26.11.2014 Rroma and the Pentecostal movement in Great Britain

Ridley (2014) reports on the relationship between Rroma and the Pentecostal Church in Great Britain. Based on the biography of the Rroma Pastor Jackie Boyd, she discusses the characteristics and contradictions of the Pentecostal movement: she assesses as positive the efforts of the Pentecostal church to improve the education of the Rroma. On one hand, this happens with the aim to understand the Bible in its details, on the other hand, the social status and position of the Rroma shall be improved. Ridley sees as negative the very conservative ideas with respect to the status of women. Thus, in the “Light and Life” church, it is forbidden for women to preach. Also, conservative role models dominate their role in the family and in society: “Light and Life followers straddle both the mystic and the modern. They believe in miracles, carry out full-immersion baptism and follow the bible’s words literally. Yet the church is making some sweeping modern changes to the traditional gypsy culture: it forbids fortune-telling, drinking and smoking, as well as arranged marriage which is practiced in mainland Europe. It supports education beyond 12 years old. Around a fifth of gypsy children in the UK don’t go to secondary school, and of those that do, half drop out. […] Dennis Latham, a volunteer to National Federation of Gypsy Liaison Groups, says Light and Life is “getting people on the straight and narrow” but is concerned it promotes male dominance over women. An evangelical Christian himself with a church affiliated to Light and Life, he explains: “They won’t let a woman preach in a church. I disagree with it, because modern teaching is that women have equal rights. I’ve seen Light and Life put women out if they spoke out.”” The statistic mentioned above that claims one-fifth of Rroma children in the UK do not go to school and that half of high school students drop out has to be critically questioned. Since there are no comprehensive surveys on Rroma in the UK, it has to be assumed that the statistic only took into account Rroma already marginalised and therefore easy-to-find. However, many Rroma in the UK are well integrated.

The self-empowerment of Rroma through the Pentecostal church can indeed be seen as something positive, if one focuses on the aspect of the strengthening of civil rights and the fostering of education. However, one should be cautious when the Pentecostal morality is said to be superior to other social values. Many Pentecostal churches forbid their members to use contraceptives, to abort and diabolize homosexuals as possessed by demons. Such a morality is not based on an enlightened understanding of the world and independent critical thinking, but on Christian traditions, which in case of contradictions, put themselves above the traditions of the Rroma. An uncritical subjection to conservative role models and values should be questioned. They can also severely hinder a real self-determination.