Empowerment of marginalized through the conversion to Evangelical Christianity: The case of Roma in Western Bohemian town
Abstract
My paper is dealing with two kinds of empowerment of marginalized people through the membership in evangelical congregation. On the individual level, the act of conversion can be seen as a very effective way for (re?)gaining power over oneself - becoming subject.
Through the conversion, one should be able to underplay his structurally disadvantaged position and ties of subordination in favor of his identity as an evangelical Christian. It is only the convert and the God who govern his steps (Williams 1991).
Furthermore, evangelical churches offer range of possibilities for the self fulfillment of the marginalized through public speech, religious leadership etc... (Mosher 1998), and thus one can find and realize his talents within the church. I am going to look at how the concept of individual empowerment through religion worked for Roma in a Western Bohemian town, where I conducted my ethnographic fieldwork.
On the collective level the most notable way of empowerment was the operation of a Biblical school for Roma in the town. Pupils of this school who had been previously segregated in state schools for mentally handicapped children obtain training in practical theology, and other disciplines.
The initial missionary idea in this congregation was that through education the local Roma would become more independent. I claim that instead of some complex social, economical and political empowerement, the congregation, and especially its pastor, succeeded in challenging the view on morally inferior undeserving poor, and thus could link the local Roma to a network of Christian financial, material, and practical help.