December 2024-
Professor Devaka Premawardhana’s article, published in Harvard Divinity, states that political tribalism may be here stay, fueled by partisanship, media divides, and identity politics. But he challenges the idea that “tribalism” is necessarily about rigidity and hostility, using the example of the Makhuwa people in Mozambique, who thrive through flexible, inclusive social structures. Premawardhana suggests that embracing mobility, building alliances, and fostering interconnected identities, can address modern divisions. Premawardhana is Winship Research Associate Professor of Religion at Emory University. He is the author of Faith in Flux: Pentecostalism and Mobility in Rural Mozambique (2018) and co-editor of Between Life and Thought: Existential Anthropology and the Study of Religion (2024).