The Conversion of the Dega

Abstract

Perhaps the most prominent characteristic of the phenomenon of religious conversion as it has been discussed especially in the evangelical Christian tradition is the personal testimony, proclaimed by a convert, narrating a profound experience of change.¹ In the Protestant evangelical tradition, this experience is often the focal point in believers’ explanations of the truth and certainty of their religious faith. Thus, it is significant that very few Dega in North Carolina have ever told me stories about how and why they became Christians. Most report having not been Christian in their youth, and virtually all of them describe themselves as Christians now. Thus there would seem to be a narrative of change implicit in their religious identity. But although I have tried to elicit these stories from Dega in interviews, very few of them have cared to tell me how this change came about. They show little interest in the topic.