The born-again discourse is a central characteristic of Pentecostal Christianity in Africa. In the
study of African Christianities, this discourse and the way it (re)shapes people’s moral, religious,
and social identities has received much attention. However, hardly any attention has been paid
to its effects on men as gendered beings. In the study of men and masculinities in Africa, on the
other hand, neither religion in general nor born-again Christianity in particular are taken into
account as relevant factors in the construction of masculinities. On the basis of a detailed analysis
of interviews with men who are members of a Pentecostal church in Lusaka, Zambia, this
article investigates how men’s gender identities are reshaped by becoming and being born-again
and how born-again conversion produces new forms of masculinity. The observed Pentecostal
transformation of masculinity is interpreted in relation to men’s social vulnerability, particularly
in the context of the HIV epidemic in Zambia
