“Acholi Youth Are Lost”: Young, Christian and (A)political in Uganda

Alava, Henni

doi:10.1163/9789004356368_011

Cited by 5 publications

(2 citation statements)

References 13 publications

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“…It is important to note that the foundation of Gulu University was intended to address the challenges of the postwar situation after a conflict lasting from 1980 to 2006 (see Alava, 2018, for a description of the impact of this situation on young people). As part of its restoration strategy, in 2003, the Ugandan government established the university, which focused first on agriculture as a way of promoting quick recovery in the region.…”

Section: Gulu: Experiences Of a Young Universitymentioning

confidence: 99%

Transitioning Vocational Education and Training in Africa

2023

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Section: Gulu: Experiences Of a Young Universitymentioning

confidence: 99%

Transitioning Vocational Education and Training in Africa

2023

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“…In both the later LC5's and the priest's speech, homosexuality was framed as one among a number of other issues that were interpreted through concern over the apparent falling apart of Acholi society. Such a narrative of moral decay is widespread in contemporary Acholiland, this decay being seen as the outcome both of the moral shock and interruption of established ways of life caused by the Northern Ugandan war, and the exposure to 'foreign evils' concomitant with modernization (Alava 2017b;Porter 2013;Vorhölter 2012). 9 While this narrative cuts across Acholi society, and is also expressed, for instance, by Catholic and Anglican parish youth, I find it reasonable to interpret the concern with moral decay as the primary concern of elderly menfor it is elderly men who as religious leaders, clan elders and prominent local politicians, have taken on a role as the primary spokespersons of Acholi culture.…”

Section: Politics Religion and Homosexuality In Uganda And Beyondmentioning

confidence: 99%

Homosexuality, the holy family and a failed mass wedding in Catholic Northern Uganda

Alava

2016

Critical African Studies

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Christian churches have played crucial but diverse roles in public debates over homosexuality in Africa. In contrast to the vocal and explicit homophobia witnessed in many Pentecostal-Charismatic Churches (PCCs), homosexuality has until recently been an overwhelmingly silenced issue in the Acholi region of Northern Uganda, and an almost complete non-issue in the local Catholic Church. This article suggests that while this silence in part relates to the temporal proximity of the Northern Ugandan war, the absence of LGBTI (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex) activism in the region, and the hesitance of mainline churches to talk about sex, it is also embedded in what are considered to be customary Acholi understandings of sexuality. Offering an analysis of Acholi Catholic teaching on peace and the family, the article suggests that Catholicism has entrenched heteronormative patriarchy in Acholi society. However, as illustrated by the unpopularity of church weddings, the norms that govern sexuality are negotiated in the dynamic space between religion and what are contemporarily understood as 'modern' and 'customary' Acholi moral sensibilities. The article emphasizes the need for scholarship on religion and homosexuality to extend beyond PCCs and capital cities, and beyond the most explicit forms of public homophobia in Africa.Les églises chrétiennes ont joué des rôles cruciaux mais variés dans les débats publics sur l'homosexualité en Afrique. Contrairement à l'homophobie virulente et explicite constatée dans plusieurs Églises Pentecôtistes-Charismatiques (EPC), l'homosexualité a été jusqu'à récemment un problème tout à fait étouffé dans la région d'Acholi du nord de l'Ouganda, et un quasi non-problème au sein de l'Eglise catholique locale. Bien que ce silence se rapporte en partie à la proximité temporelle de la guerre en Ouganda du Nord, l'absence de militantisme LGBTI (lesbiennes, gays, bisexuels, transgenres et intersexués) dans la région, ainsi qu'à l'hésitation des principales églises à parler de sexe, cet article suggère que ce silence est également incorporé au sein de ce qui est considéré comme des conceptions Acholi coutumières de la sexualité. Doté d'une analyse des enseignements Acholi catholiques sur la paix et la famille, l'article suggère que le catholicisme a ancré le patriarcat hétéronormatif dans la société Acholi. Cependant, comme l'illustre l'impopularité des mariages religieux, les normes qui régissent la sexualité sont négociées dans l'espace dynamique entre la religion et ce qui est contemporairement compris comme des valeurs morales Acholi « modernes » et « coutumières ». L'article met l'accent sur la nécessité pour les travaux académiques sur la religion et l'homosexualité d'aller au-delà des EPCs et des capitales, et au-delà des formes les plus explicites de l'homophobie publique en Afrique.

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Learning Marriage Ideals and Gendered Citizenship in “God-Fearing” Uganda

Alava,

Amito,

Lawrence

2022

Learning, Philosophy, and African Citizenship

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This chapter contributes to understanding the space between religion, gender and citizenship through a focus on teaching and learning about marriage in Ugandan churches. While pastors focused marriage teaching on the primacy of a church wedding, sexual purity and harmony through hierarchy, church-going women saw cohesion, spirituality and physical survival as cornerstones of an ideal relationship. By juxtaposing how women saw themselves as having learned these ideals, and how pastors saw themselves as teaching theirs, we illustrate that teaching and learning about gender, relationships and citizenship—and the character-moulding concomitant within these processes—occurs more in everyday lives than in places formally set out for the purpose. To achieve contextualized understanding of citizenship in religious contexts, it is important to pay attention to both religious teaching and practice and to develop methodological tools that identify how men and women actually learn about their worth, rights and responsibilities as citizens.

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“Acholi Youth Are Lost”: Young, Christian and (A)political in Uganda

Abstract: © henni alava, ��8 | doi �0.��63/9789004356368_0�� This is an open access chapter distributed under the terms of the cc-by-nc License.

Cited by 5 publications

References 13 publications

Transitioning Vocational Education and Training in Africa

Transitioning Vocational Education and Training in Africa

Homosexuality, the holy family and a failed mass wedding in Catholic Northern Uganda

Learning Marriage Ideals and Gendered Citizenship in “God-Fearing” Uganda

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“Acholi Youth Are Lost”: Young, Christian and (A)political in Uganda

Abstract: © henni alava, ���8 | doi �0.��63/9789004356368_0�� This is an open access chapter distributed under the terms of the cc-by-nc License.

Cited by 5 publications

References 13 publications

Transitioning Vocational Education and Training in Africa

Transitioning Vocational Education and Training in Africa

Homosexuality, the holy family and a failed mass wedding in Catholic Northern Uganda

Learning Marriage Ideals and Gendered Citizenship in “God-Fearing” Uganda

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About

Abstract: © henni alava, ��8 | doi �0.��63/9789004356368_0�� This is an open access chapter distributed under the terms of the cc-by-nc License.