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Church Discipline Chronicled – A New Source for Basel Mission Historiography

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  04 May 2015

Anne Beutter
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Abstract

This article uses a hitherto overlooked category of historical source, an outstation chronicle covering the period 1911‒1920. It shows how juridical practice within the Protestant mission church of Nkoranza (then in the Ashanti region of what is now central Ghana) created and sharpened a Christian group identity in a predominantly non-Christian context. It is argued that the interdependence of the in-group and out-group at the local level helped to shape the church’s juridical forms.

Résumé

Cet article utilise une source historique jusque-là négligée, la chronique d’un avant-poste (“outstation”) pendant les années 1911‒1920. Il montre comment les pratiques judiciaires de la mission protestante de l’église de Nkoranza (à l’époque dans la région Ashanti, Ghana actuel) avaient un effet sur la vie quotidienne des habitants de Nkoaranaza en façonnant et renforçant l’identité de groupe chrétienne dans un environnement largement non-chrétien. Ainsi, l’interdépendance entre chrétiens du in-group et non-chrétiens du out-group a contribué à la formation de formes juridiques propres à cette église.

Type
Critical Source Analysis
Information
History in Africa , Volume 42 , June 2015 , pp. 109 - 138
Copyright
Copyright © African Studies Association 2015 

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