The development of the AIPCA: Crossing religious and political boundaries.

Exploring the conditions in which African religious movements emerged during the colonial period or in the post-colonial period has been a popular course of study. Our understanding of religious movements has been largely limited to the conditions which galvanized them. We must expand upon these studies by examining religious movements over extended periods of time, if we are to fully comprehend these movements. This dissertation examines the history of the African Independent Pentecostal Church of Africa (AIPCA), from its inception in the late 1920s, to its state in the late 1990s. The AIPCA is significant for two reasons. It spans almost seventy years, crossing the colonial and post-colonial periods. It is also entangled with key events and individuals within Kenyan history (such as the female circumcision crisis, the State of Emergency, Jomo Kenyatta, Independence, Daniel Arap Moi, and Pentecostal revivals). These two factors make the AIPCA a prime candidate for research, In exploring the AIPCA, this dissertation begins by delving into the conditions which led to the development of independent churches and schools. Subsequent chapters explore the actual foundation of the AIPCA and the struggles for Kenyan Independence. This background is studied from a variety of perspectives: the nature of the colonial system, the Europeans involved in perpetuating and sometimes hindering the colonial system (missionaries, and British and Kenyan government officials), and the different attitudes and actions within the Kikuyu community toward the colonial system. The second part analyzes the role of the AIPCA in the years after the end of colonial rule. Emphasis is placed on the AIPCA's changing image, its mirroring of government policies, and its acceptance of Pentecostalism. These chapters examine the AIPCA's relationship with the Kenyan government, the Christian community, and the AIPCA's own membership. The Epilogue brings the AIPCA into 1998. In order to understand why the AIPCA flourished in the colonial period and simply survives in the post-colonial period, one must examine its history, decentralized structure, and indigenous status.Ph.D.African historyBlack studiesPhilosophy, Religion and TheologyReligious historySocial SciencesUniversity of Michigan, Horace H. Rackham School of Graduate Studieshttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/131969/2/9938506.pd