Lost for Words: Samoa’s Constitutional Crisis and the Case for a Public Theology

Abstract

The Samoan election of 2021 provoked a constitutional crisis. It brought to an end sixty years of political stability that had been determined by the interweaving of democratic ideals with indigenous cultural values and Christian principles. The election had led to a tie on the night and led to various legal appeals, protests and the reluctance of the Prime Minister of more than twenty years refusing to stand down. With one exception – the Roman Catholic Archbishop – the churches were silent, ‘lost for words’. The crisis happened at a time when the first wave of localized and contextual public theologies were beginning to appear in theological research. Their particular focus was on a range of other issues (mainly due to timing). Their emergence, nevertheless, invites a consideration of what such a public theology might look like in a society where there is no history of a prophetic voice and the cultural system of fa’aSamoa relies upon a principle of respect (which was violated during the crisis).