189 N I N E Believing Practically andTrusting Socially in Africa The Contrary Case of the Universal Church of the Kingdom of God in Durban, South Africa i l A n A vA n W Y K T h E U N I v E R S A l Church of the Kingdom of god (uCKg) in South Africa presents an ethnographic anomaly, if not in the broad school of religious studies, then at least in the study of Christianity in Africa.1 Pastors of the uCKg actively discourage intimate, emotional relationships with god and instead encourage members to engage in one-off contracts with god through large monetary sacrifices. in the church’s services, pastors brand acts of Christian charity and fellowship as useless and warn their congregations that the empathy that inspires them to help others is an instrument Satan uses in war against god. Pastors even counsel their congregations against charitable work within the church’s ranks and especially against donations to poorer uCKg members. this is not a one-sided directive. many church members assert that their fellows are not trustworthy and actively resist the kinds of social intimacy common in other Pentecostal-charismatic churches (PCCs). in the absence of a church community, public testimonies and mass sacrifices are striking features of the uCKg’s daily services. despite the church’s six daily services in durban’s Smith Street branch, known as the Cathedral of faith, those who attend the uCKg have neither a shared history nor a shared identity; in fact few people even tell their families or friends that they go to the church.this is also a church that does not cater to a single social class or interest group. 190 IlANA vAN wYK Although the majority of members are black and a large number very poor, the uCKg includes many teachers, nurses, and civil servants in its ranks as well as a magistrate and a few wealthy businesspeople. furthermore , the church membership has a high turnover rate, with most people staying for a few weeks and, at most, months. only a handful of members have been with the church since it was “planted” in durban, in 1993.2 the uCKg’s high turnover is not unique in the context of African Christianity.3 What singles the uCKg out from other local churches is that its members do not congregate for festivals or funerals,4 nor are weddings or baptisms celebrated as community affairs. With the notable exception of the announcement of the wedding of five pastors and one assistant during my fieldwork, the announcements from the pulpit pertained only to events like the bishop’s visit, the church’s various campaigns against Satan, and reminders of tithing Sundays. for instance, during my fieldwork an assistant died unexpectedly in a car accident but neither her death nor her funeral was announced in the church.5 i was later told that her funeral had been held in another branch and that her family had to organize and pay for everything. only two people from the Smith Street branch, where she had served for almost ten years, went to her funeral. baptisms were equally the affair of those individuals directly involved. both mass baptisms i attended occurred after the main service. the pastors did not invite anyone to stay on, while the church’s architecture precluded public participation or observation of the baptismal pool.the baptismal pool lay behind a shoulder-high wall on the stage. Sitting in the church facing the stage, one could not see anything of the baptisms, while the baptized left the stage through a back door to change into dry clothing in the bathrooms. this lack of socializing among uCKg members is complemented by an almost mechanical relationship between the congregation and its pastors. At any time there are between six and ten pastors at the Cathedral of faith. All are on contract for six months at most. individual pastors never announce their departures, whereas new arrivals quietly and seamlessly take over church services from their predecessors. the pastors’ unpredictable and high turnover rate undermines any lasting loyalties or bonds with a congregation, as is common in the uCKg worldwide.6 this bond is further undermined by the minimal contact that the clergy have with the congregation outside the church’s six daily services. they generally do not make home visits (i only heard of two 191 believing...