Melbourne Law School - Research Publications
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ItemProsperity for the poor: Religion, poverty and development in Sub-Saharan Africa(Springer Nature Singapore, 2020-01-01)In this chapter, the authors present a much-needed discussion on the role of religion in the development process in Sub-Saharan Africa. The authors invoke the case of the very popular Pentecostal prosperity gospel doctrine, a “religious policy” on poverty alleviation that promises material wealth and health to all believers through faith and monetary offerings to God (church). The authors examine how this doctrine is shaping local imaginations of poverty, and the moral agency of pursuing wealth in the market economy, as well as the ethics and apologetics of the doctrine’s material costs. The chapter therefore presents a useful invitation to development stakeholders and researchers to take religion more seriously in the conversation on development and poverty alleviation in Africa.
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ItemWitchcraft accusations and the social exclusion of the elderly in Northern Ghana: Understanding how cultural discourses and practices affect the wellbeing of the elderly(Palgrave Macmillan, 2020-01-01)This chapter examines the discourse on the relationship between culture and wellbeing of elderly persons, based on ethnographic study of accused witches in northern Ghana. The authors find that elderly people are mostly accused of witchcraft and are violently banished from their communities to live in witch camps; this has serious negative impacts on their wellbeing. The chapter therefore problematizes and examines the aspects of cultural practices and discourses that legitimize such ill-treatment of elderly persons. The authors also discuss implications for policy, government and other agencies working with the elderly to improve their wellbeing.