The Noise Silence Makes

“Re-sounding tensions about ‘noisemaking’ arising between Ga ‘traditionalists’ and Pentecostal/Charismatic Christians in Accra, Mariam Goshadze offers a fresh take on interreligious entanglements from a sonic angle. This amazing book breaks new ground for understanding the precarious position of ‘traditional religion’ vis-à-vis Christianity by situating it in the Ghanaian secular regime in which religion, culture, and heritage are defined and managed. A trailblazing contribution to the study of religion and secularity in Africa.” - Birgit Meyer, Professor of Religious Studies, Utrecht University

“This fascinating, innovative, and theoretically and ethnographically rich study questions the fixity in Ghana of the categories by which most political analysts define contemporary democratic nation-states. Mariam Goshadze’s argument for recognizing Ghanaian secularity as a unique formation is compelling and convincing. The Noise Silence Makes represents what is best about religious studies: its ability to analyze apparently nonreligious dynamics in productive ways through the accumulated tools of ritual analysis. A tour de force.” - Joseph Hellweg, author of Hunting the Ethical State: The Benkadi Movement of Côte d’Ivoire

"With its focus on secularity and the engagements of a 'traditional' faith with the modern state and the Pentecostal establishment, The Noise Silence Makes makes an important contribution to the study of spiritual life in contemporary Africa." - Yotam Gidron, Material Religion