Cambridge University Press Crossing Religious Boundaries: Islam, Christianity, and ‘Yoruba Religion' in Lagos, Nigeria: 64 (The International African Library)

Religious pluralism, as encountered in multi-faith settings such as Nigeria's biggest city Lagos, challenges much of what we have long taken for granted about religion, including the ready-made binaries of Christianity versus Islam, religion versus secularism, religious monism versus polytheism, and tradition versus modernity. In this book, Marloes Janson offers a rich ethnography of religions, religious pluralism and practice in Lagos, analysing how so-called 'religious shoppers' cross religious boundaries, and the coexistence of different religious traditions where practitioners engage with these simultaneously. Prompted to develop a broader conception of religion that shifts from a narrow analysis of religious traditions as mutually exclusive, Janson instead offers a perspective that focuses on the complex dynamics of their actual entanglements. Including real-life examples to illustrate religion in Lagos through religious practice and lived experiences, this study takes account of the ambivalence, inconsistency and unpredictability of lived religion, proposing assemblage as an analytical frame for exploring the conceptual and methodological possibilities that may open as a result. Review 'Written from the hustle of life in Lagos where 'everything is possible', this evocative book opens up new possibilities for research on religion in plural settings. Grounded in a series of fantastic case studies of 'Chrislam' and other instances of religious mixing, Janson offers a fresh conceptual framework for studying the interactions of Christians, Muslims and traditionalists. Taking relationality as default, she proposes new inroads for our understanding of religious plurality from the angle of assemblage.' Birgit Meyer, Utrecht University'A superb, well-argued, and competently anchored monograph on the ebullient religious field that is Yorubaland, Nigeria. A brilliant sequel to the author's hugely influential first book, it will further cement her growing reputation as one of the most knowledgeable and insightful scholars of the religious economy in West Africa. Janson has a novelist's eye for the telling anecdote, and her analysis immerses the reader in an everyday reality in which the absurd is never too far away from the profound.' Ebenezer Obadare, University of Kansas'For anyone interested in the meaning, value and transformation of religion in urban centres such as Lagos in Nigeria, this is an extraordinarily important and insightful text. With considerable breadth and theoretical depth, Janson lucidly weaves together a deeply captivating range of insights of how urban religions intersect with the everyday lives and practices of people in Africa's largest urban sprawl.' Asonzeh Ukah, University of Cape Town Book Description A rich ethnography of lived religious experiences in Lagos, offering a unique look at religious pluralism in Nigeria's biggest city. About the Author Marloes Janson is Professor of West African Anthropology and Associate Director of Research at SOAS University of London, and Senior Fellow of the Higher Education Academy. Her work lies at the intersection of anthropology and religion, focusing on Nigeria and the Gambia. She is the author of Islam, Youth, and Modernity in the Gambia: The Tablighi Jamaʿat (2013) which received the Amaury Talbot Prize for African Anthropology in 2014.