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religion, matriliny, and change: Jehovah's Witnesses and Seventh‐Day Adventists in Luapula, Zambia
Author(s) -
POEWE KARLA O.
Publication year - 1978
Publication title -
american ethnologist
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.875
H-Index - 78
eISSN - 1548-1425
pISSN - 0094-0496
DOI - 10.1525/ae.1978.5.2.02a00070
Subject(s) - protestantism , kinship , christianity , seventh day adventist , theology , law , sociology , social psychology , psychology , political science , philosophy
Christianity is as Luapulan as matriliny; both are involved in the ongoing process of change. Specific features of both organization and doctrines of salvation within different Protestant denominations constitute independent variables that differentially induce behavioral changes. In Luapula, two denominations, Jehovah's Witnesses and Seventh‐Day Adventists, stand out from the rest because they adopt a critical attitude toward people's conduct and local conditions. However, they differ in the degree to which they achieve change in behavior among their members vis‐à‐vis kinship, family, and economic activities. Jehovah's Witnesses succeed, whereas Seventh‐Day Adventists engage in much debate but have an indifferent record of success in giving direction to practical conduct and holding the individual to such conduct.