Dissertations / Theses on the topic 'Religious aspects of Sierra Leone'

This study attempts to elucidate aspects of the complex relationship between internal migration and development in Sierra Leone, a country marked by pronounced dualism. It argues that internal migration and its developmental facets such as remittances should be examined within their socio-economic and ecological context. The major findings can be summarised as follows: 1. Interregional migration was shown to be positively and significantly correlated with a composite index encompassing social and economic dimensions of development. 2. Since the trends in migration and development in the two sets of regions delineated positive net migration/more developed and negative net migration/less developed - have been in force for at least two decades and show no signs of narrowing regional inequality, suggest disequilibrium rather than equilibrium tendencies. This feature of the migration process was confirmed by analysis performed at the local level, which explicitly took into account, socio-economic and ecological factors along with the effects of government policies on rural outmigration. 3. A study of the determinants of interregional migration for a whole system, Sierra Leone, and its component economic sub-systems underline the importance of taking into consideration development dimensions in such analyses, 4. Finally, on the role of remittances in development, the study established that - a. Overall, that there was a net transfer of resources from the urban to the rural areas; b. In-remittances were found to be important to poorer rural households; c. Remittances received were used mainly for consumption purposes; and d. For the decision to send remittances, the common, significant variables for rural and urban households were those showing ties with origin areas; while for the decision on the size of remittances, they were the income of the head of the household and whether an unskilled manual worker or not.

Youth unemployment has been presented as a security risk to countries emerging from civil war. These assessments often rely on the assumption of a direct relationship between labour market exclusion and political violence. This thesis challenges this assumption, not by denying that the connection exists, but by suggesting that we need a better understanding of how the two are related. Through qualitative research with young people engaged precariously on the margins of the informal economy in Sierra Leone's capital, Freetown, the thesis explores how labour market experiences influence different patterns of political mobilisation. It puts forward that violence is not inherent to unemployment, but that the impact of joblessness on mobilisation is mediated by social factors and the specific nature of the post-war political economy. For Freetown's youth, labour market exclusion has implications for social status, identities, norms and the nature of social relations. This in turn shapes their political subjectivities and claims on the state; it structures the opportunities and constraints to their collective action; and influences their trajectories towards political violence. These processes reflect a fraught articulation between tactics employed expediently to respond to structural circumstances and longer-term aspirations. Individual attempts to survive adverse economic and political terrains coexist with work-based political claims placed on the state and aspirations of social and political inclusion, even if the two are often at odds and the former undermine the latter.

The nutritional status of 78 women was assessed during the third trimester of pregnancy. The study was conducted in military barracks in Sierra Leone with 39 adolescent women (<20 years) and 39 adult women (>20 years).Twenty-four hour dietary recall interviews and anthropometric measures were collected. Laboratory, clinical and physiological data were obtained from the subjects' medical records. The dietary analysis of the diets consumed by adolescent and adult women showed differences in the intakes of only calcium, phosphorous, potassium, selenium and sodium. The average diet consumed by the women was <2/3 the recommended guidelines for carbohydrate and <2/3 the Recommended Dietary Allowances for persons in the U.S. for kilocalories, protein, riboflavin, pyridoxine, folacin, pantothenic acid, cholesterol, calcium, iron, magnesium, phosphorous, sodium and zinc. The women consumed diets that were >100 percent of the RDA for vitamins A, C, E, niacin and selenium. Differences occurred in the infant birthweights and Apgar scores at 1, 5 and 10 minutes between women who had abnormal measures for hemoglobin, hematocrit, ketonuria, albuminuria, glycosuria and/or malaria parasites and the women who were healthy.Maternal weight gain, age and infant health status did not correlate. The average weight gain for all the women was 17.85 kg which is within the acceptable range recommended for pregnancy. Maternal weight-at-term, gestational age, triceps skinfolds, arm circumference, hemoglobin, hematocrit were correlated with infant birthweight, length and head circumference. Maternal hemoglobin and hematocrit further correlated with infant Apgar scores at 1, 5 and 10 minutes.Hemoglobin and hematocrit levels were very low for the average women in the study (X 9.7 g/dl and 29.7 percent respectively). The malaria reduced the infant birthweight by 431 g. Albuminuria and ketonuria were associated with reduced infant birthweight while modest glycosuria was associated with increased birthweight.
Department of Home Economics

Thesis (MPhil (Political Science))--University of Stellenbosch, 2008.
The primary goal of this thesis is to explore, analyse and apply the New War theory to the West African case of Sierra Leone. The motivation for conducting a study of this nature was that much literature exists on the assumption that the Sierra Leonean conflict equates to a resource war. This research project attempts to bridge the gap between the New War schools of thought and those who maintain a resource war approach. Although Kaldor’s (2006) work on New Wars is significant, she does not place much emphasis on Africa. In order to supplement this, William Reno (2001) and Paul Collier (2000) have also been studied. Both write about Africa. The RUF virtually razed the Sierra Leonean society to the ground. The overtly violent methods employed were dissimilar to the interstate and intrastate wars of the past. Blatant exploitation of the country’s mineral wealth aggravated the situation. In attempting to reach a relevant finding, this study is divided into distinctive sections. Chapter two documents the theoretical background. The writings of Kaldor (2006), Reno (2001) and Collier (2000) are explored and applied. The third chapter investigates the factors in the conflict. Issues such as the resource factor (diamonds) and poverty are discussed; the failed state in Sierra Leone; criminal networks; social conditions; arms; and the role of youth and children. The general finding of this chapter indicates that Sierra Leone fits this model. Chapter four describes and analyses the actors. Identity was not an issue in the Sierra Leone war; thus a large part of Kaldor’s theory becomes redundant. In the final assessment the study establishes what Sierra Leone’s position is: New War or merely resource war? The bulk of the applied theory proved to be applicable to this case; but the study also acknowledges the mistaken views regarding Kaldor’s identity theories. Collier and Reno’s works prove to be significantly more relevant. This study was able to determine that Sierra Leone was indeed an example of New Wars, albeit considerably affected and influenced by greed.

This thesis critiques liberal peacebuilding in Africa, with a particular focus on Sierra Leone. In particular, it examines the interface between the liberal peace and the “local”, the forms of agency that various local actors are expressing in response to the liberal peace and the hybrid forms of peace that are emerging in Sierra Leone. The thesis is built from an emerging critical literature that has argued for the need to shift from merely criticising liberal peacebuilding to examining local and contextual responses to it. Such contextualisation is crucial mainly because it helps us to develop a better understanding of the complex dynamics on the ground. The aim of this thesis is not to provide a new theory but to attempt to use the emerging insights from the critical scholarship through adopting the concept of hybridity in order to gain an understanding of the forms of peace that are emerging in post-conflict zones in Africa. This has not been comprehensively addressed in the context of post-conflict societies in Africa. Yet, much contemporary peace support operations are taking place in these societies that are characterised by multiple sources of legitimacy, authority and sovereignty. The thesis shows that in Sierra Leone local actors – from state elites to chiefs to civil society to ordinary people on the “margins of the state” – are not passive recipients of the liberal peace. It sheds new light on how hybridity can be created “from below” as citizens do not engage in outright resistance, but express various forms of agency including partial acceptance and internalisation of some elements of the liberal peace that they find useful to them; and use them to make demands for reforms against state elites who they do not trust and often criticise for their pre-occupation with political survival and consolidation of power. Further, it notes that in Sierra Leone a “post-liberal peace” that is locally-oriented might emerge on the “margins of the state” where culture, custom and tradition are predominant, and where neo-traditional civil society organisations act as vehicles for both the liberal peace and customary peacebuilding while allowing locals to lead the peacebuilding process. In Sierra Leone, there are also peace processes that are based on custom that are operating in parallel to the liberal peace, particularly in remote parts of the country.

Following the dramatic takeoff of contemporary China-Africa relationship in the late 1990s, this once neglected international phenomenon has become one of the most topical themes over the past decade. This new popularity is due not only to the growing importance of both China and Africa on the global stage, but also China's rapidly increasing foreign aid on the continent. However, whilst most scholars are focusing on the financial side of the story – the massive concessional loan deals, the generous investments in natural resources and so forth, the primary purpose of this foreign aid – assisting African recipient countries' economic and welfare development – has only generated minimal interest. Little is known regarding how China delivers its foreign aid, and even less about how this foreign aid actually works in the African recipient countries. In light of this situation, this study asks: How has China's foreign aid been assisting Africa's development? On the basis of drawing specific attention to the effectiveness and sustainability of China's foreign aid in Africa, this study also explores the factors that affect these outcomes. Which, as this study finds out in the end, friendship – a factor that is often overlooked by Western scholars and patriotically examined by Chinese scholars. Not only has it continuously played a substantial role in shaping the development of China's foreign aid in Africa, but it is also frequently the most influential underlying consideration that practically undermines China's foreign aid outcomes. All in all, whilst purposed to promote China's foreign aid outcomes, this study improves our understanding of China's foreign aid in Africa. As well it delves into the development of China's foreign aid in Africa, assesses its performance, this study finds the shortcomings of China's foreign aid at present and searches for practical solutions that may contribute to its future development.

Experiencing and obtaining Spiritual power is the primary goal of indigenous religious activity. The failure of evangelical missionaries to recognise and make use of this primal praeparatio evangelica, led to the development of an educated and elitist Church in Freetown from 1815 onwards. Krio Christianity failed to make accommodation for the African spiritual heritage and thus produced a very alien and exclusive form of African Christianity. The first form of Christianity to take root in Freetown was that carried across the Atlantic by the Nova Scotians in 1792. Their Christianity, born in the Great Evangelical Awakening of the seventeenth century, developed independent of White control. Enthusiasm, emotion and pneumatological manifestations were major features of their worship. Nova Scotian Christianity eventually lost its revivalistic fervour and was eventually taken over by Krio Christianity and British missionary control. Krio Christianity failed, however, to meet the Krio's own existential needs for spiritual power. Problem-solving power was sought along indigenous lines. This produced in Krio Christianity a religious dualism and an identity crisis. In 1947, the Nigerian Church of the Lord (Aladura) arrived in Freetown. The "Adejobis" challenged the Krio Christian community, but by and large, having taken the evangelical Christianity of the Victorian era as their own traditional religion, they did not receive it. The Spiritual churches appealed more the non-Krio residents of the city, and particularly to the illiterate. The style of Christianity introduced was highly indigenised. In many aspects it appeared as the indigenous pneumatology expressed in Christian forms and terms. Its main attractions lay in the areas of healing, problem-solving, and fortune-telling revelations.

In much of the developing world, the community is the arena of social interaction. Heterogeneity at this local level, combined with a weak state and economic underdevelopment, has been found to make communities particularly receptive to conflict. We know little about cooperation between members of different groups in such communities, and we know even less about the influence of actors, such as the village chief and Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs), that substitute for the state at this level. What role do the village chief and NGOs play in governing communities characterized by the influx of migrants? Do NGOs strengthen cleavages in heterogeneous societies? What is the role of the village elite in managing cooperation within a village? And which tools should researchers use to understand behavior at this local level? To answer these questions, this dissertation collected original data in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and Sierra Leone. Specifically, this project builds on carefully designed lab-in-the-field and field experiments, as well as original survey and ethnographic data, to explore the political economy of heterogeneous communities. The first essay shows how local institutions in the DRC are resilient to outside intervention. Importantly, I find causal evidence that local institutions, not NGOs, are key in sustaining high levels of intra-village cooperation in the presence of migrants. The second essay shows that NGOs in the same context influence how individuals relate to their social categories. I find that NGO activity can strengthen social categories that relate to access to development resources at the cost of those that benefit local cohesion. The final essay explores discriminatory behavior based on social status in rural Sierra Leone. I find that classic experiments may be insufficient in understanding behavior at the local level. In summary, this dissertation emphasizes the importance of research tools designed to measure local behavior, and challenges the basis for current international interventions by showing the positive role of the village chief and by providing micro-level evidence for the possible harmful role that NGOs can play in heterogeneous communities.

The purpose of this study was to investigate the role of ‘home food’ in the lives of Sierra Leoneans living in Durban who are members of the Sierra Leonean Association. Another aim was to find out if communal sharing of ‘home food’ in social networks assisted migrants in maintaining their home identity. To collect thick descriptive narratives from the twenty six members of the Sierra Leonean Association, this qualitative study used semi-structured, open-ended interview questions, participation observation and focus groups. The preliminary results of this study showed that for this group of migrants, ‘home food’ such as cassava leaves, egusi and okra play a significant role in mentally transporting these migrants vicariously back to their home country. Narratives showed that ‘home food’ acts as an ‘agent’ for maintaining home identity for Sierra Leonean migrants. The atmosphere in which ‘home food’ was eaten was said to have contributed to minimizing their longing for home as through food-related routines migrants brought’ home’ to their current living places. The conclusion can also be drawn that ‘home food’ plays a crucial role in preserving identity for Sierra Leoneans. It is one of the means by which culture can be maintained even when migrants are very far from home.
Thesis (M.Soc.Sc.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban, 2012.

This study which is the product of library research and fieldwork seeks, on account of the persistent marginalisation of African Traditional Religion (ATR) in Sierra Leone by Islam and Christianity, to investigate the place of ATR in inter-religious encounters in the country since the advent of Islam and Christianity. As in most of sub-Saharan Africa, ATR is the indigenous religion of Sierra Leone. When the early forebears and later progenitors of Islam and Christianity arrived, they met Sierra Leone indigenes with a remarkable knowledge of God and a structured religious system. Successive Muslim clerics, traders, and missionaries were respectful of and sensitive to the culture and religion of the indigenes who accommodated them and offered them hospitality. This approach resulted in a syncretistic brand of Islam. In contrast, most Christian missionaries adopted an exclusive and insensitive approach to African culture and religiosity. Christianity, especially Protestantism, demanded a complete abandonment of African culture and religion, and a total dedication to Christianity. This attitude has continued by some indigenous clerics and religious leaders to the extent that Sierra Leone Indigenous Religion (SLIR) and it practitioners continue to be marginalised in Sierra Leone's inter-religious dialogue and cooperation. Although the indigenes of Sierra Leone were and continue to be hospitable to Islam and Christianity, and in spite of the fact that SLIR shares affinity with Islam and Christianity in many theological and practical issues, and even though there are many Muslims and Christians who still hold on to traditional spirituality and culture, Muslim and Christian leaders of these immigrant religions are reluctant to include Traditionalists in interfaith issues in the country. The formation and constitution of the Inter-Religious Council of Sierra Leone (IRCSL) which has local and international recognition did not include ATR. These considerations, then beg the questions: * Why have Muslim and Christian leaders long marginalised ATR, its practices and practitioners from interfaith dialogue and cooperation in Sierra Leone? * What is lacking in ATR that continues to prevent practitioners of Christianity and Islam from officially involving Traditionalists in the socio-religious development of the country? Muslim and Christians have given several factors that are responsible for this exclusion: * The prejudices that they inherited from their forebears * ATR lacks the hallmarks of a true religion * ATR is primitive and economically weak * The fear that the accommodation of ATR will result in syncretism and nominalism * Muslims see no need to dialogue with ATR practitioners, most of whom they considered to be already Muslims Considering the commonalities ATR shares with Islam and Christianity, and the number of Muslims and Christians who still hold on to traditional spirituality, these factors are not justifiable. Although Islam and Christianity are finding it hard to recognise and include ATR in interfaith dialogue and cooperation in Sierra Leone, ATR continues to play a vital role in Sierra Leone's national politics, in the search and maintenance of employment, and in the judicial sector. ATR played a crucial part during and after the civil war. The national government in its Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) report acknowledged the importance and contribution of traditional culture and spirituality during and after the war. Outside of Sierra Leone, the progress in the place and level of the recognition of ATR continues. At varying degrees, the Sociétié Africaine de Culture (SAC) in France, the All Africa Conference of Churches (AACC), the Vatican, and the World Council of Churches, have taken positive steps to recognise and find a place for ATR in their structures. Much about the necessity for dialogue and cooperation with ATR can be learnt in the works and efforts of these secular and religious bodies. If nothing else, there are two main reasons why Islam and Christianity in Sierra Leone must be in dialogue with ATR: * Dialogue of life or in community. People living side-by-side meet and interact personally and communally on a regular basis. They share common resources and communal benefits. These factors compel people to be in dialogue * Dual religiosity. As many Muslims and Christians in Sierra Leone are still holding on to ATR practices, it is crucial for Muslims and Christians to dialogue with ATR practitioners. If Muslims and Christians are serious about meeting and starting a process of dialogue with Traditionalists, certain practical issues have to be considered: * Islam and Christianity have to validate and accept ATR as a true religion and a viable partner in the socio-religious landscape of Sierra Leone * Muslims and Christians must educate themselves about ATR, and the scriptures and teachings of their respective religious traditions in order to relate well with Traditionalists These are starting points that can produce successful results. Although at present Muslims and Christians in Sierra Leone are finding it difficult to initiate dialogue and cooperation with Traditionalists, all hope is not lost. It is now the task of the established IRCSL to ensure the inclusion of ATR. Islam and Christianity must remember that when they came as strangers, ATR, played host to them and has played and continues to play a vital role in providing hospitality, and allowing them to blossom on African soil.
Religious Studies and Arabic
D.Litt. et Phil. (Religious Studies)

This study is the product, chiefly, of fieldwork, undertaken in Sierra Leone, which sought to interview and experience contemporary Limba religio-cultural practices. Using a systematic approach, the goal was to provide a broader understanding of Limba religion, as well as to discover the effect of Limba religiosity, and the tenacity with which the Limba hold to their culture and religion, on the National Pentecostal Limba Church (NPLC) over the past three decades. The study begins with an introduction, which outlines its objectives and structure, the research methods, and its general outline. This is followed by a basic introduction to the socio-history of the Limba people, their origin, environment, language, politics, economy and other socio-cultural characteristics, in order to provide an understanding of the background on which their religion is formed. The heart of the study is a detailed examination of Limba religious beliefs and their intersection with Christianity. It includes a definition of Limba religion and its components. This seeks to identify the current state of Limba religion amidst the changes it has experienced and continues to experience as a result of internal and external influences, and to provide a template for this study, an analysis of the Limba belief in a supreme creator God whom they call Kanu Masala, his epithets, attributes and activities, Limba worship and worship methods, the Limba understanding of the spirit world, humankind, sin and salvation, and the roles of sacred specialists. The study concludes with an examination of the causes of the tenacious loyalty with which some Limba Christians hold to their traditional religious beliefs and practices, their reluctance to part with them, and the effects of their dual religiosity on the NPLC, as well as the church's response, and the resulting reciprocal effects over the past three decades in Sierra Leone. This study fills a gap in the extant literature about the ethno-theological landscape of Sierra Leone, and provides a detailed study on the intersection of African Traditional Religion and Christianity.
Systematic Theology & Theological Ethics
D.Th. (Systematic Theology)

Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI)
Previous research on post-conflict elections has found several criteria important in determining if an area is ready to hold elections and whether or not it is likely to succeed. Although rarely ranked in any determination of importance, several concepts are present in most post-conflict election research. Additionally, there is not an agreed set of standard criteria upon which success can be assumed. When researching the post-conflict election literature two questions arise: (1) is there a set of criteria established to determine if an area is ready to conduct post-conflict elections, and (2) do all criteria need to be present in order to ensure successful post-conflict elections? Most research agrees on common criteria but highlights or researches one dominant criterion, to which is then often attributed to the success of an election. This is found in Krishna Kumar’s focus on international assistance (Kumar, 1998), Staffan Lindberg’s attribution of success to repetition of the election process (Lindberg, 2006), Paul Collier’s focus on per capita income (Collier, 2009), and Marie-Soleil Frere’s research on post-conflict elections and the media (Frere, 2011). When reviewing multiple research sources, it is likely several factors at various times and in various elections will be credited with being the single source criterion for success. This kind of past research is well supported and conclusively argued, but still fails to provide a scope of understanding outside of a single event. In other words, it is case specific and not comparatively applicable across cases. Although this thesis does not intend to “McDonaldize” (Ritzer, 2009) the process of democratization, it does propose to define a common set of criteria necessary, even if in varying degrees, to conduct successful elections in post-conflict environments.

This volume critically examines what happens when war formally ends, the difficult and complex challenges and opportunities for winning the peace and reconciling divided communities. By reviewing a case study of the West African state of Sierra Leone, potential lessons for other parts of the world can be gained. Sierra Leone has emerged as a 'successful' model of liberal peacebuilding that is now popularly advertised and promoted by the international community as a powerful example of a country that they finally got right. Concerns about how successful a model Sierra Leone actually is, are outlined in this project. As such this volume: provides a critical understanding of the nature, dynamics and complexity of post-war peacebuilding and development from an internal perspective; critically assesses the role and contribution of the international community to state reconstruction and post-war peacebuilding and evaluates what happens when war ends; and explores the potential relevance and impact of comparative international efforts of post-war state building and reconstruction in other parts of Africa and the world. The collection focuses not only on understanding the root causes of conflict but also identifying and appreciating the possibilities and opportunities for peace. The lessons found in this book resonate well beyond the borders of Sierra Leone and Africa in general.