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book reviews
501
Swanson, Paul, ed.
Pentecostalism and Shamanism in Asia(Nagoya: Nanzan University Press, 2013).
169 pp. Free pdf online; ¥2,000; us $20.00 paperback.
Pentecostalism and Shamanism in Asia is the result of a series of colloquia and an international conference organized by Nanzan University, Japan. Follow- ing on the footsteps of its very successful Japanese Journal of Religious Studies, the book is available free-of-charge online and in both Japanese and English. It addresses a topical issue. As Pentecostalism explodes in Asia, how do tradi- tional religions fare? Has indigenous shamanism influenced the development of charismatic Christianity in Asia?
The book opens with an excellent chapter by Andrew Kim, which explains why Korea became a hotbed for the explosion of Pentecostalism. He argues that there is an affinity between shamanism and Pentecostalism; both address this- worldly needs (e.g., health, success, and wealth) and other-worldly spiritual salvation through faith-healing, exorcism, miracles, music, dance and ecstatic states such as speaking in tongues. Kim posits that Pentecostalism was able to flourish in the country precisely because it emphasized shamanistic char- acteristics. Furthermore, Pentecostalism is attractive because it has the kudos of a modern religion originating in the us for people who may be ashamed to engage in “superstitious” shamanism. The chapter focuses in particular on the Yoido Full Gospel Church, the largest in the world with 1 million members, to show that “conversion has taken place without a major transformation in beliefs or values” (25) because Korean Pentecostalism is an extension or con- tinuation of traditional shamanic beliefs.
In the second chapter, Rafael Shoji focuses on the Pentecostal churches which cater to the Braziliandekasegi(migrant) community in Japan. He argues that Japan has witnessed the “emergence ofBrazilian-Japanesereligiosity” (ital- ics mine) (31). For him “Japanese-Brazilians have Japanese ancestry but are mainly Brazilians in terms of culture, language, and nationality; Brazilian- Japanese have Brazilian ancestry but have Japanese language and culture as their native social environment” (31). Shoji identifies two kinds of Brazilian- Japanese Pentecostalism: churches built locally by the community and those exported from Brazil such as the Universal Church of the Kingdom of God (uckg), one of the fastest-growing Pentecostal churches in the world. He finds that rather than emphasising Theology of Prosperity, in Japan uckg had to rein- vent itself in order to attract those Brazilian dekasegi. According to Shoji, this community “very rarely has dreams of their own business … or to be rich” (41), but are more interested in the family harmony, health, alleviation of stress, and education of the second generation, which are the areas uckg pastors empha- sise in Japan.
© koninklijke brill nv, leiden, 2014 | doi: 10.1163/15700747-03602027
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Alena Govorounova’s chapter gives an excellent overview of the religious and scholarly debates on the relationship between Pentecostalism and sha- manism. She is interested in the ways in which the theological side of this debate has influenced academia. Govorounova is concerned with the disci- pline of sociology of religion. For instance, what sources should academics use as data (first-person experiential narratives or third-person independent observers)? What individuals and communities should be taken as represen- tative by academics? Drawing on an impressive breadth of scholarship, she argues that “the challenge remains for the sociology of religion to be able to discuss Pentecostal spirituality in its own terms and to bridge the gap between inherently religious discourses on spirituality and predominantly humanistic approaches to the study of religion” (110).
Iida Takafumi’s chapter investigates the Full Gospel Church and Korean shamanism among Koreans living in Japan. He finds that while Koreans who arrived in Japan before the Second World War adhere to shamanism, those who arrived after the 1990s follow Pentecostalism. Presumably originally written in Japanese, this chapter suffers from too literal translation into English. The use of words such as “perhaps,” “maybe,” and “unclear,” its descriptive nature, and the lack of an argument make for an enduring sense of vagueness. Good exam- ples are: “Perhaps some several thousand Japan-resident Korean and Christians belong to the Catholic Church, but the actual figure is unclear” (128), and “we cannot find human connections which might represent a direct point of con- vergence and contact between the two religious groups” (124). It’s not clear what he means by “human connections” or if there are non-human connec- tions.
In the final chapter, Korom analyses the affinities between shamanism and Sufism. He does so by investigating the life of Guru Bawa (d. 1986), a healer from Sri Lanka who moved to the us in the mid-70s, keeping followers in both countries. Korom starts his chapter with a much-needed critical genealogy of the concept of shamanism. He finds a common denominator in all studies of shamanism: “an ecstatic state achieved by soul flight” (148). He also warns the reader that although “Sufis are not shamans, for they shared different cosmologies” (148), there are parallels between Guru Bawa and shamans, as both act as healers. As part of a new book project, this chapter is exciting for two reasons. First, the subject matter and the research questions Korom asks are significant. He wants to understand “how a marginal ‘cult’ evolves into a ‘sect,’ then ultimately a ‘church’ …, as well as how the work of a shaman becomes transformed into other sorts of spiritual specialisation as time continues to move forward” (165). Korom shows the ways in which Guru Bawa adjusted his teachings in his journey from unknown village healer to Sufi shayk in the us.
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Second, this chapter shows the scholar at work. After a long research period, Korom is now beginning to analyse his findings and the reader can see inklings of what will make for a very stimulating book.
I recommend this book to anyone interested in the connections between shamanism and Pentecostalism. If there is any criticism, it is that there is no chapter on Pentecostalism in China, one of the countries of major growth. In addition, some chapters in the English version are in dire need of copyediting. Sometimes the language is so mangled that the reader has to make an effort to understand what the author means.
Cristina Rocha
arc Future Fellow, University Western Sydney, Sydney, New South Wales
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