Addis Ababa University

School of Graduate Studies

College of Social Sciences

Department of Anthropology

The Socioeconomic Roles of Religion: The Case of Ethiopian Orthodox

Tewahedo Churches in Addis Ababa

By

Kumilachew Siferaw

June, 2015

Addis Ababa, Ethiopia

 The Socioeconomic Roles of Religion: The Case of Ethiopian Orthodox
Tewahedo Churches in Addis Ababa

By

Kumilachew Siferaw

A Thesis Submitted in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree

of Masters of Arts in Social Anthropology

Addis Ababa University, School of Graduate Studies, College of Social

Sciences, Department of Social Anthropology

Addis Ababa

June, 2015

i
 Addis Ababa University

School of Graduate Studies

College of Social Sciences

As member of the Board of examiners of the M.A Thesis Open Defense Examination, we certify
that we have read, evaluated the thesis prepared by Kumilachew Siferaw Anteneh and examined
the candidate. We recommended that the Thesis be accepted as fulfilling the thesis requirements
for the degree of Master of Arts in Social Anthropology.
___________________________ __________________ ________________
Advisor Signature Date
___________________________ __________________ ________________
Internal Examiner Signature Date
____________________________ __________________ ________________
External Examiner Signature Date

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 Dedication
This thesis is dedicated to my beloved parents W/ro Terualem Ayalew and Ato Siferaw Anteneh.

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 Glossary
Asrat A payment in which Orthodox Christians give one tenth of their income to
the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church
Awude Mihert Land of mercy
Debeteras Learned cleric
Emnet Looks like dust but is holly and used for spiritual cleansing services by
priests.
Ekub A local institution which can be established by two or more individuals for
the purpose of saving
Erkus Menefes Evil Spirits
Qeba Qidus Holy Oil
Kerestina The dedication of children to God by bringing them to the Church on the 40th

(for a male child) and 80th (for female child) dates after birth for baptism.

Yetsewa Mahber Association which is established to provide alms and to remember

saints and angels
Menafek Non-believer
Neseha abat A religious father/priest who gives spiritual counseling to laities
of the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church
Qene/Mewedes Poetry
Selet Vow
Tesekar A ritual which is organized to remember a deceased person
Tsebel Holy water
Wet Local soup
Yaredawi zema Melody of St. Yared
Yeliqawent Gubaye A union of scholars of the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church,
which established to protect the dogmas and values of the Church.

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 Abbreviations

AACA Addis Ababa City Administration

AADS Addis Ababa Diocese Secretariat
CSA Central Statistics Agency
E.C Ethiopian Calendar
EOTC Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church
ETB Ethiopian Birr
FGD Focus Group Discussion
PHCR Population and Housing Census Report
St. Saint

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 Acknowledgment
This thesis project never would have been started, much less completed, without the support of
many individuals. First and for most I have to extend my deepest appreciation for their patience,
kindness and confidence. I would particularly like to express my gratitude to the following
persons: I feel deeply indebted and would like to express my sincere gratitude to my advisor Dr.
Ayalew Gebre, my thesis research advisor, for amicably motivating, scientifically supporting and
genuinely criticizing me from the time the study was conceived right up to its completion.

My special heartfelt gratitude also goes to my family particularly to my sister Melkam Siferaw
and her beloved husband Mullalem Dillu for their affection and encouragement and supporting
me in all that I do, and for believing in me. Besides, I would also like to express my heartfelt
thanks to my brothers and sisters, Balew Siferaw, Genet Siferaw, and Sefinew Siferaw for their
love and help in the whole course of my postgraduate study.

Last but not the least; I am grateful to my friend Yaregal Mekuria for his moral support and
encouragement in every aspect during the thesis preparation.

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 Table of Contents
Contents Page

Dedication. ..................................................................................................................................... iii

Glossary………… ......................................................................................................................... iv

Abbreviations .................................................................................................................................. v

Acknowledgment ........................................................................................................................... vi

Table of Contents .......................................................................................................................... vii

Abstract……… ............................................................................................................................... x

Chapter One .................................................................................................................................... 1

Introduction ..................................................................................................................................... 1

1.1. Background of the Study .............................................................................................. 1

1.2. Statement of the Problem .............................................................................................. 2

1.3. Objectives of the Study ................................................................................................. 4

1.3.1. General Objective ..................................................................................................... 4

1.3.2. Specific Objectives of the Study ............................................................................... 4

1.4. Significance of the Study .............................................................................................. 4

1.5. Description of the Study Area....................................................................................... 4

1.6. Scope of the Study ........................................................................................................ 5

1.7. Limitation of the Study ................................................................................................. 6

Chapter Two.................................................................................................................................... 8

Epistemology, Theoretical Perspective, Methodology and Methods of the Research ................... 8

2.1. Epistemology ................................................................................................................ 8

2.2. Theoretical Perspective ................................................................................................. 9

2.3. Methodology ................................................................................................................. 9

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 2.4. Data Collection Methods ............................................................................................ 10

2.4.1. Primary Methods of Data Collection ...................................................................... 10

2.4.2. Secondary Sources .................................................................................................. 13

2.5. Data Analysis and Interpretation ................................................................................ 13

2.6. Research Ethics ........................................................................................................... 14

Chapter Three................................................................................................................................ 16

Related Literature Review ............................................................................................................ 16

3.1. On the Definitions of Religion ........................................................................................... 16

3.2. The Roles of Religion in Society ................................................................................ 20

3.1.1. Religion and Health ................................................................................................ 21

3.1.2. Religion and Social Support ................................................................................... 22

Chapter Four ................................................................................................................................. 24

Religiosity and its Present condition is Addis Ababa ................................................................... 24

4.1. The Understanding of Orthodox Christians towards Religiosity ................................ 24

4.1.1. Religiosity in terms of Religious Knowledge ......................................................... 25

4.1.2. Religiosity in terms of Religious Practice ................................................................... 25

4.2. Measurements of Religiosity for Orthodox Christians in Addis Ababa ..................... 26

4.2.1. Church Attendance.................................................................................................. 26

4.2.2. Religious Adherence ............................................................................................... 28

4.2.3. Religious Service and Occupation .......................................................................... 28

4.2.4. Private Religious Devotions ................................................................................... 30

4.2.5. Religious Donations ................................................................................................ 30

4.3. Religiosity of Orthodox Christians: Present Condition .............................................. 32

4.4. Factors Behind the Religiosity of Orthodox Christians in Addis Ababa .................... 35

4.4.1. Religious Competition and Proselyte...................................................................... 35

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 4.4.2. Applying Electronic Media for Spiritual Teachings ............................................... 37

Chapter Five .................................................................................................................................. 40

The Role of EOTC on Social Support and Social Interaction ...................................................... 40

5.1. The Role of EOTC on Social Support ........................................................................ 40

5.1.1. Provision of Food .................................................................................................... 41

5.1.2. Provision of Clothing .............................................................................................. 43

5.2. The Role of EOTC on Social Interaction .................................................................... 44

5.3. Challenges of EOTCs‟ and its Effect on Social Support ............................................ 47

Chapter Six.................................................................................................................................... 51

The Role of EOTC in the Provision of Health Care Services....................................................... 51

6.1. The EOTC‟s View Towards Health ............................................................................ 51

6.2. Healing Through the Spiritual Practices of Tsebel ..................................................... 52

6.3. Healing through the Spiritual Practices of Keba Kidus/Holy Oil ............................... 56

6.4. Healing through the Spiritual Practices of Emnet ....................................................... 56

6.5. When do Orthodox Christians Seek Spiritual Health Care Services? ........................ 57

Chapter Seven ............................................................................................................................... 59

Summary and Conclusion ............................................................................................................. 59

References. .................................................................................................................................... 63

Appendixes ................................................................................................................................... 67

Appendix 1: Budget Breakdown ................................................................................................... 67

Appendix 2: List of Informants..................................................................................................... 69

Appendix 3: Plain Language Statement ........................................................................................ 71

Appendix 4: Consent Form ........................................................................................................... 74

Appendix 5: Interview and FGD Guidelines ................................................................................ 75

Appendix 6: Author‟s Declaration ................................................................................................ 78

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The Socioeconomic Roles of Religion: the Case of Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Churches
in Addis Ababa

Abstract
The primary purpose of this thesis is to describe the socioeconomic roles of religion with a
particular reference to Ethiopian Orthodox Churches in Addis Ababa. Having the
epistemological stance of constructivism, this research is conducted using the theoretical
perspective of interpritivism. The researcher adopts a phenomenological methodology and
mainly emphasizing on interpreting the data obtained from respondents. In relation to the data
collection methods, key informant interviews, focus group discussion (FGDs), observations and
informal conversations have been used. By using such methods, this research answers four basic
questions in relation to the main objective. First, it describes about the understanding of
Orthodox Christians towards religiosity and its present condition in Addis Ababa. With respect
to this, findings suggest that Orthodox Christians understand religiosity in ways that are linked
to religious knowledge and practice in general, and they understand religiosity in terms of
church attendance, religious adherence, religious services and occupation, private religious
devotions, and religious donations in particular. Second, this research describes the role of
Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Churches (EOTCs) in the provision of social support. Findings
reveal that Churches provide three kinds of support: emotional support, provision of food, and
provision of clothes. Third, this thesis explains about the Church’s role in affecting the nature of
social and interpersonal relationships of its followers. Accordingly, this research finds that
EOTCs plays both positive and negative roles on the interactions of individuals. It promotes
interaction between its followers, and, on the other hand, it has a negative impact on the
relationship between Orthodox Christians and followers of other religion. Finally, an attempt
has been made to describe the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Churches in the provision of
health care services. In this regard, the Church uses its spiritual practices as a means of
providing health care services to laities. Tsebel, Qeba Qidus and Emnet are among the spiritual
practices which are used as a means of delivering health care services in the city. Of those
spiritual practices, Tsebel is the most widely used mode of healings in the Ethiopian Orthodox
Tewahedo Churches.

From the findings of this research, it is possible to conclude that religion is an inherently a
social phenomenon, and it has many effects on the socioeconomic life of a certain community. If
so, this kind of researches on the socioeconomic aspects of religion will play a great role in
providing vital information for policy makers and administrators to use religious organizations
as a working partner in implementing their social and economic policies. Moreover, this study
adds knowledge by bringing to light the socio-economic roles of EOTCs in Addis Ababa.

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 Chapter One

Introduction

1.1. Background of the Study

The concept of religion has been as controversial as that of the related and similarly elusive,
intangible concept of culture. Scholars from various field of study define religion in many ways.
A more anthropologically universal definition of religion is forwarded by Geertz. For Geertz:

Religion is a system of symbols which act to establish powerful, pervasive, and long-
lasting moods and motivations in men by formulating conceptions of a general order
of existence and clothing these conceptions with such an aura of factuality that the
moods and motivations seem uniquely realistic (Geertz 1973: 90-91).

Anthropologists such as Tylor, Frazer and others also define religion in many ways. But there is
no universally agreed definition of religion. “The truth is that religion probably entails all of the
things explained by different scholars simultaneously, but disparately for different religions”
(Eller, 2007: 7). The various definitions emphasize certain aspects of the phenomenon or betray
the theoretical orientations of their authors. Clearly, scholars do not agree precisely how to begin
to talk about religion. They emphasize different aspects of it (Eller, 2007: 7).

As Eller (2007) argues, anthropologists do not focus on the “official” or “high” or “canonical”
version of religions, particularly as we find them in texts and scriptures or in the understandings
of officials and specialists. Anthropology should emphasize on how human beings use their
religious resources for specific social and personal reasons. In other words, anthropologists are
less interested in the doctrine of a certain religion than in the lived practice of the religion.
Anthropologists should emphasize on describing how the religious practices will relate with the
social and other aspects of a certain community. This research, therefore, tries to explore the
socioeconomic role of religion with a particular reference to Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo
Churches in Addis Ababa.

The Ethiopian Orthodox Täwahdo Church (EOTC) is a unique African Church which has a deep
rooted relation with the socioeconomic and political history of Ethiopia (Abbink, 2003: 1). It is
distinct in that it preceded the formation and development of Christianity in the West with

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several hundreds of years. The Ethiopian Orthodox Tawahdo Church which develops its own
liturgy, educational system for clergy and laymen, monastic tradition, religious music, and an
extensive tradition of commentary and exegesis of the Bible in the African continent. These
elements contributed to the formation of a distinct domain of Ethiopian Christian religious
identity, which was, however, not developed in isolation from Christianity (Abbink, 2003: 1).

Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Churches in Addis Ababa are not limited only as a place for
worshiping, but they are also engaging in the socioeconomic life of the society. They play their
own roles on social support and interaction, health, and other aspects of the society. Therefore,
this research aims to explore the socioeconomic roles of Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo
Churches in Addis Ababa.

1.2. Statement of the Problem

Ethiopian Orthodox Christianity has been the focus of historians, theologians, students of
religion and philologists because of its long and complex history, its being a natural case for
comparison with Western Christianity, and its long written tradition, as evident not only in royal
chronicles, theological works, poetry, and hagiographies of saints and holy men, but also in its
rich and highly interesting corpus of religious exegeses and commentaries (Abbink 2003: 4-5).

Sergew and Tadesse (1970), Getnet (1998), Votrin (2003), Alemayehu (2007), and Chaillot
(2009) are some of the scholars who tried to show the role of EOTCs in literature, forest
conservation, and traditional teaching of the church as well as the features of EOTC. Sergew and
Tadesse on their work “The Church of Ethiopia: A Panorama of History and Spiritual Life” in
1970 tried to show the role of Ethiopian Orthodox Church for the development of literature and
art such as painting and manuscript art, liturgical works etc. They described the literary
achievements during Aksumite Period c. 5th- 7th centuries A.D and Solomonic restoration in
relation to EOTC.

Getnet‟s work “Features of the Ethiopian Orthodox Church and the Clergy” (1998) also tries to
give a historical overview of the Church, ecclesiastical establishment and the process undertaken
to develop Orthodox Christianity within the country. In explaining the history of the church,
Getnet states that the Ethiopian Orthodox Church has been indigenized and has made the

2
heritage which it thus received and developed it in a unique way against the cultural and social
background of Ethiopia (Getnet 1998: 90). Though the church adapts some of its practices from
Jewish, the practices and values of Ethiopian Orthodox Church is original. In general, Getnet
tries to show the originality of Church buildings, Church hierarchy, priesthood and
administration and contemporary image of the Ethiopian Church in Africa and abroad.

Besides the above scholars, Alemayehu (2007) describes the role of the EOTC on sustainable
forest conservation. By taking the case of EOTCs in South Gonder, Alemayehu explains the
opportunities, challenges and constraints of EOTC in conserving forest resources. He states that
the diversity of indigenous woody species and the forest area protected by the Ethiopian
Orthodox churches are significant, and by and large the contribution of the EOTC in forest
resource conservation for the zone in particular and the country in general is considerable
(Alemayehu, 2007: 62). Alemayehu is only emphasizing to show the challenges, opportunities
and constraints of EOTC in South Gonder in conserving forest resources.

Most of the research works on EOTC have been done with great emphasis on the doctrinal and
canonical versions of the Church and they are delimited in geographical settings. There is little in
the way of systematic understanding of the socioeconomic role of EOTC in urban areas. This
might have resulted from our previous understanding of cities as a zone of sin and impiety since
the dawn of recorded history (Starke and Finke 1988: 41). As Spalding (1880) states "In the city
neither the rich nor the poor can realize the infinite charm of the Christian ideal; the heart is
troubled there, and God is not in the short-lived of human passion" (cited in Starke and Finke
1988: 41). Social scientists also assert that city life is corrosive of the moral order and that urban
life is inevitably more permissive than country life. As Sjoberg (1960: 340) explained, urban
religion sustains norms that "are generally permissive" because the "divergent, and often
contradictory roles, and the new technology ensures a continuous cycle of change, all of which
requires flexibility of norms" (Sjoberg 1960: 340).

By bringing to light the roles of EOTCs in social support, social interaction, and health care
services, this research fills knowledge gaps and adds knowledge to the anthropological
understandings of religion.

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 1.3. Objectives of the Study

1.3.1. General Objective

The overall objective of this study is to describe the socioeconomic roles of religion with a
particular reference to some selected Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Churches in Addis Ababa.

1.3.2. Specific Objectives of the Study

The specific objectives of this study include;
1. To describe religiosity and its present condition as perceived by Orthodox Christians in
Addis Ababa
2. To explore the role of Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Churches the provision of social
support

3. To explore how the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Churches affect the nature of social
and interpersonal relationships of its laities

4. To describe the role of Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Churches in the provision of

health care services

1.4. Significance of the Study

Religion may affect the social and economic aspects of a certain community. Understanding
multi-functions of religion will help someone to easily understand the socioeconomic life of the
community. This study will play a great role in providing vital information for administrators of
the city to use religious organizations as a working partner in implementing their social and
economic policies. Moreover, this study will add knowledge by bringing to light the socio-
economic roles of EOTCs in Addis Ababa.

1.5. Description of the Study Area

Addis Ababa was founded by Emperor Menelik and his wife Empress Taitu in 1886. Since 1889
it has functioned as the capital of Ethiopia (Menwuylet, 2005: 3). Addis Ababa lies at an altitude
of 7,546 feet (2,300 metres) and located at 9°1′48″N 38°44′24″E Coordinates: 9°1′48″N
38°44′24″E. The city lies at the foot of Mount Entoto. From its lowest point, around Bole
International Airport, at 2,326 metres (7,631 ft) above sea level in the southern periphery, the
city rises to over 3,000 metres (9,800 ft) in the Entoto Mountains to the north (AACA, 2000).

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According to the population projection figures made by CSA in 2012, the total population of
Addis Ababa in 2013 is 3,103,673, of whom 1,478,890 are men and 1,624,783 are women (CSA,
2012: 41). Although all Ethiopian ethnic groups are represented in Addis Ababa due to its
position as capital of the country, the largest groups include the Amhara (47.04%%), Oromo
(19.51%), Gurage (16.34%), Tigrean (6.18%), Silt'e (2.94%), and Gamo (1.68%). Languages
spoken include Amharic (71.0%), Oromiffa (10.7%), Gurage (8.37%), Tigrinya (3.60%), Silt'e
(1.82%) and Gamo (1.03%) (CSA, 2007: 86).

The religion with the most believers in Addis Ababa is the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewhado with
74.7% of the population, while 16.2% are Muslim, 7.77% Protestant, and 0.48% Catholic
(CSA,2007: 116). Since other religions are not the main focus of this research, I mainly
emphasize on Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahdo Churches which are administered by the Addis
Ababa Diocese Secretariat (AADS). According to the information obtained from AADS, there
are one hundred sixty two Orthodox Tewahdo Churches in Addis Ababa. These churches are
engaged in various developmental activities such as social support, health, and other activities
which are important to the society. Therefore, this study describes the socioeconomic role of
Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Churches in Addis Ababa.

1.6. Scope of the Study

In order to make the study more manageable in terms of the writer‟s aim and interests, available
time, finance and facilities, attempt has been made to delimit the scope and dimensions of the
study with regards to the topical scope –breadth and depth, area to be covered, respondents to be
studied, and issues to be analyzed.

This study is confined to study the socioeconomic roles of religion with a particular reference to
Ethiopian orthodox Tewahedo Churches in Addis Ababa. Issues to be analyzed in this study are
delimited to the roles of EOTCs on social support, social interaction, and health as well as the
current trends of religiosity among Orthodox Christians in Addis Ababa.

In relation to the geographical areas to be covered, this research is confined with the limit of five
selected Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Churches in Addis Ababa. These Churches are:

5
 1. St. Mary Church

2. St. Urael Church

3. St. Ledeta Church

4. St. Raguael Church and

5. Holy Trinity Cathedral

Before I decided to select the above churches, I have conducted a preliminary survey in some
Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Churches which are easily accessible to me. This gave me a
chance to have some kind of informal conversation with laities of EOTC. I asked laities to tell
me name of churches which are closely related to socioeconomic life of the people. This helped
me to get preliminary information about EOTCs in Addis Ababa. Based on the information I get
from my informal conversation and my previous knowledge, I have selected the aforementioned
churches. I select those churches using some criteria such as convenience, prior knowledge to the
churches etc. Here, though five churches are selected as the main research sites, I also collect
data from other EOTCs such as St. Gabriel Church and Madehanialem Church. Besides, I also
collect data from the Addis Ababa Diocese Secretariats.

As far as the respondents are concerned, this research covers all informants including, laities,
priests, deacons, Sunday school students, theology students and officials of the Ethiopian
Orthodox Tewahedo Churches in Addis Ababa. But this study gives a profound attention to
laities and religious leaders who are serving in those churches which are selected as research
sites.

1.7. Limitation of the Study

It is possible to say that all researches are not free from any kind of limitations. The difference is
on the methods that researchers used to minimize those limitations. I have faced some challenges
while I conduct this research. Lack of prior research studies which are related to the topic I am
interested in was the first limitation of this study.

The other constraint was the difficulty to access informants. It was difficult for me to meet
religious leaders and officials of the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Churches for interview. In

6
the beginning of the research, I was planning to interview managers of EOTC in Addis Ababa
which are selected as a sample. But it was difficult to meet them due to various reasons such as
they were frequently on a meeting. To solve this problem, I decided to extend the time in which I
first planned to finish the research. By doing this, I was able to meet some church officials.

To conduct a detail research work, a great deal of financial resource is needed for various
purposes. Lack of adequate budget was one constraint to carry out this research.

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 Chapter Two

Epistemology, Theoretical Perspective, Methodology and Methods of the Research

There is an interrelationship between the theoretical stance adopted by the researcher, the
methodology and methods used, and the researcher‟s view of the epistemology (Gray, 2004: 16).
In other words, the choice of methods, methodology, theoretical perspectives adopted by the
researcher and the researcher‟s epistemological stance are influenced by one another. Therefore,
a researcher is expected to explain the epistemological, theoretical and methodological aspects of
his/her research so that he/she could draw a clear picture for readers about the nature of his/her
research.

2.1. Epistemology
Having an epistemological perspective is important for several reasons. First, it can help to
clarify issues of research design. Secondly, knowledge of research philosophy will help the
researcher to recognize which designs will work or not work for a given set of objectives (Gray,
2004: 17).

Epistemology furnishes a philosophical background for deciding what kinds of cognition are
legitimate and adequate (Gray, 2004: 16). There are three positions in epistemology; objectivist
epistemology, constructivist epistemology and subjectivist epistemology. Objectivist
epistemology holds that reality exists independently of consciousness. As a result research is
about discovering this objective truth. In contrast, constructivism argues that truth and meaning
do not exist in some external world, but are created by the subject‟s interactions with the world.
Meaning is constructed not discovered, so subjects construct their own meaning in different
ways, even in relation to the same phenomenon (Gray, 2004: 17). In contrast to constructivism,
for subjectivism, meaning does not emerge from the interplay between the subject and the
outside world, but is imposed on the object by the subject. Subjects do construct meaning, but do
so from within collective unconsciousness, from dreams, from religious beliefs, etc (Gray, 2004:
17).

8
The epistemological stance that a researcher uses may differ based on the issue being researched.
I used constructivism as the epistemological stance of this research because religion is a socially
constructed behavior.

2.2. Theoretical Perspective

Of the different theoretical perspectives available, interpretivism is mostly linked to the
epistemological stance of constructivism. Interpretivism looks for culturally derived and
historically situated interpretations of the social life-world. It asserts that natural reality and
social realities are different and therefore require different kinds of method. While the natural
sciences are looking for consistencies in the data in order to deduce „laws‟, the social sciences
often deal with the actions of the individual. According to interpretivists, researches in the social
science have to focus on exactly those aspects that are unique, individual and qualitative (Gray,
2004: 20). This research is, therefore, done using interpretivists theoretical perspective and it is
mainly based on interpretation of the data obtained from the respondents.

2.3. Methodology
―Research methodology is a way to systematically solve the research problem. It may be
understood as a science of studying how research is done scientifically” (Kothari, 2004: 5). A
researcher may adopt different steps and approaches in studying his/her research problem along
with the logic behind them (Kothari, 2004: 8). The choice of research methodology is determined
by a combination of several factors – for example, whether the researcher believes that there is
some sort of external „truth‟ out there that needs discovering, or whether the task of research is to
explore people‟s multiple perspectives in natural field settings. It is influenced, then, by whether
the research is inclined towards a positivist, interpretivist, or other perspective. It will also be
influenced, for example, by the researcher‟s attitude towards the ways in which she or he thinks
theory should be used – whether research should begin with a theoretical model or perspective
(deductive approach) or whether such models should emerge from the data itself (inductively)
(Gray, 2004: 25).

I adopted a phenomenological research methodology for this research. Phenomenology holds

that any attempt to understand social reality has to be grounded in people‟s experiences of that
social reality (Gray, 2004: 21). One of the advantages of phenomenology is that, because of its

9
emphasis on the inductive collection of large amounts of data, it is more likely to pick up factors
that were not part of the original research focus. It is also capable of producing „thick
descriptions‟ of people‟s experiences or perspectives within their natural settings. But it is often
based upon quite small case studies giving rise to concerns about its generalizability to other
situations (Gray, 2004: 28). I preferred phenomenological research methodology because this
methodology is more suited to provide me with the answers to the research questions that I am
interested in.

2.4. Data Collection Methods

I began the task of data collection after I defined the research problem and chalked out the
research design. I used both primary and secondary data sources. The primary data are those
which are collected afresh and for the first time, and thus happen to be original in character. The
secondary data, on the other hand, are those which have already been collected by someone else
(Kothari, 2004: 95). The different methods of data collections employed in this research are
described below.

2.4.1. Primary Methods of Data Collection

There are several methods of collecting primary data, particularly in descriptive researches. In
descriptive researches it is common to collect primary data either through observation or through
direct communication with participants in one form or another or through personal interviews
(Kothari, 2004: 95). I used in-depth interview, FGD, and observation methods to obtain primary
data.

In-depth Interviews:
An interview is a conversation between people in which one person has the role of researcher.
Interviewing may pose challenges because of human interaction between the interviewer and
respondent (Gray, 2004: 2133). The interview method of collecting data involves presentation of
oral-verbal stimuli and reply in terms of oral-verbal responses (Kothari, 2004: 97). In-depth
interviews are those interviews that are designed to discover underlying motives and desires.
Such interviews are held to explore needs, desires and feelings of respondents. In other words,
they aim to elicit unconscious and also other types of material relating especially to personality
dynamics and motivations (Kothari, 2004: 110).

10
There are a number of situations in which the interview is the most logical research technique. If
the objective of the research, for example, is largely exploratory, involving, say, the examination
of feelings or attitudes, then interviews may be the best approach. The use of semi-structured
interviews also allows the researcher to „probe‟ for more detailed responses where the
respondents are asked to clarify what they have said. This phenomenological approach, then, is
concerned with the meanings that people ascribe to phenomena. Interviews are also useful where
it is likely that people may enjoy talking about their work rather than filling in questionnaires.
An interview allows them an opportunity to reflect on events without having to commit them in
writing, often because they feel the information may be confidential (Gray, 2004: 214).

I interviewed 12 key informants who are supposed to have a better understanding of the subject.
In order to select these informants, I just go to the administrative office of churches which are
selected as a research sites. Then I explain to them about the objectives of my research and asked
them to provide me the names of individuals who are supposed to have detail knowledge about
the issue. By using this technique I interviewed three individuals from Addis Ababa Diocese
Secretariat, and the remaining nine informants are composed of priests, deacons and preachers
who are serving in the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Churches. This does not mean that laities
are not included in any of the interview sessions. Rather laities are participated on other forms of
interviews and informal conversations though they are not interviewed as a key-informant.

From the twelve key informant interviews I have conducted, nine of them were tape recorded,
whereas the three interviews from the Addis Ababa diocese Secretariat are not tape recorded
because informants were not willing to be recorded. Each interview lasted between one and half
and two hours.

I used interviewing to collect data on the socioeconomic role of EOTC. In other words, using
interview methods I was able to get vital information on the role of the Church on social support
and health.

Focus Group Discussions (FGDs):

Focus group discussion was the other method used in this research to collect data. The FGD is
composed of a group of people who willingly come together to discuss over some issues raised
by the researcher. In the discussion, the researcher acts as a moderator by asking relevant

11
questions, manages diversions from the central topic and controlling „break away conversations‟
(Dawson, 2007: 30-31).

I employed this method to explore how Orthodox Christians do understand religiosity and the
current trends of religiosity in Addis Ababa. This method is also employed to explore the effects
of EOTC on the social and interpersonal relationships of laities. I conducted three focus group
discussions with a member of eight participants for each discussion. Participants for discussion
were selected purposefully by taking into consideration variables such as social responsibilities
gender, and age. Members for group discussion are selected from similar background i.e. that is
to mean participants in a focus group were more or less homogeneous in terms of their
background. In the first FGD, students from theology colleges of EOTC were included. Eight
individuals were participated in this session. These participants were selected from students of
Holy Trinity Theological College. The college has two programs: Diploma and Degree
programs. Considering this, I selected a number of 4 students from each program. Though I tried
to consider gender in the selection process, all participants in this session were male because it is
rare to find females in theological colleges. In the second FGD, members from the laities of
EOTC are included. A number of four males and four females were included. These participants
were selected based on their interest and willingness to take part in the discussion. And the third
FGD was conducted with a collection of individuals who are members of Sunday schools. A
number of five females and three males were included in this session. I selected those
participants by making announcements among people who came to attend Sunday school
lessons. Though many Sunday school students were interested to participate in the discussion, I
only select eight of them based on their age and gender.

In the whole three FGDs, I used different equipment like tape recorder, spare batteries, note
books and pens.

Observation:
The observation method is the most commonly used method especially in studies relating to
behavioral sciences (Kothari, 2004: 96). I employed this method in order to eliminate subjective
bias, and to understand what is currently happening in the Orthodox Christian churches. I
conducted a structured type of observation. It is to mean that before I began to conduct the

12
observation I identified the units to be observed, the style of recording the observed information,
and the selection of pertinent data of observation. I employed both participatory and non-
participatory type of observation. In the non-participatory observation system, I emphasized on
observing how groups behave and interact with each other while attending in religious lessons.

I conducted a participatory observation to understand how peoples‟ participation in religious

activities, such as preaching conferences and lessons in Sunday Schools affects the nature of
social interaction among Orthodox Christians. I employed this method, therefore, with the aim to
understand the nature of religious teachings in the Church and their effects on social interaction.

2.4.2. Secondary Sources

Secondary data means data that are already available i.e., they refer to the data which have
already been collected and analyzed by someone else. When the researcher utilizes secondary
data, then he/she has to look into various sources from where they can obtain them. Secondary
data may either be published or unpublished data (Kothari, 2004: 111).

Regardless of the scarcity of sufficient literature, I attempted to review different reports,

publications, journals, internet data, and other research works related to the study. The data
collected through such methods were interpreted through qualitative methods of analysis.

2.5. Data Analysis and Interpretation

What is analysis and interpretation in the first place? In his book Research Methods in
Anthropology; Qualitative and Quantitative Approaches (2006) Bernard states;

Analysis is the search for patterns in data and for ideas that help explain why those
patterns are there in the first place. The way I see it, analysis is ultimately all
qualitative. It starts before you collect data—you have to have some ideas about what
you’re going to study—and it continues throughout any research effort. As you
develop ideas, you test them against your observations: Your observations may then
modify your ideas, which then need to be tested again, and so on. Don’t look for
closure in the process. If you’re doing it right, it never stops……. And
Interpretation—telling us what findings mean, linking your findings to the findings of
other research—starts with ideas in your head and comes out in words on paper. It’s
a pretty qualitative exercise (Bernard, 2006: 453).

13
From the above explanation, one can understand that the task of analyzing and interpreting
qualitative data is not an easy task because the nature of qualitative data is characteristically
described as voluminous, unstructured, and unwieldy (Bryman and Burgess, 1994: 216).

Qualitative researchers used different approaches to analyze their data. I used an interpretative
approach of data analysis. First, the data collected through interviews and observations were
transcribed into written text for analysis. As well as field notes were collected into text. Next, the
data were arranged into different categories based on their themes. And I began to sort the data
by these categories, identifying similar phrases, patterns, relationships, and commonalties or
disparities. Then the task of interpreting the data was started.

As Berg (2001: 239) explains how one interprets a qualitative text depends in part on the
theoretical orientation taken by the researcher. Therefore, my interpretation was highly depended
on the phenomenological, which is one strand of interpritivism, theoretical perspective.
Accordingly, I just focus and name themes in texts. Then I start to tell the story, as I see it, of
how the themes are related to one another and how characteristics of the speaker or speakers
account for the existence of certain themes and the absence of others. As it is stated by Berg
phenomenologically oriented researcher might, instead, attempt to uncover or capture the
essence of an account. This approach provides a means for discovering the practical
understandings of meanings and actions. Researchers with a more general interpretative are
likely to organize or reduce data in order to uncover patterns of human activity, action, and
meaning (2001: 239).

2.6. Research Ethics

Social scientists, perhaps to a greater extent than the average citizen, have an ethical obligation
to their colleagues, their study population, and the larger society. The reason for this is that social
scientists delve into the social lives of other human beings. From such excursions into private
social lives, various policies, practices, and even laws may result (Berg, 2001: 39). I tried to
consider some ethical issues in this study.

I prepared an informed consent form to obtain consent of individuals to participate as an

exercise of their choice, free from any element of fraud, deceit, duress, or similar unfair

14
inducement or manipulation. In this consent form the potential risk and benefit, and the effect
that these risks and benefits have been explained. Before I began collecting information, I
considered the relevance and usefulness of the research I am undertaking and I was able to
convince the research participants. This is because I thought that if I cannot justify the relevance
of the research I am conducting, I am wasting my informants‟ time, which is unethical. Beside
the above I also prevented myself from providing incentives like money to the respondents for
the information they share with me because I believe that this is like buying information. In
general, I tried to be ethical by minimizing any risks to participants such as discomfort, anxiety,
harassment, invasion of privacy, or demeaning or dehumanizing procedures.

15
 Chapter Three

Related Literature Review

3.1. On the Definitions of Religion

Scholars do not agree on the idea of what religion actually mean. Some go so far to question
whether there is anything at all distinctive about religions. As a result, formulating a definition of
“religion” that can command wide assent has proven to be an extremely difficult task (Harrison,
2006: 133). However, many books in the study of religion attempt to give one precise definition
for what the very essence of religion stands for under a specific context. In the interest of making
the discussion, on the definitions of religion, I shall start with Harrison‟s classification of the
three types of definition of religion. In his article the Pragmatics of Defining Religion in a Multi-
Cultural World (2006: 133), Harrison identified three types of the definition of religion:
intellectual definitions, affective definitions and functional definitions. I found Harrison‟s
typology helpful to make a brief and insightful discussion on what religion mean. In the
following sections, therefore, I briefly discusses on the concept of religion using Harrison‟s
typology.

The intellectual definitions stipulate that the defining, or essential, feature of religion is belief
about a particular sort of object (Harrison, 2006: 134). The best example of this type is Tylor‟s
definition of religion. In his book Primitive Culture (1871), Tylor define religion as a belief in
spiritual beings. Controlling and affecting these spiritual entities could help to control and
manipulate reality (Hamilton, 2001: 29). This kind of defining religion based on spiritual beings
is also observed in the works of Frazer, who describe religion as “a propitiation or conciliation of
powers superior to man which are believed to direct and control the course of nature and of
human life” (Frazer, 1922: 53b). For Frazer, religion has two elements; a theoretical and a
practical. The theoretical element of religion refers to one‟s belief in powers higher than man,
whereas the practical element of religion is an attempt to propitiate or please them (ibid). Though
the intellectual definitions highlight something important about religions, they take no account of
equally prominent features of religion. For example, they fail to recognize, the centrality of
“religious” emotions like piety, the importance of faith, and the key role of traditional practices
(Harrison, 2006: 134). A further problem, as Harrison argued, is that the intellectual definition of
religion in terms of beliefs which has a particular relation to objects may lead to regard some well-

16
known religions such as Hinduism as non-religious (ibid). Furthermore, Hamilton, in His book the
Sociology of Religion (2001) also argues that “the intellectualist‟s claims were not based upon sound
evidence but were largely conjectural” (Hamilton, 2001: 31). From this, one can understand that
the intellectual definitions of are inadequate in many aspects and they are not sufficient enough
to explain religion in today‟s multi-cultural world. Therefore, let us see Harrison‟s second
category in the definitions of religion i.e. the affective definitions.

Affective or emotionalist definitions of religion, regard faith as the defining, or essential, features of
religion (Harrison, 2006: 135). In other words, they consider religion as a matter of emotional or
affective state of mind, rather that intellectual curiosity (Hamilton, 2001: 55). Malinowski,
though he considers himself as a functionalist, was among the prominent anthropologists who
provide affective definitions of religion. In his book Magic, Science and Religion (1948),
Malinowski argues that “Religion, like that of magic is arise of emotional stress, such as crises of
life, lacunae in important pursuits, death and initiation into tribal mysteries, unhappy love and
unsatisfied hate” (Malinowski, 1948: 67). For him, religion is used as a means to escape from
emotional stresses. For instance, in interpreting the ceremonial of death, which he considers it as
„a par excellence religious act‟, Malinowski argued:

The call to religion arises out of an individual crisis, the death which threatens man or
woman. Never does an individual need the comfort of belief and ritual so much as in the
sacrament of the viaticum, in the last comforts given to him at the final stage of his life's
journey. These acts are directed against the overwhelming fear, against the corroding
doubt. These acts confirm his hope that there is a hereafter, that it is not worse than
present life; indeed, better. All the ritual expresses that belief, that emotional attitude
which the dying man requires, which is the greatest comfort he can have in his supreme
conflict. And this affirmation has behind it weight of numbers and the pomp of solemn
ritual (Malinowski, 1948: 42).

According to Malinowski‟s explanation the whole conduct of the group in the ceremonial of
death expresses the hope of salvation and immortality which is one among the conflicting
emotions of the individual (Malinowski, 1948: 42). He argued that “religious faith establishes,
fixes, and enhances all valuable mental attitudes, such as reverence for tradition, harmony with
environment, courage and confidence in the struggle with difficulties and at the prospect of
death” (ibid: 69). It is undeniable fact that the affective definitions provide a pivotal contribution
to the anthropological understanding of religion by emphasizing on emotion, which was

17
neglected by intellectualists. However, like that of the intellectual definitions, it did not escape
from criticisms. Evans-Pritchard, in his work Theories of Primitive Religion (1865), for example,
sees the affective/emotionalist‟s explanation of religion as problematic. He argued:

If we were to classify and explain social behavior by supposed psychological states, we

would indeed get some strange results. If religion characterized by the emotion of fear,
then a man fleeing in terror from a charging buffalo might be said to be performing a
religious a religious act and if magic is characterized by its cathartic function; t en a
medical practitioner who relieves a patient's anxiety, on entirely clinical grounds, might
be said to be performing a magical one (Evans-Pritchard, 1965: 44).

In other words, what Evans-Pritchard argued is that affective or emotional definitions fail to
answer questions like what makes some emotional states „religious‟? And what kind of
emotion is said to be non-religious. As a result, Evans-Pritchard considers the
affective/emotionalists work towards religion as „guesswork‟ and the conclusions made in
this theory were not supported by strong evidences (Evans-Pritchard, 1965: 43). Such kind of
criticisms against the affective definitions of religion brings us to the third type of definition
of religion i.e. functional definitions.

Functional definitions focus on the function of religion as its defining and essential feature
(Harrison, 2006: 137). Ortner‟s definition can be included in this category. In her book Sherpas
through their Rituals (1978), Ortner defined religion as “a meta system that solves problems of
meaning generated in large part by the social order, by grounding that order within a
theoretically ultimate reality within which those problems will "make sense” (Ortner, 1978: 152).
Ortner states that the role of religion as a sociocultural system can be seen in two ways. In one
hand, it is a means to solve some problems of a society. On the other hand, religion creates some
problems to the society. She takes the Sherpas religion to support her argument. “The Sherpa
religion is a source of complex feelings and moods that are disturbing in other areas of life, and it
also renders people cooperative and mutually supportive” (Ortner, 1978: 152). Such attempt to
understand religion in in terms of its function is also found in other prominent scholars like
Durkheim. Durkheim spoke a great deal on the function of religion. In Elementary Forms of
Religious Life (1915), he specifically defines “a religion is a unified system of beliefs and
practices relative to sacred things, that is to say, things set apart and forbidden-beliefs and

18
practices which united in one single moral community called a Church, all those who adhere to
them” (Durkheim, 1915: 47). According to Durkhiem, any religion was not false. He argues that
“all religions are true in their own fashion; all answer to the given conditions of human
experience” (Ibid: 3). The main point of Durkheim‟s argument is that religion is socially
constructed and it functioned at an individual and social level to keep society in check, assist in
social control, and provide individual meaning for each person‟s life. I believe that the functional
definitions, like that of Durkheim and Ortner, are crucial to understand the significant roles
religion play in human societies. Here, it is implausible to hold that all religions serve the same
function (Harrison, 2006: 137).

I shall clarify to readers that that Harrison‟s typology of the intellectual, affective and functional
definitions of religion, is not a universally accepted scheme because there are scholars who
propose a definition of religion which is distinct from the intellectual, affective and functional
definitions. For example, Clifford Geertz proposed a symbolic approach of defining religion.
Unlike the aforementioned definitions, Geertz provides a more influential explanation about
religion. He analyzed religion as a cultural system. According to Geertz:

A religion is: (1) a system of symbols which acts to (2) establish powerful,
pervasive, and long-lasting moods and motivations in men by (3) formulating
conceptions of a general order of existence and (4) clothing these conceptions with
such an aura of factuality that (5) the moods and motivations seem uniquely
realistic (Geertz, 1973: 90).

Religion is important for anthropologists, according to Geertz, because it serves for individuals
and groups as a source of distinctive conception of the world, the self, and the relations between
them He termed this role as “model of aspect” (Geertz, 1973: 123). The other reason which
makes religion as an important aspect for anthropologists is that “it is a source of rooted, no less
distinctive mental dispositions” (ibid:,). These cultural functions help religion to have
psychological and social functions. He stated:

Religious concepts spread beyond their specifically metaphysical contexts to provide

a framework of general ideas in terms of which a wide range of experience-
intellectual, emotional, moral- can be given meaningful form………and religious
beliefs are also a template. They do not merely interpret social and psychological

19
 processes in cosmic terms- in which case they would be philosophical, not religious-
but they shape them (Geertz, 1973: 123-124).
For Geertz, the anthropological study of religion is a two stage operation. First, religion is proper
due to the existence of symbols and these symbols have a system of meanings. Therefore,
anthropologists should emphasize on analyzing the system of meanings embodied in symbols.
Second, anthropologists should analyze the relations of those systems of meanings to the social-
structural and psychological processes (Geertz, 1973: 125). This is due to Geertz‟s argument that
“without having a theoretical analysis of symbolic action, it is not possible to cope effectively
with the aspects of social and psychological life in which religion plays a determinant role” (ibid
:). The symbolic approach of religion given by Geertz is strong in its attempt to bring together a
wide range of important concepts in anthropological discussions of religion. But it did not escape
from some criticisms. In critics to this approach, Asad stated that “an attempt to approach
religion by questioning about the social meanings of doctrine and practice and the psychological
effects of symbols and rituals is not correct” (1983: 252). For Asad, any approach towards
religion should begin by asking the historical conditions necessary for the existence of particular
religious practices and discourses. In other words, great emphasis should be given to the crucial
dimensions of power in religion, which is omitted in Geertz‟s work (Asad, 1983: 237).

Though a quite large number of definitions are given to religion, it is still hard to find a
universally accepted meaning of it because the various definitions emphasize certain aspects of
the phenomenon or betray the theoretical orientations of their authors (Eller 2007: 7). I shall,
therefore, conclude this discussion by Eller‟s arguments that it is a waste of time to adjudicate
between definitions of religion because there is no „true‟ definition. Anthropologists, therefore,
shall mark out an approach of religion that distinguishes it from other human endeavors and
thought systems and yet connects it to them (Eller, 2007: 8).

3.2. The Roles of Religion in Society

Religion is a fundamental aspect of human society. It can influence the social, economic and
even political aspects of human society. This is because religion offers prescriptions for social
order, individual behavior, and collective action. All religious traditions give expression to the
relationship between what are acknowledged and understood to be the most compelling
objectives of human life and day-to-day conduct (Capps, 1987: 8461). Though it is true that

20
religion influences the human society, it has to be understood that the religions of the world can
be distinguished from each other in terms of the attitudes toward society that they prescribe and
honor (Capps, 1987: 8461). In other words, the role religion played is varied not only from one
society to another but also from one religion to the other.

Though religion has various functions to society, in this section, I only review some of its roles
such as health and social support, which has relevance to the objectives of this thesis.

3.1.1. Religion and Health

The relationship between religion and health has cycled between cooperation and antagonism
throughout history. In the ancient times, some of the most advance civilization equated physical
illness with evil spirits and demonic possessions, and treatment was aimed at banishing these
spirits (Lee and Newberg, 2005: 443). This leads physicians, scientists, and health care providers
to have divergent views about the role of religion on health. Their view of religion ranges from
interest to disinterest to disdain (ibid: ).

Though there is controversy on religion‟s role on health care, it is undeniable fact that religion is
influencing health (either positively or negatively) in different parts of the world. For instance, in
their study entitled Religion’s Role in Promoting Health and reducing Risks among American
Youth (1998), Wallace and Forman states that “religious youth in America are less likely to
engage in behaviors that compromise their health, such as carrying weapons, getting into fights,
drinking, and driving, smoking” (Wallace and Forman, 1998: 721). That means religion makes
youth to behave in ways that enhance their health. Besides this protective role, religion also
enhances mental health by making people more optimistic and faithful (Rumun, 2014: 38).

Like other parts of the world, throughout Africa there is a widespread supposition that people in
need of healing include not only those with obvious physical ailments, but also those who are
suffering from vaguer problems that in clinical medicine might be diagnosed as psychological
problems, including stress or depression. In Africa, both illness and healing are generally viewed
as holistic in nature, requiring attention to the spiritual as well as physical aspects of a person.
For this reason, religion plays an important role in health care in Africa generally (Ellis and Ter
Haar, 2004: 45–7).

21
In the case of Ethiopia, religion has a long last relation to health. For instance, in the prehistoric
culture, the mixture of herbal potion together with religious ritual and magic like formulas were
part of all healing practices. Most of the herbal remedies are interrelated to Ethiopian Orthodox
Christianity religious practices. In addition to herbal remedies, priests of the Ethiopian Orthodox
Church always taking the cross where ever they go and bless the people is usual here and they
give massage over the disease-affected part with the cross (Ragunathen and Solomon, 2009:
178). “With the help of incantation, priest convert ordinary water to holy water, they spill it over
the patients, and they enchantment spiritual words to drive away the evil spirit from the people
those who suffered by evil attack” (Ibid: ,).

From the above discussion, religion‟s role in promoting health can be expressed in two ways. (1)
Religious institutions help modern clinical health care by protecting people from behavior that
may risk their health. (2) The religious institutions may play the role of hospitals by providing
various forms of spiritual healings. This study is mainly focusing on the second issue and it
emphasized on describing the spiritual healing practices of the Ethiopian Orthodox Churches in
Addis Ababa.

3.1.2. Religion and Social Support

Social support may be broadly defined as an “emotional, informational or practical assistance from
significant others, such as family members, friends, or coworkers etc., and that support actually
maybe received from others or simply perceived to be available when needed” (Thoits, 2010: S46).
Therefore, when we say the role of religion on social support, it is to mean that the emotional,
informational and material support that individual‟s gain from religion.

The role of religion on social support cannot be understood by relying on a single research because
researchers may emphasize on one aspect of social support while ignoring the other. For instance,
Krause et. al. (2001) studied the emotional aspects of social support in religious setting and ignores
the material aspect of it. In his work Church-based Social Support and Religious Coping (2001), he
identified three basic dimensions of social support in religious setting (Krause et. al., 2001: 639-640).
The first dimension is emotional support from church members. In relation to this, Krause used two
indicators: feeling of love and care between members of the same congregation, and the tendency to

22
talk private problems and concerns for fellow members. By using those indicators, he argued that
religion influences social support because it leads individuals to offer emotional support to their
fellow members (Krause et. al., 2001: 644). The second dimension is spiritual support from church
members. Members of the same congregation helped each other to live according to their religious
beliefs and to know God better. Besides, fellow parishioners share their own religious experience
with others. The third dimension is emotional support from the clergy/pastor. In this respect, pastors
are concerned about the private problem and wellbeing of followers (Krause et. Al., 2001: 644-45).
Krause‟s explanation is not enough to fully understand the role of religion on social support because
he was only emphasized on the emotional aspect and ignore the material aspect of social support in
religious settings.

In another vein, Levy and Razin (2011) stated that the role of religion in social support can be seen
in terms of two major components: spiritual and material component. The spiritual component
arises as religious individuals behave more cooperatively, which, given their beliefs, will bring
about good fortune in the future. Only religious individuals can be motivated by the spiritual
payoff as only they can potentially believe that cooperation yields rewards (Levy and Razin,
2011: 4). The material benefit of religion is that religious individuals enjoy a higher level of
cooperation in social interactions. Similarly, Gaduh (2012) also shows the association between
religion and social support. He found that religiosity is associated with a higher willingness to
help and trust of individuals within one's own community, but not with the trust of strangers. He
also argues that religiosity is associated with more religious discrimination and negatively
associated with tolerance (Gaduh, 2011: 1-2). In this sense, religion is linked to parochial
altruism, which is altruism towards members of one' own groups combined with hostility
towards members of the out-groups.

To sum up, most researches in the link between religion and social support shows that religion is
positively associated with social support. In fact, there are scholars like Darley and Batson
(1973) who argues that religion did not significantly increase helping behavior and social
support. Here, we have to keep in mind that the role religion plays on social support may differ
from one religion to another because religions of the world may be distinguished from each on
the basis of their interpretations of social support. Therefore, it is crucial to study what roles did
a “specific religion” plays to a “particular society”.

23
 Chapter Four

Religiosity and its Present condition is Addis Ababa

What is religiosity in the first place? What makes someone more religious than others? It is
crucial to ask such questions before a researcher starts to analyze other things related to
religiosity. As Hoffmann (2012: 818) stated “the definition and measurement of religiosity
involves deeper, conceptual issues”. Researchers have not reached a consensus regarding
definitions of religiosity and many offer definitions that are confusing and ambiguous. This
chapter, therefore, tries to analyze how Orthodox Christians understand religiosity. What are the
measurements that Orthodox Christians used to consider someone as religious? In addition, an
attempt is made to show the present condition of religiosity and factors behind the religiosity of
Orthodox Christians in Addis Ababa. Here, I shall to remind that this chapter did not explain the
“non-religiosity” of Orthodox Christians because I believe that studying “non-religiosity is
beyond the scope of my thesis.

There is a need to analyze the above issues because in one way or another, individuals‟
perception towards religiosity and the current trends of religiosity may have their own effect on
the socioeconomic role of Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Churches (EOTC) in Addis Ababa.

4.1. The Understanding of Orthodox Christians towards Religiosity

The understanding of people toward a certain concept is varied and divergent since humans brain
is not something which is biologically programmed to think in the same way or to perceive
something similarly all the time. Our perception towards a certain phenomenon may depend on
the types of religions that we belong to. Adherents, not only of different religious denominations
but also of the same religion, may have different perception and understanding towards a certain
idea. I found that there is a difference in the way Orthodox Christians perceive religiosity.

Orthodox Christians‟ perception towards religiosity can be categorized in two major ways. (1)
Religiosity is defined by religious knowledge. (2) Religiosity for Orthodox Christians is
understood in terms of religious practices.

24
 4.1.1. Religiosity in terms of Religious Knowledge
There are Orthodox Christians who measure religiosity in terms of religious knowledge. For
them, a person is said to be religious if he/she is intellectually unconstrained with the doctrine of
the Church. That means without having the doctrinaire learning about the fundamental teachings,
law, and moral code of one‟s own monotheism, there is no religiousness. According to this view,
religiosity is decided as one‟s knowledge about the Bible. This is due to people‟s perception that
any kind of action will not persist for far-reaching period if practitioners‟ failed to know the
theoretical or doctrinal values of their agency/religion. Sinishaw, laity of EOTC, said:

If you see the current pious practices of Orthodox Christians, you can easily
understand that pietism is nothing without religious knowledge. Laities sometimes act
against the proposition of the church. This is due to lack of cognition concerning the
teachings of their own religion. Therefore, expertness piety without holy cognition is
not religiosity.

According to the above statement religiosity is originally determined by one‟s theological

knowledge about his/her religion. In this sense, any fit practice/behavior may not be
considered as religious unless it is done as result of religious knowledge concerning the
felicity of the practice.

4.1.2. Religiosity in terms of Religious Practice

In this recognition, religiosity is understood as up observable religious practices. Orthodox
Christians raised variegated issues in tale to religious practice and religiosity.My informant
Ato Sentayehu1, said:

Religiosity is having a great consciousness and respect for God. If someone admires his/her
God regardless of what occur to him/her life that is devoutness or religiosity. People may
have an in depth knowledge about the Bible. They may know the Bible page by page or
chapter by chapter. But if they do not show their doctrine almost to the people and if they
didn’t admire their God spiritfully, that is not religiousness.

According to the above narrative, respect for God is used as a determining factor of religiosity.

This conception seems to me more speculative than practical. I raised a question to my

informants about how we know whether a particular person respects his /her God or not. During

1
Key informant from St. Mary Church

25
my discussions with Sunday school students, I gain answers for my question. There are different

noteworthy behaviors that may help to distinguish whether or not an individual really respects

his/her God. Some observable behaviors that help to know one‟s respect for God are forgiveness,

belief, and serving others. As established by participants2, “If you like and consider human

beings, it is weigh as you respect your God”.

There are also other concepts raised by Sunday school students while they define religiousness

such as praying, proselyte and fidelity to devotional teachings. Some laities also stated that

religiousness is a day to day prayer to our God. Whether it is at tenement chapel or in the
Church, praying is a defining factor of devoutness. Others also define religiosity in terms of

distribution in proselyte experiences such as preaching.

Beside the above, Orthodox Christians also define devoutness as being active in religious

holidays, rituals, predication conferences and holy trip to other denomination found in the

countryside. This indicates that though Orthodox Christians observe religiosity in stipulation of

devotional practices, their understandings varied on what type of Godly practice or doing is

considered as religious. Therefore, it is crucial to find out the definite measurements of

religiosity for Orthodox Christians in Addis Ababa.

4.2. Measurements of Religiosity for Orthodox Christians in Addis Ababa

What makes someone more religious than others or what are the measurements that are used to
determine one‟s religiousness? The answer for this question may deviate from religion to
religion, person to person, time to time or from place to place. Church attendances, adherence to
a particular religion, religious service and occupations, and religious donations as well as private
Godly devotions are among the measures Orthodox Christians used to know one‟s religiosity.

4.2.1. Church Attendance

Church attendance is taken as one of the measurements of religiosity. In this view, those who are
frequently attending in the religious lessons of EOTC are more religious than others. Advocate

2
Sunday school students

26
of this idea state that one‟s religiousness in the Orthodox Tewahedo Church is determined by the
steady of retinue in religious teachings such as preaching conferences, and Awude Mehert3 or
land of mercy. This is due to the belief that devotional attendance has the ability to teach
individuals how to lead their life strictly, how to combine and feed peacefully with others.

Orthodox Christians in Addis Ababa are mostly interested in church retinue during devotional
holiday. In the EOTC, each day of a month is assigned to mention saints and angels. For
example, the 19th day of the month is the date of St. Gabriel, 12th for St. Michael, 23rd for St.
George etc. Due to this, the number of devout attendants in an Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo
Church is determined by the date and the name of the sainting it imply for. I observed, for
instance, how the numbers of Orthodox Christians who are attending congregation on the 19th
day of the month differ from one Church to another.

Figure 1: Church attendants of Medhanialem Church in Lebu (left) and St. Gabriel Church in
Gofa (right) on the 19th day of the month
As it is shown in the above two pictures, in the 19th day of the month the number of attendants
in St. Gabriel Church is greater than that of Medihaniyalem Church. Even I observed those
individuals who are dwelling near to St. Medhanialem Church go to St. Gabriel Church.

In general, church attendance is taken as one of the measurements of religiosity among Orthodox
Christian though individuals‟ attendance to a particular Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church is
influenced by many factors such as religious holidays.

3
Awude Miheret is a spiritual teaching program in which most Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Churches propose it
in the mornings.

27
 4.2.2. Religious Adherence
Religious adherence is taken as one of the measurements of religiosity for Orthodox Christians in
Addis Ababa. Orthodox Christians‟ knowledge towards religious adherence is various. Their
understandings can be categorized into two: Adherence to EOTC and Adherence to any religious
institution. In the first category, a person is mentioned to be religious if he/she is adherent of the
Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church. During my informal conversation with Church attendants
in Holy Trinity Cathedral, Ato Tsegaye stated that “I cannot examine anyone religious except
he/she is following the EOTC”.

On the second category, any person can be said religious if he/she follows a particular religion.
Whether it is Orthodox Christianity, Protestantism, Catholicism, Islam or any other, an
individual should have a religion to follow in order to be considered as a religious person.
During my conversations with followers of EOTC at St. Mary or Mariam Church, Yohannes
states that;

I am the follower of Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church. But I do not go to

Church commonly. If someone asks me concerning my religiousness, I will say that I
am religious because I am a follower of a particular theism i.e Ethiopian Orthodox
Tewahedo Church.

Measuring religiosity in terms of adherence to any religion contradicts with the concept of taking
religious attendance as measurements of religiosity. In conditions of adherence to any
monotheism, all human beings, other than atheists, may be considered as religious, whereas in
terms of religious attendance, religiosity is only disposed to those who are actively attending
Church and who have a particular religion to follow.

4.2.3. Religious Service and Occupation

There are individuals who state that neither Church attention nor religious adherence should be
used to measure religiosity. For them, religiosity is measured by the extent of individual‟s
association in providing religious services. Some of the religious services in which laities of
EOTC participated include organizing and participating in spiritual trips to different churches
outside of Addis Ababa, organizing and advertising evangelization conferences, and teaching in
Sunday schools.

28
 Figure 2: Poster of preaching conference organized by Preachers of EOTC

In other words, those laities who are consecrating their time by supplying religious services to
their Church are more religious than others. This indicates that the more you benefit your church,
the more you become religious than others. In this sense, priests, deacons, preachers, and
spiritual singers whose occupation is more or less dependent on their religion are considered as
more religious than others. In relation to this, Mekonnen, official at AADS, stated;

Religiosity, for me, is making your living to depend on your religion like priests,
religious teachers, and deacons. This does not mean that laities should not
engage in any kind of occupation. Laities should primarily do religious
occupations, and in their time after religious occupation, they may engage in any
other works. Without religious occupation, there is no religiosity in general and
religious person in particular.

Here, it is true that religious teachers and priests earn their livelihood from the work they are
doing. However, the services they provide greater compared to amount of income they gain from
their church. That is why they considered as religious. Today, there are many individuals who
employed and obtain salary from the EOTC. In fact, there are also individuals who are
voluntarily serving the church without having any kind of payment. When people are getting
more interested in religious occupations, the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Churches may
broaden their engagement in developmental activities in order to fulfill the interest of their
laities.

29
 4.2.4. Private Religious Devotions
There are people who argue that there is no need of Church attention or furnish Church-
supported services in order to be said religious. For them, religiosity should be measured by
one‟s private religious devotion. Private religious devotion might be expressed in many ways.
As part of my religious devotion, I feast street children and elderly people on the 16th
day of the month. Due to this I consider myself as religious (Trualem4).

I always read the Holy Bible after I get back from workplace. Besides I also read
books, articles, and other holy manuscripts of the Ethiopian Orthodox Church. So, I
can say that I am religious because I devote certain part of my life to religion
(Natnael).

Taking the above statements, it is possible to say that if a person devote a certain part of his/her
life time for religion, it is likely to consider him/her as Godly and religious. In other words,
private religious devotion can be considered as the measurement of religiosity for some
Orthodox Christians.

4.2.5. Religious Donations

A priest from St. Raguael Church states that “religiosity should be measured by one‟s interest to
present for his/her congregation. The more you donate, the more you become holy”. Orthodox
Christians bestow to their religion from benefaction cents to constructing churches in different
areas of the city. These Godly donations are commonly preferred by the EOTC in many ways.
For instance, it is common to see boxes or what they call Mudaye Metsewat5 of EOTC in
churches, cafes, restaurants, and hotels of Addis Ababa.

4
Trualem is a laity of Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church.
5
Mudaye Metsewat is a box which is used to collect money from laities of EOTC

30
 Figure 3: Mudaye Metsewat (a box used to collect money from laities of EOTC)

Perceiving religiosity in terms of religious donation has a greater importance for the Ethiopian
Orthodox Tewahedo Churches to function as an independent organization. It is known that the
purpose of most religious organizations is mainly related to piety. Religious organizations try to
make their members to devote their time for religious purpose. According to Ewaran (2010: 4)
people can contribute two things for religion; time and money. When people devote their time
for religion, its importance is spiritual whereas donating money is advantageous for the
organization. Money has a greater value for the survival of a certain religion as an independent
organization. Currently, it is difficult to teach spiritual lessons without having sufficient amount
of money though people devote their time to religious activities. Therefore, developing
individuals‟ perception toward religiosity in terms of religious donation helps the EOTC to
generate high amount of income from laities.

Laities of EOTC donate money to their religion in many forms such as in the form of vow or
what they call Selet6, Asrat7 and Mudaye Metsuwat. In relation to this, Gebreeyesus, a priest
from St. Aurael Church states:

St. Aurael Church generates income from laities in many ways such as vow, Asrat,
and Mudaye Metsewat. We gather an average of 348, 298 ETB per month in the form
of vow, 60, 000 ETB from Asrat and 350, 000 from Mudaye Metsewat. That indicate a

6
Selet is a kind of gift from laities to Orthodox Churches, and it is given when people feel that God helps them to
achieve something good in their life.
7
Asrat is a payment in which Orthodox Christians are expected to pay one tenth of his/her income to EOTC.

31
 sum of 758, 298 ETB is collected from laities per month. These kinds of religious gift
play a greater role in intensifying our denomination’s fellowship in variegated
developmental activities. In addition to learning the moral/ethical values of EOTC,
laities should increase the extent of their religiosity by providing different kinds of
donations to their church.

Gebreeyesus‟s narrative manifests to the fact that donations by Orthodox Christians in the form

of vow, Asrat, and Mudaye Metsewat helps the EOTC to become financially viable.

Like St.Aurael Church, the same is true in other Orthodox Tewahedo Churches. For instance,

according to the data I obtained from church officials in the EOTC, St. Ledeta Mariam, St. Mary,

St. Raguael and Holy Trinity Churches are among those churches that collect hundreds of

thousands of Birr in a month from laities of EOTC in the form of Vow, Asrat, and Mudaye

Metsewat. Each of the mentioned Church collect an average of 476, 000 ETB in a month. This

financial strength will last as long as the number of Orthodox Christians who see religiosity in

terms of religious donations is increasing from time to time.

4.3. Religiosity of Orthodox Christians: Present Condition

The trend of people‟s religiousness and attachments to their religious institutions varies from
time to time. As I tried to explain in the above sections, religiosity is distinguished and measured
in many ways. Church attendance, religious adherence, religious service attendance and
occupation, religious donation, and private religious devotions are the major measurements of
religiosity for Orthodox Christians in Addis Ababa. Therefore, it is crucial to consider such
measurements while someone explains about the present condition of religiosity of Orthodox
Christians in the city.

Two major arguments are forwarded by different groups about the current state of religiosity of
Orthodox Christians and their communication to the EOTC. First, there are religious leaders who
argue that the religiosity of Orthodox Christians is increasing from time to time. Ato Abebe, who
is a preacher in St. Ledita Mariam Church, states:

Currently, followers of our Church are highly inspired. They build their cognizance
concerning EOTC through unremitted readings. I think this is admirable. Since there

32
 is religious competition, our laities needs well qualified and knowledgeable
evangelists. In fact, our church loses many of its followers. However, the remaining
laities of EOTC are cogent believers. By the support of those stout believers, our
Church is able to spread its developmental activities, and the salary of priests and
other employees in the Church is increasing from time to time. Therefore, I can say
that the current religiosity of Orthodox Christians is greater than the past.

In the second group, there are individuals who believe that the religiosity of Orthodox Christians

in Addis Ababa is diminishing from time to time. Basic questions are raised by this group such

as what is being religiosity after all? Is it nearly having large number of adherents? Or is it about

having followers who mind the fundamental teachings and principles of their religion? In

answering these questions Ato Girmay, who is working in the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo

Church Houses and Buildings Administration Office, states:

For me religiousness is being constant to the teachings of God. As you know the
teachings of the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church is directly derived from the
Bible. There are Ten Commandments of God. No one of us is constant to those
commandments. If we say that our current laities are more religious than before, why
alcoholism, murder and other social problems are spreading in the city? Even in
terms of number, the adherents of Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church in Addis
Ababa are decreasing from time to time. To prove this, it is enough to compare the
percentage of Orthodox Christians in the 1994 and 2007 Population and Housing
Census Reports (PHCR) of the Ethiopian Central Statistical Agency (ECSA).

I found Girmay‟s arguments more convincing. In the 1994 Population and housing Census
Reports (PHCR) of CSA, the major religions having greater percentage of followers in Addis
Ababa are 82% Orthodox Christians, 12.6 % Muslims, and 3.8% Protestants. This percentage is
changed during the 2007 PHCR; 74% Orthodox Christians, 16.2% Muslims, and 7.7%
Protestants. That means compared to the 1994 HPCR, other than Muslims and Protestants, the
percentage of adherents of EOTC has decreased by 8% in the 2007 PHCR. Therefore, it is
possible to argue that in terms of religious adherence, religiosity among Orthodox Christians is
showing a decreasing trend from time to time. This does not mean that the number of Orthodox
Christians in the City is decreased, rather it is to mean that the growth of percentage of adherents
has showing a decreasing trend compared to other religions.

33
In fact, individuals correlate various grounds in relation to the diminishing of the percentage of
adherents of EOTC in Addis Ababa. Some Sunday school students argue that the greater ground
for the diminishing of followers of EOTC is related to proselytizing which spring from the
administering problems of the Church. Ato Yosef, a preacher in Holy Trinity Cathedral, states
that;

Though there are different factors that lead Orthodox Christians to change their
religion, the major reason is lack of good governance in the EOTC. The religious
leaders, especially the administrative staff of the church are not good models. If you
go to Addis Ababa Diocese Secretariat (AADS), you may see many priests who came
from the countryside, in the main gate of the diocese. Officials do not allow those
priests to enter into the diocese. I even saw keepers of the diocese hit priests who
came from different churches. Keepers did this because they are ordered to do so.
The improper behavior of officials in the diocese may lead our laities to have a
negative attitude towards EOTC. Since laities feel that they will not learn anything
from such kind of religious leaders, they may proselytize in to another religion.

The above argument by Ato Yosef is not accepted by officials of AADS. For example, Mr.
Gashachew, official from Addis Ababa Diocese Secretariat, states:

If people feel that the current administration of AADS is doubtful, they have to
cooperate with other followers to solve the problem rather than joining another
religion. What people should learn is that since we are human beings, we may do
much wrong stuff. We have to copy what the minister teaches rather than what he is
doing. St. Paul states that our belief is not relied on human beings. Besides, people
should know that there are good religious leaders in our Church. You know, Judah
was among the apostles of Jesus Christ. But the product of Judah does not delineate
other Apostles. Likewise there are individuals who could do much wrong stuff in
EOTC.

It is difficult to find single evidence about the current state of devoutness of Orthodox Christians
in Addis Ababa because individuals‟ response to the question whether religiosity is increasing or
not is determined by the way they understood religiousness. However, it is likely to say one thing
concerning the present condition of religiosity in Orthodox Christianity: it is different from the
previous experiences due to various factors. Some of these factors are discussed below.

34
 4.4. Factors Behind the Religiosity of Orthodox Christians in Addis Ababa
Currently, religiosity among the adherents of EOTC in Addis Ababa is different from the past.
There are various factors for the present condition of religiosity of Orthodox Christians. I
identified three major factors behind the change in the religiosity of Orthodox Christians. These
are: religious competition, proselyte, and application of electronics media for spiritual teachings.
All these three factors are not only interrelated to each other but they are also related to other
factors such as economic factors and materialism.

4.4.1. Religious Competition and Proselyte

Addis Ababa is the home of diverse religions such as Orthodox Christianity, Islam,
Protestantism, and Catholicism are the major religion with many followers in the city. Leaders of
those religious institutions undertake different activities to increase their religious communities.
They did this at the expense of other religions. This is currently observed in the works of
religious leaders which are published in the form of pamphlets, books, CDs, and cassettes.

The following picture taken from the cover page of a book can be a good example of how
religious leaders try to increase their adherents at the expense of others. The book is entitled
“From being extremist Muslim to Christianity”. It narrates about the story of a person named
Nahed Mohamed Mutewali, who changed his religion from Islam to Christianity.

Figure 4: A book entitled ―From Being Extremist Muslim in to Christianity‖

It is obvious that in the past the EOTC was considered as the state religion. Religious
competition was not a burning issue to the leaders of EOTC. It was not hard to find many

35
adherents to the Church without conducting aggressive religious education. This is because
previously religion was inherited from family. If the families of a child are followers of
Orthodox Christianity, the child is more likely to be an Orthodox Christian. On the contrary, it is
common now-a-days to observe a single family whose members are adherents of different
religion. This change is the result of religious competition between various religions.

Leaders of other religious institutions become more active than the EOTC in promoting the
beliefs, values and practices of their religion to the public. This indirectly influences the EOTC
to change its methods of religious educations with achieving two major goals; to grow its
religious communities, and to protect its followers from being proselytize into another religion.
However, these goals are mainly achieved at the expense of others and by influencing the norms
and values of other religions. To prove this, it is enough to attend one preaching conference or to
read some books or listen and watch some audio/video CDs published by religious leaders of the
EOTC. The following picture is a best example for this. I take the picture from the cover of
preaching CD which is published by Mehiretab Assefa, one of the religious teachers in the
EOTC. This CD is published to give a response to the preaching of Dawit Molalign, who is a
pastor in the Protestant Church. In other words, this CD is published to make know the public
how the teaching of Protestantism is wrong.

Figure 5: A CD Published by an Orthodox religious teacher in response to a pastor’s preaching.

It is entitled ―Protestants’ Jihad against EOTC‖.

I asked one preacher from EOTC why religious leaders preach in a way that will lead to religious
conflict. His answer was directly related to the issue of religious competition and proselytizing.
He said:

36
 Leaders of other religions especially pastors are blaming our religion as traditional
and backward. They transmit this message in most of their works. This has resulted to
religious proselytizing. Some of our followers become proselytized to Protestantism.
Therefore, to solve this problem what we have done first is to teach our followers
about how Protestants are disbelievers. We teach them about the beliefs, values and
practices of our own religion.

From the above statement one can see that there is greater competition between Protestants and
Orthodox Christians in fear of religious proselytizing. This creates religious division in the
society. It is obvious that the more religiously divided a society is, the more likely that religion
can be used to fuel social conflict. As Dowd (2014: 155-156) says:

It is important to recognize that differences between distinct world religions, and

between denominations within world religions, have been used to fuel social conflict.
In some societies conflict has been as or more intense between people of different
denominations within the same religions than between people of distinctive world
religions such as Protestant and Catholics.

Dowd‟s argument can be used to explain the current religious competition and difference
between Orthodox Christians and followers of Protestantism. This kind of tendency to increase
adherents of one‟s own religion at the expense of others may lead to conflict.

4.4.2. Applying Electronic Media for Spiritual Teachings

In most parts of the world religiosity was commonly associated with rural dwellers. The
involvement of religious institutions in the day to day life of urban dwellers was minimal
compared to country sides. This was common in most cities of Ethiopia. Contrary to past
experiences, Addis Ababa is currently becoming a center of religious activities. The use of
electronic media for the purpose of religious teaching changes the nature of religiosity among
Orthodox Christians in Addis Ababa. In past experiences, laities were expected to go to nearby
churches to learn spiritual lessons of the EOTC. This condition presently seems changed due to
the use of different electronic media. Spiritual preaching, songs, and religious lessons which are
believed to teach laities about the dogmas and canons of EOTC are available in the form of CDs,
cassettes, and books.

37
I found that the application of electronic media for providing spiritual lessons is becoming an
area of competition and controversy within followers of the same religion, i.e., EOTC. As I
stated before, the issue of religious proselytizing leads the EOTC to expand its teachings in a
very competitive way. This competition does not only exist between different denominations but
also there is greater competition and differences among religious leaders and laities of EOTC on
the nature and methods of spiritual teachings and lessons. There is a high controversy on the
issue of preaching and spiritual songs, and books. For instance, there is disagreement between
two groups of EOTC on the issue of published Orthodox spiritual songs. One group claims the
published spiritual songs of the other group as against the dogma of the Church, and vice versa.
But this issue is not the responsibility of both groups. Rather there is a legitimized body under
EOTC which is called Yeliqawent Gubaye8. This body evaluates the work of spiritual singers and
decides whether or not it fulfills the Yaredawi Zema9. Though the procedure is like this, the
aforementioned groups blame one another. Mostly members of those two groups do not provide
their works to the Yeleqawent Gubaye.

The above kind of controversies between followers of the same religion can be understood in
two ways. Firstly, it enables Orthodox Christians to understand and enhance their religious
knowledge from various angles. It also makes laities to be concerned about the religion and to
increase their religiosity in terms of religious attachment. Besides, spiritual lessons, using
electronic media helps EOTC to generate greater income by increasing laities‟ awareness about
the importance of paying one tenth of their income to their religious affiliation. Secondly, it
increases the demanding of religious materials, songs, and books. That means the controversial
issue of the Church becomes a best thematic area for business. Thousands of books and spiritual
songs are published and distributed to readers. Here, we have to understand that the preachers,
singers or writers are the suppliers of religious services. They will distort the message of religion
in a manner that would be beneficial to them.

8
Yeliqawent Gubaye is a legitimate body of EOTC which is established to protect and preserve the teachings of the
Church.
9
Yaredawi Zema means melody of St. Yared.

38
Some laities10 argue that “the progress of the spiritual songs industry is greater than that of the
music industry in Addis Ababa”. This has many critics from religious leaders and laities, and the
question of what is sacred and what is profane if religion is used as a means to generate income
is raised. I believe that this kind of critics against doing business by publishing and distributing
religious lessons has originated from the teaching of the Bible which says “It is easier for a
camel to go through the eye of a needle, than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of God”
{Matthew, 19:24}. In other words, laities may assume that publishing and advertising religious
lessons with the purpose of gaining greater money is not appropriate because it is against the
teaching of the Bible.

The application of electronic media to transmit spiritual lessons is currently progressing. As a

result of this, unlike past experiences, new activities began to emerge in relation to the religiosity
of Orthodox Christians such as the competitive nature of distribution of religious songs and
preaching to laities is a current phenomenon.

To sum up this chapter, religiosity is a broad concept that can be perceived differently not only
from religion to religion, but also with in followers of the same religious denomination.
Orthodox Christians understand religiosity in ways that are linked to religious knowledge and
practice in general, and they understand religiosity in terms of church attendance, religious
adherence, religious donations and other related issue in particular. Based on their perception to
religiosity, people try to explain whether or not the religiosity of Orthodox Christians in Addis
Ababa is increasing. Though it is difficult to find a single complete argument about the present
condition of religiosity, it is possible to argue that it is different from past experiences. Religious
competition, religious proselytizing, and the application of electronic media for spiritual lessons
are among the major factors that contribute to the change in the religiosity of Orthodox
Christians. All these issues, directly or indirectly, may relate to the socioeconomic roles of
EOTC which will be discussed in the next chapters of this thesis.

10
I conducted informal conversations with laities in St. Raguael Church on 23 June 2014. Mariyamawit, Tsegareda,
Gebregzihabehar and Mulluken are laities who participated in the informal conversation.

39
 Chapter Five

The Role of EOTC on Social Support and Social Interaction

This chapter deals with the role of EOTC on social support and interaction. It is obvious that a
number of different dimensions can be included under the broader concept of social support. It
is difficult to analyse all those dimensions in a single study. Therefore, for the purpose of this
chapter, social support is mainly defined as the visible supports in which the EOTCs provide to
the people. And social interaction is defined as the interpersonal relationships that are affected
by the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Churches. Here, this chapter also tries to describe some
challenges in relation to the role of EOTCs on social support and interaction.

5.1. The Role of EOTC on Social Support

It is common for most religions to provide support for those who are helpless and poor. Like
other religious institutions, the EOTC has been engaged in the provision of social support.
According to Ato Mullugeta, who is one of my key informants in St. Raguel, the source of
support in the EOTC is derived from the teaching of the Holy Bible. He stated:

Providing social support is not optional for the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo
Church. It is mandatory for the Church to provide support and charity services
because supporting others is advocated in the teachings of the Holy Bible. You may
look at the most widely used Gospels of Christianity such as Matthew 25: 35-4011 and
Luke 14:13-1412.

Following the teaching of the Holy Bible, the EOTC provides various forms of social support to
the society. The social support from the Church ranges from emotional support for laities to

11
Mathew 25: 35-40 says that “then the King will say to those on his right, `Come, you who are blessed by my
Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world. For I was hungry and
you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited
me in, I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to
visit me. Then the righteous will answer him, `Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give
you something to drink? When did we see you a stranger and invite you in or needing clothes and clothe you?
When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you? The King will reply, `I tell you the truth, whatever you
did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.'

12
Luke 14: 14-15 says that “but when you give a reception, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, the blind, and you
will be blessed, since they do not have the means to repay you; for you will be repaid at the resurrection of the
righteous”.

40
charitable services for marginalized groups such as elderly people, orphans, and disable
individuals.

The emotional support by the Church is observed when laities encounter problems in their life.
Priests of the Church are the main provider of emotional support to laities. There is/was old
tradition in the EOTC which promotes every laity or family to have his/her own spiritual
advisors. This spiritual advisor is a priest or what they call Neseha Abat/father confessor. The
main role of father confessor is to provide counseling for laities about their spiritual life. Though
this is true, the role of Neseha Abat is beyond providing spiritual supports to laities. They
provide emotional supports when a certain problem occurs to an individual or one‟s family life.
In relation to this, Genet, Sunday school student at St. Raguael Church, expresses:

Whenever a problem happens to my life, I prefer to tell the situation to my Neseha

Abat. I always get advisory service, and the advices make me feel emotionally strong
and help me to get relief. For instance, I had lost my parents in the year 2003 E.C,
and it was too hard for me to think life without them. Consequently, though that
didn’t work out, I attempted to commit suicide. At that time, my Neseha Abat, was the
only one who always used to visit and assist me. He advised me to pray for my
parents rather than crying. He usually said to me ―do not feel lonely because the Son
of St. Mary is always living with victimized individuals like you‖. Gradually, I
recovered from the deepest sorrow through the help of my Nesha Abat.

From the above statement, it would be possible to say that priests in the Ethiopian Orthodox
Tewahedo Church have a considerable role in helping individuals with tackling different
psychological problems. Besides providing emotional support for laities, the Ethiopian Orthodox
Tewahedo Churches have been providing tangible social supports, such as provision of food and
clothing.

5.1.1. Provision of Food

These days, especially in the capital city, Addis Ababa, it is common to see little children, elders,
and other helpless individuals who lie down on the street and beg money to fulfill their basic
needs. In relation to the subject under discussion, Ethiopian Orthodox Churches in the city play
their roles in providing food for those starved individuals. Though churches give food services, I
have found their participation was low on the scene, and still they could not meet one‟s

41
expectation as an institution. In most churches, I have observed that food delivery was given in
unorganized manner.

As far as the food provision is concerned, I have tried to explore the experiences of St. Raguel
Church. Ato Mullugeta, one of my key informants, explained to me the trends in the church. He
said:

St. Raguel Church provides food for helpless individuals every week. All the time we
used to deliver it in the form of feasting. Every Friday, there is a lunch program in
our Church. Any starved individual, regardless of his/her religion, is invited to attend
the lunch. In fact, the role of Church in this area might be minimal when it is
compared with the population who do not afford their daily meals, but the Church
tries to use its maximum effort to broaden its role on the issue.

St. Raguel church use different ways to collect food which would be rationed to the marginalized
group such as beggars, street children, and elderly people. The church mostly used leftover foods
from nearby hotels and restaurants to meal starved individuals. Sometimes, the Church provides
food which is leftover from the rituals of Kerestina13 and Tesekar14. Another way of helping
these people is, the Church by itself buys Injera and organize volunteers so that they can cook
Wet/soup. Like St.Raguel Church, other Orthodox Churches such as St.Ledeta, St.Aurael, St.
Merry, and Trinity Cathedral Churches provide food in the same manner for those who are in
need of alms.

In addition to the church‟s service, an Orthodox Christian as part of his/her religious devotion
provides food in many ways. Yetsewa Maheber15 is one way in which Orthodox Christians
organize in group to feed the poor in the name of God. A group of Orthodox Christians collect
together and prepare a kind of feasting. This feasting is called by the name of one of the saints
such as St. Gabriel Maheber, St. Michel Mahber or St. George Mahber. According to laities16,

13
Keristena is the dedication of children to God by bringing them to the Church on the 40 th (for a male child) and
80th (for female child) date after birth for baptism.
14
Teskar is a ritual which is organized to remember a deceased person.
15
Yetsewa Mahber is a union which is established to provide alms and to remember saints and angels.

16
W/ro Semu and Wezero Tsedale are laities of EOTC.

42
the primary purpose of establishing Yetsewa Maheber is to feed those individuals who have
nothing to eat. But these days this notion was not vividly applicable by most Yetsewa Mahebers.
This is due to lack of awareness about the primary purpose of establishing Yetsewa Maheber. In
relation to this, Weyzero Semu, Laity of EOTC, said:

I am a member of St. Gabriel Maheber, which has eight members. Every member
takes a turn to prepare feasting program on the 19th day of the month. However, the
guests invited to this program are from a well to do class of the society. In other
words, poor people are not mostly invited to our Maheber. This, I think, is lack of
knowledge about the very purpose of the gathering. During my turn, however, I invite
those individuals that need the societies’ attention to make a living.

From the above statement, one may understood that Orthodox Christians establish Mahebers
with the aim of feeding the poor though there is a difference among Orthodox Christians in
understanding the purpose of Maheber. Some Orthodox Christians establish Maheber to provide
food for the poor and practically invited orphans, disable people, and elderly during the feasting
program, whereas others use Yetsewa Mahber as a means to feast one other, which contradicts
with its primary aim.

5.1.2. Provision of Clothing

Just like food, shelter and other necessities, cloth is one of the most crucial needs of human
beings. The EOTC participates in the provision of clothes for the poor. The contribution of
Orthodox Churches in providing clothing can be expressed in two ways. In one way, the church
collects clothes of individuals who have passed away, and distributes it to the orphans, the
elderly, and other helpless persons. The clothes of deceased persons are voluntarily donated to
the Church by relatives. On the other hand, the Church has taught its laities about the spiritual
benefit of providing clothing for those who do not have. This kind of teaching influences laities
of EOTC to share their clothes to the poor. During my observation at St. Aurael Church, I had
the chance to attend in the Awude Miheret. I arrived while a preacher teaches about the
importance of providing clothes to the poor. He says “If you have two clothes, you shall share
one of it to those who have nothing to wear”. This kind of spiritual teachings in the Orthodox

43
Churches likely promotes the participation of laities in providing clothes to the poor. In relation
to this, Ato Yalalem17, said:

My living is depending on begging. I always beg around Orthodox Churches because

I believe that people who attend in Churches are more generous than other. As you
saw me, I am poorly clothed. I dressed dirty and badly smelt clothes. In fact, these
clothes were not dirty when I get them from alms givers of the Ethiopian Orthodox
Tewahedo Church. Though sometimes I get newly clothes from laities, most of the
time laities give me the cloths of their deceased relatives.

The above statement shows that Churches are places where helpless individuals get their
clothes from laities. In support with this argument, W/ro Semu stated:

I am follower of the Ethiopian Orthodox Church. Though it is hard to be loyal to

each and every teaching of the Church, I always tried to follow some values and
principles of the church such as helping others. I help people by providing clothes.
However, I did not provide clothes directly to individuals who seek help. Rather I
provide clothes to St. Raguael Church so that the Church will distribute it to
helpless individuals.

As per my observation, I can conclude that the EOTCs have a role in the provision of clothing
not in a direct way rather they indirectly force laities to provide clothes to those who have
nothing to wear. In other words, Churches do not invest their money to buy clothes for the poor
but they expect laities to do so.

5.2. The Role of EOTC on Social Interaction

Religion as a social institution has its own effect on the nature of interactions in a certain society.
The teachings of religious organizations always could be understood in relation to the social life
of the people. Any spiritual lesson from religious organizations has its own effect on the social
life of religious attendants. I found that the teachings of Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Churches
in Addis Ababa had a role on the social interactions of individuals. Its role on social and
interpersonal relations is manifested from family to local institutions.

17
Ato Yalalem is a laity of EOTC. I found him while he begs at St. Urael Church.

44
The Church‟s role on family starts as of the first day of marriage between spouses. It was/is a
common tradition for Orthodox Christians to open their marriage with the blessing and praying
of a priest from the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church. For many years it was common for
priest to forward messages to the groom and the bride to be respectful, faithful and honest to
each other. This kind of lesson from a religious father may have its own impact in forming good
and healthy family. Currently, the role of Orthodox Priests is beyond opening marriages with
their blessings. Priests of EOTC are playing a great role in settling various kinds of conflicts at
family level. Especially, when there is a conflict between a husband and a wife, the first person
where the spouse chooses to solve their problem is a father confessor from the Ethiopian
Orthodox Church. In relation to this, Weyzero Zenebu, Laity of EOTC, stated:

Since we are human beings and have diversified interests, we may disagree with one
another. Conflict may occur between a husband and his wife or a child and his/her
parent. This kind of disagreement between members of a family may be solved by
neighbours, close relatives or religious leaders. For instance, on the year 2011, I was
in serious conflict with my husband due to a reason that I do not want to mention
here. I did not allow anyone, except my Neseha Abat, to interfere in our family cases.
Even I did not tell my neighbours and close relatives about the cause of the conflict. I
first discuss with my Neseha Abat, who is serving at St. Mary Church, and explained
the problem to him. Then, my Neseha Abat started to discuss with my husband.
Finally, the quarrel had been resolved.

From Zenebu‟s statement, one can understand that religious fathers in the EOTC have a crucial
role in solving conflicts between spouses. Even Orthodox Christians are more likely to share
their secrets to religious fathers, like Neseha Abats than to their neighbours and relatives. The
involvement of religious leaders of EOTCs in one‟s family is not only expressed in terms of
promoting peaceful relations between members of a certain family. But sometimes the EOTC
might understand as a cause to family disorder. Especially if a member of an Orthodox Christian
family changes his/her religion to another, there could be a problem in family interaction. This
problem is mainly result from the influence of priests or religious fathers in the EOTC. Wayzaro
Melkam, laity of EOTC, explained to me about how religious fathers in the EOTC negatively
affect the family interaction. She said:

As it is known, religion in our society is mostly inherited from families. For instance,
since our parents are Orthodox Christians, we strictly adhere to their religion as

45
 well. Though this was true until very recently, our elder brother deviated from this
tradition by proselytize in to Protestantism. The Father confessor asked our brother
to reconsider his decision. My brother, however, refused to do so. Due to this, my
parents were ordered to stop any kind of relations to their son. Since my parents were
illiterate, they stack to what the ―father confessor‖ ordered them to do.

Melkam‟s statement vividly shows that, priests in the EOTC may negatively affect family
interaction. This indicates that priests are promoting in-group favouritism and out-group
discrimination. That means though religious fathers in the Church allow healthy interactions
between its members, they are influencing laities to do not have any kind of interaction with
people other than Orthodox Christians. In this case, priests of the Church have the ability to
negatively affect the interaction within members of a family. In fact, such kind of actions by
priests may not represent the EOTC as a whole. In relation to this, Deacon Geremew, a student
in Holy Trinity Theological College, explained:

The EOTC do not teach its laities about neglecting others because it is against the
doctrine and canon of the Church. However, there are some priests in the Church
who teach laities to neglect people other than Orthodox Christians. This is because
priests fear that laities would be more vulnerable to proselytization if they are
allowed to interact with out-group members.

According to the above statement, priests are acting against the doctrine of the Church. It is not
my intention to explore whether or not neglecting out-group members is the doctrine of the
Church. However, as I tried to understand from my observations, I can say that the spiritual
practices in the EOTC support neglecting out-group members. For example, religious fathers in
the Church use offensive terms to refer followers of other religion. They used like
Menafek/disbeliever to refer to followers of other religion.

The influence of EOTC at family based interaction might be broadening itself to the wider
society. It is undeniable that members of the Church would like to establish close relations with
individuals who are belonging to their particular religion. This influence has been clearly
observed in the interaction of Orthodox Christians within local institutions like Ekub18. In
relation to this, Ato Mehari, laity of EOTC, states:

18
Equb is a local institution which can be established by two or more individuals for the purpose of saving

46
 I have a greater social interaction with Orthodox Christians than followers of other
religion. For instance, I prefer to be a member of Equb in which most of the members
are followers of EOTC. Since Equb is mainly established based on trust, I do not trust
followers of other religion. You know, even we may differ in the way we oath to keep
our promises. I, as an Orthodox Christian, may swear in the name of St. Mary, whereas
Muslims may swear in the name of Allah. So, should I have to trust someone who
believes in something different from mine? No, I do not trust followers of other religion
because our Church thought me that adherents of other religion are disbelievers.

Religious lessons in the EOTC have the ability to determine how and with whom people have to
interact. Since laities learnt from their religious father that followers of other religion are
disbelievers, they are less likely to interact with out-group members in local institutions like
Equb.

Generally, the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Churches affect social interaction both positively
and negatively. The Church promotes interaction between its followers, and, on the other hand, it
has a negative impact on the relationship between Orthodox Christians and followers of other
religion.
5.3. Challenges of EOTCs’ and its Effect on Social Support
I do not find the EOTC‟s role on social support as I expected. As a religious institution that has
millions of followers in the city, the Ethiopian Orthodox Churches role on helping marginalized
groups like orphans, street children and elderly people should not be limited to the provision of
food and clothes. I tried to discover the reasons behind the lower participation of EOTCs in
social support program. Financial problem and corruption are among the major challenges that
affect the Ethiopian Orthodox Churches participation on social support. Some people 19 state that
the Ethiopian Orthodox Churches in Addis Ababa do not provide tangible social support to the
poor due to financial constraint. In relation to this, Ato Berihun, priest at St. Ledeta Mariam
Church, states:

I believe that the participation of our church (St. Ledeta) in supporting helpless
people is minimal. This did not result from our negligence or carelessness to the
issue. Rather it is because of financial constraint. Annually, our Church has a cost of
more than six million Birr. To cover these costs, the Church collects money from its
19
Ato Berihun (key informant at St. Ledeta Church) and Kesis Mulugeta (key informat at St. Raguael Church).

47
 laities. And the money collected from laities is not enough to broaden the Church’s
participation in different charity services and developmental activities.

According to the above statement, the lower participation of St. Ledeta in social support resulted
from financial problems. Likewise, Kesis Mulugeta, also states that the participation of EOTCs
in social support is not big due to financial problem which has resulted from lack of religious
devotions among laities. He described the issue by taking the case of St. Raguael Church.

Laities are not devoted to their religion especially in relation to Asrat20. Most laities
do not pay Asrat or one tenth of their income to the Church. This affects the Church’s
role in social support. You know the main income for our Church is generated from
laities. In fact, our Church also tries to collect money from different sources.
However, its income is minimum compared to the costs that the Church is expected to
pay for different purposes such as for Addis Ababa Diocese Secretariat, employees of
the Church, electricity, water and other purposes. This leads the Church to limit its
participation in social support.

In contrast to the above statement, mentioning financial constraint as the reason for lower
participation of churches on social support is not accepted by some informants like Ato
Gebremedhin, official at Addis Ababa Diocese. He states:

It would not be acceptable to say that Ethiopian Orthodox Churches in the city
encounters financial problem to participate in social support service. The major
reason for lower participation of Ethiopian Orthodox Churches in the city is
corruption rather than financial problem. Corruption is currently a common tradition
in most churches. It is difficult for me to explain the case. In relation to this, you may
refer a book entitled “የ ቤተ ክርስትያ ን ፈተና ዎች 21or Challenges of the Church‖ written
by Ato Muhabaw Alemu.

In relation to the above statement, Ato Muhabaw on his book “የ ቤተ ክርስትያ ን ፈተና ዎች or
Challenges of the Church (2003 E.C) describes:

The annual salary of all employees of St. Ledeta Church is 2, 377,778.00 Birr. This
cost can be easily covered by the income generated through Mudaye Metsewat.
However, a total of 3, 836 089.00 Birr is embezzled from Mudaye Metsewat in the
20
Asrat is a payment in which Orthodox Christians give one tenth of their income to the Ethiopian Orthodox
Tewahedo Church
21
የ ቤተ ክርስትያ ን ፈተና ዎች or Challenges of the Church is a book which was written by Ato Muhabaw Alemu, who
was/is serving at St. Ledeta Church. The book portrays about the main challenges of EOTC. Corruption, especially
in relation to Mudaye Metsewat, is identified as the main challenge that negatively affects the EOTCs participation
in the provision of social support services.

48
 year 2003 E.C. From this, one can imagine how the Church loses greater amount of
money. If the Church does not lose that money, its participation in social support will
be greater. Because the embezzled money from the Church have the capacity to
provide meals for nine thousand helpless individuals or it may enable the Church to
create jobs for 320 persons with a monthly salary of one thousand Birr (Muhabaw,
2003: 50-51)22.

Ato Bereket, Priest at St. Aurael Church, also agrees with the above description. He states:

In the time of our fathers and mothers, the only thing that a person requested to get
job in any Ethiopian Orthodox Church was Qene Mewedes 23. But today a person,
who seeks job in the Church, is requested to give thousands of money for employers.

This indicates that corruption is among the major factors that negatively affects the Church‟s
participation on social support. Most of my informants24, during the interview sessions, stated
that there is no financial problem in most Ethiopian Orthodox Churches. Rather, there is a
problem on financial management systems of EOTCs. This leads various Churches in the city to
be embezzled by different persons. That embezzlement affects the Churches‟ participation in
social support.

To sum up, the EOTCs have roles inn social support and interaction, but their participation was
low on the scene. Their participation is below what someone expects from a religious institution.
In most churches social support is delivered in unorganized manner. Many reasons are
mentioned behind the low participation of Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Churches in providing
social support and interaction. The major reasons are financial problem and corruption. Some
argue that the participation of EOTCs on social support is not greater due to financial problem
which resulted from lack of religious devotions among laities. In contrast, others argue that there
is no financial constraint in the Church. For them, corruption is the major reason that hinders the
Church participation on social support. This leads various Churches in the city to be embezzled
22
This quote is translated from its Amharic version to English.
23
Qene Mewedes is the composition of poetry and it is presented orally. In order to compose a Qene, first a person
has to know the Ge‟ez vocabulary and grammar very well. Besides, a person must comment on passages of the Bible
in a Qene for the feast of the day; or on the lives of saints for the feast of saints; he may also introduce moral
precepts and even contemporary events.
24
Ato Abebe (key informant from St. Ledeta Church), Ato Gadessa (key informant from St. Merry Church), Ato
Bereket (key informant from St. Aurael Church), and Ato Yosef (key informant from Holy Trinity Cathedral) are
among those informants who argue that corruption is the main reason behind the lower participation of EOTCs in
social support.

49
by different persons. That embezzlement affects the Churches‟ participation on social support.
With all these challenges, churches are participating not only in the provision of social support
and interaction but also in healthcare services. The next chapter deals with the role of EOTCs on
the provision of healthcare services.

50
 Chapter Six

The Role of EOTC in the Provision of Health Care Services

This chapter deals with the role of Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Churches in the provision of
healthcare services. It mainly emphasizes on describing how spiritual practices of the Church are
used as a means of delivering health care services in Addis Ababa. Accordingly, the chapter
primarily tries to explore the understanding of EOTC towards health. Then, it describes the
spiritual healthcare services of the Church.

6.1. The EOTC’s View Towards Health

There is an increasing recognition in today‟s world that there are significant links between
religion and health though there is no consensus in what ways religion linked to health. Religion
is usually taken as the institutionalization of shared beliefs and customary practices. This enables
religion to integrate itself into a community‟s cultural life. Most religions have beliefs and
practices relating to healthy living, illness and death (Rumun, 2014: 39). I believe that before
someone tries to describe the role of a certain religion in health, it is crucial to understand how
that religion understands health. This helps a researcher to clearly understand both the ideal and
practical effects of religion on health.

The understanding of individuals on health and illness may be influenced by the tradition of the
church to which they belong. That means the understanding of health vary from religion to
religion. The Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church views health in terms of the condition of
body and soul. An Orthodox Christian is considered as healthy when both his/her body and/ soul
are free from illness. That means, in the teaching of EOTC, health is not only related to the
condition of body, but it is also related with the condition of the soul. A person‟s body may
suffer with certain kind of illness whereas his/her soul is free from illness, and vice versa. Or
illness may present in both a person‟s body and soul. The EOTC believes that illness of the body
and soul may result from various reasons, and it can be treated in various ways. Illness of the
soul is mainly related to evil spirits25.

25
Kesis Mullugeta, key informant from St. Raguel Church.

51
 According to the teachings of EOTC, evil spirits are thought to enter a person’s body
during certain times of a day when a person is guilty of impure thoughts. These spirits
are believed to be most likely to enter in a person’s body during the nighttime,
especially when a person is alone outside of his/her home. Besides, when individuals
are polluted with thoughts which do not occur in the teaching of the Church, evil
spirits may enter to the individual body and cause illness of the soul26.

People who suffer from such kind of illness are advised to get treatment in the Church using
spiritual practice such as Tsebel or holy water, Keba Kidus or holy oil, and Emnet27. In this
sense, the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church is considered as hospital for soul. Though the
Church is taken as a hospital for soul, the EOTC also believes in medical interventions in a
hospital to treat illness in the body. That means the Church believes in both clinical and spiritual
healing practices. In relation to this, Kesis Mulugeta, states:

The EOTC believes in both clinical and spiritual treatments. I heard some people
saying that the EOTC do not recognize clinical health care services. This is not true.
Our Church believes that our whole life is guided by God, and any kind of medical
art, whether it is clinical or otherwise, has been granted to us by God. That means
medical practitioners are considered administrators of God’s healing, since all
healing comes from God.

Though the Church recognizes both spiritual and clinical health care systems, I have found that
its participation in clinical health care services is minimal. But the Church uses its spiritual
practices as a means of providing health care services to laities. Of those spiritual practices in the
EOTC, Tsebel, Keba Kedus and Emnet are most widely used as a means of delivering health care
services in the city. These spiritual practices help the EOTC to perform healing. Here, one has to
understand that it is difficult to prove whether or not people are protected and cured from illness
as a result of those spiritual practices. Due to this, I prefer to explain what people say about the
role of spiritual practices in healing and protecting them from illness.
6.2. Healing Through the Spiritual Practices of Tsebel
Tsebel is the most widely used mode of healing in the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Churches.
It is not only used for the purpose of healing, but it is also used when the Church wants to bless
anything. If fresh water runs around the compounds or near to the Church, it is considered as

26
Kesis Mullugeta. Key informant interview.
27
Emnet looks like dust but is holly and used for spiritual cleansing services by Orthodox Christians by priests.

52
holy. Besides this, other kind of water is considered as holy if it is blessed by a priest using the
cross.

The spiritual practice of Tsebel in the Ethiopian Orthodox Churches has two basic roles which
makes it to relate to health: its protective and healing role. The protective role of Tseble is
observed mainly when it is used by individuals who are not suffering with diseases. Orthodox
Christians in Addis Ababa used Tsebel to protect themselves from illness; mental or physical. By
sprinkling Tsebel on the outside of the body or on the wall of their house, Orthodox Christians
believe that they are being protected from diseases, illness or evil spirits. In relation to this,
Tsegareda, laity of EOTC, states:

I strongly believe in Tsebel. It has the ability to protect people from any kind of
illness. I do not only take Tsebel when I become ill rather I also take it to protect
myself from illness. I personally take Tsebel in the form of drinking. And to protect
my family members, I sprinkle Tseble on the wall of my house. I have to say that I am
healthy both physically and psychologically because I usually take Tsebel from the
Ethiopian Orthodox Church. This may seem false for you or other individuals. But I
have to tell you that no one will be cured by Tsebel unless he/she is heartfully believes
in it.

The other role of the spiritual practice of Tsebel of EOTC is that, it is used to treat physical and
mental illness. Treatments in the EOTC using Tsebel are typically administered once a day in the
early morning to all patients who are present in the treatment. Patients treated using Tseble are
required to take holy water for a minimum of seven days. Here, if a person is not cured by taking
Tseble for one week, he/she may need to continue his/her treatment for one more week or even
more if necessary28.

Orthodox Christians believe that Tsebel can cure any ailment. There are Orthodox Christians
who believe that Tsebel can cure diseases which do not have medicine in the clinical health care
systems. Weyzero Wubealem, a laity whom I interview at St. Mary Church, said:

My health was in serious condition for many years. I tried to find solutions in the
modern health care centers such as Betsega Hospital, Betezata Hospital and other

28
Ato Gadessa. Key informant

53
 higher health institutions. However, I could not find the appropriate medicine for my
disease. Later my neighbors advised me to take a spiritual treatment in the Ethiopian
Orthodox Tewahedo Church by using Tsebel. Then, I began to take Tsebel in St.
Mary Church. I took Tsebel for twenty one consecutive days. No, I am in good health
condition.

The above statement affirms the fact that Tsebel may cure diseases that cannot be cured in the
modern health care systems. In other words, patients who prefer spiritual healings cope better
with their illness. Especially the spiritual practice of Tsebel is mostly used to heal individuals
from mental illness. Orthodox Christians, who suffered from mental illness like depression and
stress, usually take the holy water as the best mode of treatment to be cured29. This is also proved
in some researches such as Koenig and Adams (2008: 10) who stated that “patients who use
religion to cope appear to cope better with their illness, if depression occurs they recover more
quickly from depression because of greater adaptive capacities”.

Here, one may ask that why people prefer Tsebel for the treatment of mental illness? Is it
because of lack of access to clinical health care services? Or is it because people find Tsebel
more capable than clinical health care methods in treating mental illness? In an attempt to answer
such questions, I have explored divergent views. Ato Hailu, laity of EOTC, states:

From my experience, I can say that people prefer to use Tsebel because of lack of
access to modern health care services for mental illness. The number of individuals
who are suffering with mental illness and the number of hospitals prepared to treat
such kind of illnesses in Addis Ababa are incomparable. Only few Hospitals like
Amanuael Hospital are offering treatments for mentally ill individuals.

According to the above statement lack of access to modern health care services for mental illness
in the city is the major reason that lead people to prefer Tsebel as the appropriate way of treating
mental illness. W/ro Azekrien, laity of EOTC, also states:

It is true that people choose Tsebel to treat their mental illness. This is not only
because of lack of access to modern health care services. Rather it is also because of
inability to afford the cost of clinical health care services for such diseases. You may
require paying thousands of Birr to get treatment in health centers. Even if you pay
thousands of Birr, you may not get proper treatment in the modern health care
centers.
29
Deacon Siefu. Key informant interview. St. Raguael Church

54
According to the above statement inability to afford the cost of clinical health care services and
lack of proper treatment in modern health care centers are among the major reasons that lead
people to prefer Tsebel.

As I tried to show in the above statements, individuals‟ reason to prefer Tsebel as the appropriate
way of treatment for mental illness is in one way or another way related to modern health care
services: (1) Lack of access to modern health care services for mental illness in the city, (2)
inability to afford the cost of clinical health care services for such disease, (3) and lack of proper
treatment in the modern health care systems. Different from these reasons, there is a major factor
in relation to the issue under discussion i.e. the attitudes of Orthodox Christians about the causes
of mental illness. Most Orthodox Christians believes that mental illness is caused by religious
practitioners (what they call Debeteras) who control the evil spirit. They believe that Debeteras
are able to make someone mentally ill through the skill they acquired from the EOTC. Therefore,
seeking spiritual healing at the Church is the only method that helps a patient to recover from
mental illness. I observed during my presence in St. Aurael Church that people who are suffering
mental illness are greater in number than those who are physically ill. I prove this from my
observations and informal conversation with relatives of the patients. I asked relatives of patients
about what makes them to bring patients to the Church, and most of their response is related to
mental illness. For instance, Ato Habtamu30, states:

My son was studying civil engineering at Arba Minch University. But suddenly he felt
ill and could not pursue his education. His symptoms were much more similar with
what I have witnessed from those who suffer from evil spirits. As such, I took him to
St. Urael Church to have him baptize with holy water. I did not take him to any
hospital because I believe that it is impossible to cure such type of illness by using
biomedicines.

The above kind of statement is the result the teaching and views of EOTC towards illness. In
relation to this, Lee and Newberg (2005: 454-55) stated that “religion may negatively impact
health. Religious groups may directly oppose certain health-care interventions and convince
patients that their ailments are due to noncompliance with religious doctrines rather than organic

30
Ato Habetamu is a laity of EOTC. I found him at St. Aurael Church with his son who is suffering from mental
illness.

55
disease”. In other words, the EOTC‟s teaching which says illness is caused by evil spirits, and
that evil spirit may enter to individuals when they are polluted with thoughts which do not occur
in the teaching of the Church may lead Orthodox Christians to feel that spiritual treatment is the
only way to cure their mind from evil spirits. As a result, individuals may ignore clinical health
care services, and they prefer to frequently go to Churches in seeking spiritual treatments.

6.3. Healing through the Spiritual Practices of Keba Kidus/Holy Oil

The other spiritual practice which is used by the EOTC as a mode of healing is Keba Kedus/Holy
oil. Laities offer oil for the EOTC. The Church does not accept the all kinds of oils. Rather,
religious officials, usually, priests, check whether or not the laities provide the right kind of oil.
The right kind of oil is one which is found from olive trees. Compared to the spiritual practice of
Tsebel, Qeba Qidus is rarely used as a mode of healing in Addis Ababa. This is due to the
difficulty to get olive tree oils in the city. In relation to this, Kesis Mulugeta, elaborates:

Qeba Qidus is not used to heal any trivial sickness. Rather it is used at the time of
severe sickness. Treatment of the sick using holy oil is one of the seven sacraments of
the Ethiopian Orthodox Church. During this sacrament, a priest marks the body of
the sick person with holy oil, asking for divine grace to help cure the patient. The
olive oils are mostly used in the rural Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Churches
because it is difficult to access the right kind of Holy oil (olive oils) in cities.

Though it is difficult to provide healings to the wider population, some Churches in the City are
providing spiritual healing using Keba Kidus for fewer individuals who suffered with severe
sickness31.

6.4. Healing through the Spiritual Practices of Emnet

Emnet looks like dust but is holy and used for spiritual cleansing services by Orthodox Christians
by priests. Emnet include a substance that is burnt to produce a sweet smell as part of a religious
ceremony (incense ash) and soils in the Church. Priests of the EOTC collect ashes from the
incense burned during service and they use it during healing rituals.

Emnet in the form of incense ash is used in two different ways. In the first way, individuals use

31
Kesis Mulugeta. Key informant interview

56
Emnet on their forehead to bless their life. In this sense, Emnet is taken in dry form. In the
second way, Emnet is taken in a mixed form. That means an incense ash mixed with holy water
can be ingested to cure oneself from illness. By taking this, Orthodox Christians believe that
evils spirits living inside their body will be flushed out.

The necessity of Emnet can be seen during the Ethiopian Orthodox Holiday of Meskel, or the
celebration of the true cross. This celebration is characterized by ample bonfires, in various
religious locations around the city. After the bonfires have been diminished to ash, many
Orthodox Christians go up to the ashes to bless themselves with it. Orthodox Christians also
collect the ash and they put it in their home. And if they ever fall ill, they mix the ash with water.
By mixing the ash with water and hang the bottle outside the front door to their home, Orthodox
Christians believe that evil spirits cannot exist in and around their home.

6.5. When do Orthodox Christians Seek Spiritual Health Care Services?

As I tried to discuss in the above topics, Orthodox Christians in Addis Ababa get spiritual health
care through the religious practices of Tsebel, Keba Kidus and Emnet. In common sense, it is
believed that compared to rural dwellers, people in the city are less interested in spiritual health
care services. In contrast to this, I found that many Orthodox Christians in Addis Ababa are
beneficiaries of spiritual healthcare services though the way Orthodox Christians decide to get
spiritual health care services vary. In relation to this, Ato Leyekun, a priest in St. Aurael Church,
states:

Many laities come to our church to get spiritual health care services. Some laities
need the spiritual healings in our church when they are unable to find solutions after
they get treated in hospitals or clinics. On the other hand, there are Orthodox
Christians who come to get spiritual healings services before they go to modern
health care centers. Though it is not commonly practiced, there are also small
numbers of Orthodox Christians who prefer to get both modern and spiritual
healthcare services.

From the above statement, Orthodox Christians who receive spiritual health care in the EOTC
can be categorized into groups. In the first group, there are individuals who prefer spiritual
healthcare to modern health care services. This group of people assumes that the disease has
supernatural causes. Therefore, the diseases can only be cured by spiritual treatment in the

57
church than modern health care facilities. According to Leyekun, laities who frequently attend
Church mostly prefer spiritual health care to the modern one. In the second group, there are
Orthodox Christians who seek spiritual health care services after they get some kind of
treatments in hospitals and unable to find solutions. In the third group, there are Orthodox
Christians who seek both modern and spiritual healthcare. From these three groups, one can
understand that people may seek spiritual healthcare services even though they have access to
modern health care services.

Before closing this chapter, I would like to explain that healing through spiritual practices is
currently becoming not only an alternative but also a common method of providing health care
service in Addis Ababa. Like modern clinical health care, spiritual healings especially using
Tsebel is currently considered as a formal way of health care services in the city. Even Orthodox
Churches, like hospitals, write a sick leave to their patients who stay in the church in seeking
spiritual treatments. Any governmental or nongovernmental organizations accept sick leaves
from EOTCs in the city.

To sum up, though Ethiopian Orthodox Churches play a considerable role on health using the
spiritual practices of Tsebel, Keba Kedus, and Emnet, their participation on promoting clinical
health care services is minimal. I believe that EOTCs in the City has to give more emphasis on
the area of clinical health care services by establishing different health care centers. This will
help them to become a source of both spiritual and modern health care services as well as to start
business.

58
 Chapter Seven

Summary and Conclusion

The role of religion in society has been the subject of historians, psychologists, sociologists and
anthropologists for many years. This thesis was set out to explore the socioeconomic roles of
religion with a particular reference to the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Churches in Addis
Ababa. In accordance with the main objective, this thesis raised four basic questions: how do
Orthodox Christians understand religiosity? What is the role of religion on the provision of social
support? How does religion affect social interaction? What is the role of religion in the provision
of health care? In the following paragraphs, therefore, I discussed how findings of the study
answered those research questions raised at the introductory stage of the study.

The finding of this study was started by explaining the understanding of religiosity among
Orthodox Christians. This is important due to two important reasons. (1) It is impossible to
understand the role of religion in society, without having the meaning or defining measure of
religiosity in that particular society. (2) The perception of individuals towards religiosity may
influence the socioeconomic roles of religious institutions in the city. Findings reveal that
religiosity is perceived by Orthodox Christians in terms of “religious knowledge” and “religious
practice”. Religious knowledge is defined by one‟s knowledge about the basic value, morals and
principles of one‟s own denomination as well as adhering to a certain belief system. And
religious practice is correlated with church attendance, private religious devotion, religious
donation, religious services etc. That means, like Frazer‟s explanation on the Golden Bough
(1922), the finding of this thesis indicate that religiosity has two major elements, “theoretical”
and “practical”. For Frazer, the theoretical element of religion refers to one‟s belief in powers
higher than man, whereas the practical element of religion is an attempt to propitiate or please
them (1922: 53b). By taking those two indicators; theoretical and practical religiosity; Orthodox
Christians give divergent views about the present state of religiosity in the city. In other words,
the response of an individual about the current state of religiosity is determined by how he/she
defines religiosity. For instance, I found that people who perceive religiosity in terms of religious
knowledge believe that there is a decreasing trend of religiosity in the city. In contrast, laities
who used religious donations as a defining character of religiosity portrays that religiosity is
increasing from time to time. Due to this divergent view, I found it difficult to establish a single

59
consummate argument about the present condition of religiosity. However, I can say that the
nature of religiosity is not the same as it was in the past. This is due to various factors which
include religious competition, religious proselytizing, and the application of electronics media
for spiritual lessons. These three factors are related to each other. That means the presence of
religious competition is the result of proselytizing activities in the city. And electronic media
serves religious clergies as a tool to compete and gain more followers or to achieve proselytizing
activities. Findings of this study shows that it is not a matter of being “religious” that leads
people to competition and proselytizing. Rather it is a matter of using religiosity as a means to
satisfy one‟s profane life by earning greater income in the name of competition and proselyte.

The second research question which I tried to answer in this thesis was the role of Ethiopian
Orthodox Churches in the provision of social supports to different groups. It has been the interest
of sociologists, like Durkheim and Weber, to study church-based social supports. As Krause
states, a number of different dimensions can be subsumed under the rubric of social support
including social contact, received support, support provided to others, satisfaction, negative
interaction , and anticipated support (2001: 639). This does not mean that all those dimensions of
social support always exist in any church-based social supports. Rather certain churches may
emphasize on certain aspects of social support and ignore the other. According to my findings,
the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Churches are engaged in the emotional and tangible
dimensions of social support. The emotional support is delivered through priests or “father
confessors”. Father confessors provide counseling not only on the spiritual life of laities but they
also concerned about the private problem and wellbeing of followers. Laities are also more
likely to tell their private affairs to father confessors than anyone else. On the other hand, the
Church also participates in some forms of tangible social supports such as provision of food and
clothing. But I found that the Church‟s participation in both the emotional and tangible
dimensions of social support is minimal and it couldn‟t meet what someone will expect from a
religious institution. I asked why Orthodox Churches narrow their roles in the provision of social
support. Many reasons are raised in relation to this. The major reasons are financial constraint
and corruption. Some informants state that the participation of EOTCs on social support is not
greater due to financial problem which resulted from lack of religious devotions among laities.
This indicates that people are less likely to express their religiosity in terms of religious

60
donations. As a result, Orthodox Churches are less likely to participate in the provision of social
support. From this one can understand that the way people perceive religiosity has an effect on
church-based social supports. In contrast to this; there are informants who deny the presence of
financial constraint in the Church. For them, corruption is the major reason that hinders the
Church participation on social support. A single Orthodox Church, according to informants,
annually earns millions of Birr from Asrat, Mudaye Metsewat and Selet/vow. However, the
Church‟s income is embezzled by its officials. This embezzlement negatively affects the
Churches‟ participation on social support.

The third research question which is addressed in this thesis was the effects of Ethiopian
Orthodox Tewahedo Churches on the nature of social interaction. In relation to this, my findings
show that the EOTCs‟ plays both positive and negative roles on the interactions of Orthodox
Christians. In one hand, the Church promotes interaction between its followers. This is because
followers of the church have the same religious beliefs and they have the chance to meet each
other while attending church. On the other hand, the EOTC has a negative impact on the
relationship between Orthodox Christians and followers of other religion. Due to the lessons they
get from their religion, laities of the EOTC regards followers of other religion as a non-believer.
In other words, there is in-group favoritism and out-group discrimination. Here, it has to be
reminded that even though individuals do not have a preference to discriminate out-group
members, there tendency to interact more within groups may result to out-group discrimination.
As Gaduh (2012) argued in-group interactions facilitate better transmission of information so
that individuals can screen the “good" from the “bad" types among the in-groups better than
among the out-groups (Gaduh, 2012: 7). Therefore, based on my findings I conclude that
religion is both a threat and solution to social interactions.

The fourth and last finding of this thesis was the role of EOTCs on the provision of health care
services. As Winkelman (2009) explain the conception of what constitutes health vary widely
and it involves physical, mental, and social well-being. I believe that anthropological studies on
health should not be oriented towards universally accepted definitions of health. Rather it is vital
to explore how health is understood by a particular community or societies which are under
study. That is why I primary described how health and illness is perceive by the Ethiopian

61
Orthodox Tewahedo Church. Findings suggest that health is understood in terms of the condition
of the body and soul. A person‟s body may suffer with certain kind of illness whereas his/her
soul is free from illness, and vice versa. Or illness may present in both a person‟s body and soul.
In order to heal any kind of illness the Church recognizes both spiritual and clinical health care
systems. Though I have found that its participation in clinical health care services is minimal, the
Church uses its spiritual practices as a means of providing health care services to laities. Tsebel,
Keba Kidus and Emnet are among the spiritual practices which are used as a means of delivering
health care services in the city. Of those spiritual practices, Tsebel is the most widely used mode
of healings in the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Churches. Orthodox Christians believe that
Tsebel can cure any ailment. There are Orthodox Christians who believe that Tsebel can cure
diseases which do not have medicine in the clinical health care systems. Especially, people
mostly used Tsebel when they suffer with mental illness. This is due to four major reasons are:
(1) Lack of access to modern health care services for mental illness in the city, (2) inability to
afford the cost of clinical health care services, (3) and lack of proper treatment in the modern
health care systems as well as (4) the attitudes of Orthodox Christians about the causes mental
illness are among the major reasons that leads people to choose Tsebel as the appropriate way of
treatment. Above all, the attitude of Orthodox Christians about mental illness is the major reason
that mostly leads people to prefer Tsebel. Orthodox Christians believe that mental illness is
resulted from evil spirits, and seeking spiritual healing at the Church is the only method that
helps a patient to recover from mental illness. This asserts to the fact that religion often plays an
important role in determining how individuals relate to their malady. In general, my study on the
role of Ethiopian Orthodox Churches in the provision of health care has shown me that healing
through spiritual practices is currently used as an alternative method of delivering health care
services in Addis Ababa. As a result, I conclude that the usefulness of religion in dealing with
many aspects of health maladies is not something confined to the rural dwellers or people
without access to biomedicine; rather there is religious healing in the urban dwellers which have
access to modern health care services in comparison with rural dwellers.

62
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 Appendixes

Appendix 1: Budget Breakdown

Addis Ababa University

School of Graduate Studies
Department of Social Anthropology

S. Activities Quantity Unit Cost Total Rem

No (ETB) ark
s

1 Per-diam and Transportation During Data Collection

Per-diam and accommodation 90 days 206 Birr /day 18,550

Transportation - 2000 Birr 2000 Birr

Sub total 20, 550

2 Stationary Materials

 A4 paper 3 Pad 90 Birr/pad 270 birr

 Pen 10 pieces 5 Birr/piece 50 Birr

 Stapler 1 piece 65 Birr/piece 65 Birr

 Writing Pad 10 pieces 10 Birr/piece 100 Birr

 Staples 1 packet 5 Birr/packet 5 Birr

 CD-R 10 pieces 15 150 Birr

Birr/packet

67
 Subtotal 640 Birr

3 Typing, Printing, Duplication and Binding of Research Reports

 Internet and telephone service 600 Birr 600 Birr

 Printing draft and final research 40 Pages 1.50/page 60 Birr

proposals

 Printing draft and final research 300 1.50/page 450 Birr

reports
Pages

 Photocopy (Three copies of Final 450 0.50/page 225 Birr

Paper)
Pages

Subtotal 1335 Birr

4 Contingency (10%) 698.5 Birr

Total Cost 22, 525

68
 Appendix 2: List of Informants

Addis Ababa University

School of Graduate Studies
Department of Social Anthropology

Description of Informants
Name Sex Religion Place of Interview Age Remarks
Abebe Gebeyehu M Orthodox Christian St. Ledeta Mariam 29
Church
Azekrien Teshale F Orthodox Christian St. Mary Church 34
Berihun Atsebha M Orthodox Christian St. Ledeta Mariam 44
Church
Bereket Mamo M Orthodox Christian St. Urael Church 41

Gadessa Gutema M Orthodox Christian St. Mary Church 27

Gashachew Amare M Orthodox Christian AADS 39
Genet Aragaw F Orthodox Christian St. Raguel Church 20
Gebregzibar Tesfay M Orthodox Christian St. Raguel Church 35
Gebremedhin Araya M Orthodox Christian AADS 35
Gebreyesus Ekubay M Orthodox Christian St. Urael 40
Geremew Tadesse M Orthodox Christian Holy Trinity 29
Cathedral
Girmay Hailay M Orthodox Christian AADS 32
Habetamu Derassa M Orthodox Christian St. Mary Church 24
Hailu Gubssa M Orthodox Christian Holy Trinity 28
Cathedral
Leykun Amogne M Orthodox Christian St. Raguael Church 45
Mokonnen Tesfamarriam M Orthodox Christian AADS 37
Mariamawit Belete F Orthodox Christian St. Raguel Church 21
Mehari Chalachew M Orthodox Christian St. Mary Church 27
Melkam Abebe F Orthodox Christian St. Urael Church 30

Mullugeta Gashaw M Orthodox Christian St. Raguel Church 43

Mulluken Anmaw F Orthodox Christian St. Raguel Church 36

Natnael Ejegu M Orthodox Christian St. Raguael Church 22

69
Sentayehu Emeru M Orthodox Christian St. Mary Church 38

Semu Temesgen F Orthodox Christian St. Ledeta Marriam 42

Church
Sinishaw Zelalem M Orthodox Christian Holy Trinity 33
Cthedral
Trualem Balcha F Orthodox Christian St. Urael 26

Tsedale Mitiku F Orthodox Christian St. Ledeta Mariam 28

Church
Tsegareda Mekasha F Orthodox Christian St. Raguel 25

Tsegaye Dagnachew M Orthodox Christian St. Ledeta Mariam 28

Church
Wubalem Tadele F Orthodox Christian St. Mary Church 34

Yalalem Taye M Orthodox Christian St. Urael Church 26

Yohannes Addisu M Orthodox Christian St. Mary Church 40

Yosef Taye M Orthodox Christian Holy Trinity 36

Cathedral
Zenebu Mehirt F Orthodox Christian Holy Trinity 29
Cathedral

70
 Appendix 3: Plain Language Statement

Addis Ababa University School of Graduate Studies

Department of Social Anthropology

Plain Language Statement

To Whom It May Concern

This is to describe below a plain language statement regarding the research I am going to
undertake for a postgraduate degree at Addis Ababa University.

1. Study Title and Researcher Details

A. Title of the study
The Socioeconomic Roles of Religion: the case of Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo
Churches in Addis Ababa
B. Name and Details of Researcher
Kumilachew Siferaw Anteneh, Addis Ababa University, Faculty of Social Sciences,
Department of Anthropology
Tel: +251 913 29 63 24
Email: [email protected] or [email protected]
C. Research Advisor
Dr. Ayalew Gebre, Addis Ababa University, Faculty of Social Sciences, Department of
Anthropology
Addis Ababa Ethiopia, Tel: +251 ________________. Email: ____________________

D. Degree Being Sought

I am undertaking this research as a requirement for the degree of Masters of Arts in

Social Anthropology

2. Invitation to participate in the research

I would like to invite you to take part in this research. The research will be based on a qualitative
paradigm which will greatly rely on in-depth interview, Focus group discussion, observation and
case studies. Before you decide whether to take part or not it is important for you to understand
why the research is being done and what it will involve. Please take time to read the following
information carefully and discuss it with others if you wish. Ask me or my supervisors if there is

71
anything that is not clear or if you would like more information. Also take time to decide
whether or not you wish to take part. Thank you for reading this.

3. What is the purpose of the Study?

These days religion plays pivotal roles in the human social lives. In recent years there has been a
growing recognition of the values of exploring the role of religion in the socioeconomic life of
the people. Therefore, the purpose of this study is to describe the socioeconomic dimensions of
religion with a particular reference to some selected Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Churches in
Addis Ababa. The duration of the study is three months long.
4. Why have I been chosen?

You have been selected for this study for I consider that you are a key stakeholder or interested
party regarding the issue under study.

5. Do I have to take part?

Taking part in the research is entirely voluntary. If you do decide to take part you will be given
this information sheet to keep and be asked to sign an accompanying consent form. And you are
still free to withdraw at any time and without giving a reason.

6. What will happen to me if I take part?

I will kindly ask that we meet for a forty minute interview at a venue in the places you will agree
on. The interview will be audio-taped based on your informed consent. I estimate the entire
research to take three months to complete with time divided between different activities.

7. Will my taking part in this study be kept confidential?

All information, which is collected, about you during the course of the research will be kept
strictly confidential. You will be identified by a pseudonym and any information about you will
have your name and address removed so that you cannot be recognized from it.

8. Who is organizing and funding the research?

The research is part of a general fulfillment for the award of a postgraduate degree at Addis
Ababa University. I am a full time employee at Mekelle University. As part of the human
resource development policy, the university provides the chance for its staff members to
participate in further academic specialization or study. Therefore, this study is funded by
Mekelle University.

9. Who will review the study?

72
The project will be reviewed and approved by the Faculty of social sciences research and
publication committee.

10. Contact for Further Information

Please feel free to contact me and my research supervisor/advisor if you would like to raise any
issues regarding the conduct of the research. These can be contacted as follows:

Dr. Ayalew Gebre, Addis Ababa University, Faculty of Social Sciences, Department of
Anthropology
Addis Ababa Ethiopia, Tel: +251_____________. Email: -________________________

Thank you very much for agreeing to take part in this study

73
 Appendix 4: Consent Form

Addis Ababa University

School of Graduate Studies
Department of Social Anthropology

Title of the Research:

The Socioeconomic Roles of Religion: the case of Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Churches in
Addis Ababa
Name of Researcher: Kumilachew Siferaw Anteneh
1. I confirm that I have read and understood the Plain Language Statement for the above study
and have had the opportunity to ask questions.
2. I understand that my participation is voluntary and that I am free to withdraw at any time,
without giving any reason.
3. I have been assured that throughout the research my anonymity will be guaranteed through
the use of a pseudonym. In cases where such anonymity will be difficult to maintain, the
researcher has made clear that he will seek my permission for limited anonymity.
4. I am aware that the interview will be tape-recorded and then transcribed. I have also been
assured that a copy of the transcript will be made available to me for further comment and
verification.
5. I have been made aware that the final report will be submitted for examination for the
award, if successful, of a master degree to the researcher.
6. I have been notified that at a future time the research materials may be used in an academic
publication.
7. I have been assured that if I so desire a copy of the finished report will be made available to
me.
8. I agree / do not agree (delete as applicable) to take part in the above study.
__________________________ _________________________ ___________________
Name of the Participant Date Signature

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 Appendix 5: Interview and FGD Guidelines

Addis Ababa University

Faculty of Social Sciences
Department of Social Anthropology

Title of the Project:

The Socioeconomic Roles of Religion: the case of Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Churches in
Addis Ababa

Guiding Questions for In-depth Interview

Objectives Questions
- To describe the For religious leaders of EOTC
current trends of
religiosity among - How do you see the current trends of religiosity among
Orthodox Christians orthodox Christians in Addis Ababa?
in Addis Ababa
- How EOTC do teaches its followers about the value,
doctrine and other things of the church?
- To describe the role
of EOTC on health - How do you see the teaching of EOTC in terms of
and social support promoting peace and stability among the community?

- Currently, it is common to observe some religious

activities such as preaching conferences, advertising of
religious songs etc. which are undertaken by the
followers of the church, how do you explain the
intention behind those activities?

- What are the factors that affect the religiosity of

Orthodox Christians in Addis Ababa?

- How do describe the role of EOTC on promoting

health?

- How do you explain the role of EOTC on social

support?

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 For laities of EOTC
- How does your religiosity in the EOTC affect your
social interaction with others?
- How do you observe the teachings of EOTC in terms of
promoting your participation in helping marginalized
groups?
- What are the nonreligious roles that you observed from
the activities of EOTC?
- In what ways does your religion affect your social
relationships?

For preachers of EOTC

- What makes you to become a religious singer/preacher?

- Do you think that your religious songs/preaching have
an importance beside their doctrinal value?
- How do you see the role of your religious songs or
preaching in terms of promoting a healthy social
interaction between individuals or neighbors?
- How do you explain the importance of your religious
songs/preaching in your economic life?
- Sometimes individuals may invest parts of the payment
of their service on helping marginalized groups. How do
you explain yourself in terms this?
- How do you see the nature of your religious
singing/preaching in terms of determining the
socioeconomic relations of Orthodox Christians Addis
Ababa?

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Guiding Questions for Focus Group Discussion

Objective Discussion Questions

 To describe how - How do you explain the difference between being

Orthodox Christians religious and nonreligious?
perceive religiosity - How do you see the various activities done by EOTC on
affecting (positively or negatively) the day to day social
and economic interactions in your community?
 To explore the effects
- In what ways does your religion affect your social
of EOTC on the social relationships?
and interpersonal - What kinds of importance religious activities of EOTC
relationships of laities. will have besides their doctrinal value?
- How do you see the nature and teaching of EOTC in
terms of the provision of health care services?
 To describe the role of
EOTC in the provision
of health care services

NOTE: These guiding questions are prepared earlier to the field work so that I know only
the main themes of the study when starting the field work. Issues not addressed under
these guiding questions are included in the mean time during the interview and the
discussion sessions.

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 Appendix 6: Author’s Declaration

I, the under signed, declare that this thesis is my original work and that all source of the materials
used for the thesis have been duly acknowledged. This thesis has been submitted in partial
fulfillment of the requirement for M.A. degree at Addis Ababa University and is deposited at the
Addis Ababa University Library to make available to borrowers under rules of library. I further
declare that this thesis is not submitted to this and other institutions anywhere for same or similar
award and nor is being currently submitted for any other award. Brief quotations from this thesis
are allowable without special permission provided that accurate acknowledgment of source is
made. Request for permission for extended quotation from or reproduction of this manuscript in
whole or part may be granted by the head of the Department of Social Anthropology or by the
Dean of the School of Graduate Studies when in his or her judgment the proposed use of the
material is in the interests of scholarship. In all other instances, however, permission must be
obtained from the author.

Name: ________________________________ Signature: ---------------------

Place: Addis Ababa University, Addis Ababa
Date of Submission: ______________________

As Thesis Research advisor, I hereby certify that I have read and evaluated this thesis prepared,
under my guidance, by Kumilachew Siferaw Anteneh. Entitled: The Socioeconomic Roles of
Religion: The Case of Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Churches in Addis Ababa. I recommend
that it be submitted as fulfilling the thesis requirements.
__________________________ ______________________ _______________
Advisor Signature Date

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