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Pentecostalism as an Informal Political Institution: Experimental Evidence from Ghana

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  18 July 2014

John F. McCauley
John F. McCauley*
Affiliation:
University of Maryland, College Park
*
Address correspondence and reprint requests to: John F. McCauley, Department of Government and Politics, University of Maryland, College Park, Maryland 20742. E-mail: mccauley@umd.edu
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Abstract

Informal institutions continue to govern political exchange in Africa, but the traditional, ethnic-based form of “big man rule” is now threatened by an alternative informal institution — charismatic Pentecostalism. This study evaluates the status of Pentecostalism empirically, in a micro-level experiment in Ghana. Using data from a variant of the dictator game, in which participants divide a resource endowment with randomly assigned partners as well as cultural leaders, the study provides evidence of Pentecostal exclusivity, excessive allegiance to leaders, and a shift away from ethnic-based patronage to Pentecostal patronage. As Pentecostalism continues to expand, these findings suggest a modification in the exchange of resources for loyalty in Africa, and grounds for viewing the movement as a new form of big man rule in the region.

Type
Articles
Information
Politics and Religion , Volume 7 , Issue 4 , December 2014 , pp. 761 - 787
Copyright
Copyright © Religion and Politics Section of the American Political Science Association 2014 

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