Miracle Workers and Nationhood: Reinhard Bonnke and Benny Hinn in Fiji

Abstract

In 2003, the Assembly of Christian Churches of Fiji (accf) invited evangelist Reinhard Bonnke, who is reputed to have raised a man from the dead, to conduct a revival in Fiji. Three years later, an invitation was also extended to American televangelist Benny Hinn. The Qarase government welcomed Bonnke’s visit as an act of reconciliation for the nation, despite the fact that about 42 percent of the population of Fiji are not Christian, and many of those who are Christian disparage miracle workers. Hinn’s visit was rationalized somewhat differently—as a draw for tourists, and in terms of the media coverage he was expected to have. This essay explores the rationalizations for the visits of these evangelists, the types of politico-religious alliances that have developed since the 2000 coup, and the politico-religious ethos that was to lead to the events of the 2006 coup.