Gregory Roberts, Contributor
THE FATE of "third" parties seems sealed in the Jamaican political landscape. The permanence of the label "third party" in a system that only caters for winners speaks volumes of their relevance. Both the New Jamaica Alliance and the United People's Party were intoxicated by their lust to capture the "uncommitted".
This uncommitted is seen as comprised significantly of "progressive" religious persons and as such these persons were courted in no uncertain ways.
The fact that the Al Miller-led movement was touted as "Christian", led many to believe that it was a Christian coalition at work. As such many questions are being asked as to the role of Christians in engaging the society and impacting the nation. Against the background of Christians being highly enlightened and the high level of disillusionment that exists; exactly how should Christians play a part in the politics of the country? In short, what are the terms by which Christians should or can become involved in politics?
The sheer size of the body of persons who subscribe to Christian beliefs would force any serious practitioner of politics to be mindful of the how they might be engaged. Of those who are Christian, easily the largest group would be the Pentecostals. The issue of involvement in representational politics and even political activism has never been a problem for those in the traditional churches such as Anglican, Roman Catholic and Baptists.
Despite the protestation of certain local priests, historically all except the Baptists have played a critical role in the subjugation of black peoples through out the world. Though in many societies this would have mitigated against the moral authority of these churches, our people continue to be most forgiving. So, here we are, with all the old and older churches continuing to produce members who go on to representative politics. The largest body of Christians in the country and the fastest growing in the world Pentecostals continue to see so few of their members choosing to enter politics at any level at all.
Pentecostals would include those churches which can trace some relation or connection to the events that occurred in the United States at the beginning of the last century; believe in divine healing and the baptism of the Holy Spirit with the initial evidence of speaking with other tongues (glossalalia). They can be further sub-divided into two main categories Unitarians or Jesus Only, and Trinitarians such as New Testament Church of God and Church of God of Prophecy.
There are many off-shoots of the prominent denominations such as Bishop Herro Blair's Deliverance Centre as well as independents such as Rev. Al. Miller's Fellowship Tabernacle. At the same time, there is an increasing number of persons in the more established churches who accept the dominant teachings of the Pentecostals. This following is of immense attraction to those who are seeking political power.
Research conducted as early as the mid 1970s spoke of the phenomenal growth of the Pentecostals. One writer saw this group as being of tremendous social and political potential. Al Miller in seeking to capitalise on this was by no means wrong. He was simply premature. He projected himself onto the national scene with "bawl outs" and "soccer prophesyings" that never did go down very well with many of the grassroots Pentecostals and "Church a Gad" people.
His following and congregation was predominantly of young, urban professionals, displaced from their church and home community by the demand for tertiary education and jobs and disgruntled Baptists who were seeking the "fire" that their African psyche demand. All the more since the advent of the televangelists.
The second group could get the "fire" in the "old time Pentecostal" way from the Blair brothers and other Pentecostal preachers of greater pedigree but were by and large not prepared to take off their jewellery and quit wearing mini skirts, shorts and tight jeans. Incidentally, one Pentecostal pastor fired his entire youth choir because of the prevalence of church sisters in shorts at the Portmore Mall. Many of those who were fired were welcomed in the newer independent churches!
There is a general distrust of politicians by Pentecostals. This is the product of the theology, history and the social stratification of our society. Pentecostals easily identify themselves with the prophets of old, Paul the Apostle and Jesus Christ. The Prophets heralded God's judgement on the unjust, the wealthy and the rulers of their day. Why should a true believer who "feels the fire shut up with his bones" refrain from bashing politicians every chance he gets? The Jesus of the Pentecostals is a friend to the poor and the downtrodden and despise the Sadducees and Pharisees. The class implications that are quickly taken up by poor, black Pentecostals can be easily seen. Paul the Apostle wrote the Corinthians inviting them to note that God took the base things of the earth to confound the mighty. Having been brought up on doses of such medicines, which left us privileged to apply it to our own downtrodden state and cases of class and complexion discrimination, there must be serious distrust of politicians.
Distrust has only been exacerbated by the clear cases of corruption perpetrated by different administrations. Pentecostals take literal the call "come ye out from among and be ye separate. Touch not the unclean thing." In this case politics.
The notion of the separation of church and state is most seriously taken by Pentecostals, who may very well go as far as to separate the church from the community. It is interesting to note that the basis of this philosophy is not found in the work of Christians but the writings of humanists such as Adam Smith. This dualism is so much at work among the Pentecostals that there is the need for some serious analysis as to its biblical foundations and the extent to which it is consistent with our theology as people of African descent.
It will always be hard for the Pentecostals to march into Jamaica's political arena as a force. This is both because of the nature of politics, especially Jamaica's as well as the nature of the church. The demand for holiness, is greater among Pentecostals than most other denominations. When the Anglican, Methodist, Catholic or even Baptist, can turn a bottle of beer to his head, the impact is minimal compared to the notion of a Pentecostals drinking a soft drink out of a glass. He would best keep it in the bottle that the reporters and his fellow Pentecostals can see what flavour and brand is being consumed.
Pentecostals hear the call to take the church to the world, including Gordon House and Jamaica House too. But he who will do this must first show his consecration and his credulity to the people in his church. This is equally true for the church in the community and by extension the called out ones in the society.
Before the church or any clergy will be seen as a serious political contender, he or she must first show his or her mettle. Firstly in terms of consecration and commitment to God as seen by the church brethren and community. Secondly he or she must show commitment to his community and church. This may be through projects undertaken or persons assisted. No "missa parson" will be taken seriously in politics while church people are suffering; old women cannot find food and shelter and the young people cannot find jobs or attend school. It is a matter of moot that the first criterion is harder than the second. This particularly so in the Pentecostal arena. There is the notion that young ministers are prone to sins of the flesh. The sociology of this myth has been discussed in many pieces of academic work. The people must be satisfied that their pastor, evangelist or church brother or sister can deal with the temptations that are attendant on political involvement.
Where there might be doubts as to the groundedness of his/her faith and consecration, these beloved brethren will prefer to vote for the opponent to ensure his/her loss and prevent the possibility of falling into sin. They bear more in mind, the prestige of the church and the fate of the immortal soul than the notion of having a representative in Gordon House from among them. A sufficiently senior man or woman, however, may get the nod to sit with prime ministers and take up higher political office, be the chairman of a political organisation or ultimately, custos of a parish or the exalted position of Political Ombudsman!
It has also been posited that Pentecostals carry out an individual and passive type of resistance to the status quo. There is less of an engagement along the lines of social action such as was pronounced with the Baptists. We can expect that within the next 10 years, a growing number of Pentecostals will be projected unto the political stage. This will come amidst changes on the part of Pentecostals in the perception of themselves and their role in society as agents of God and instruments of the Holy Sprit. Also where leadership abhors a vacuum, the level of training that young people receive in the Pentecostal churches will start to tell in the political arena as it is now doing in the halls of higher learning of our nation. The passive, individualistic approach to progress may very likely be replaced by a level of activism that will demand changes in the arena of politics and political representation.
The Baptists took some 200 years to have one of their own as Prime Minister here in Jamaica (P. J. Patterson). I am of the opinion that the Pentecostals will take less than 115. This means that they will have a man or woman in Jamaica House within the next 20 years. It might very well be sooner.
Gregory Roberts is a Ph.d candidate in Black Theology at Birmingham University
