Pentecostal profits: the prosperity gospel in the global south

This study explores the link between the development of the so-called prosperity gospel and the explosive growth of Pentecostalism in the Global South. It examines the evolution of the prosperity gospel as a strand of Pentecostalism in its country of origin, the United States. It then investigates the dramatic acceptance of the theology in selected pockets of the Pacific Rim, Latin America and Africa. Specific exemplars of the theology ─ famous pastors or burgeoning new denominations ─ are scrutinized and their methodologies for missionizing are probed. The study also touches on the theology’s impact on the rest of Christianity and on some other religions in the Global South. The reasons for the success of the theology in Global South are considered. They point to the surprising conclusion that the prosperity gospel is not new, but old, and that it resonates with religious impulses that precede all of the world religions.

Author

• MacTavish, Ron

• Prosperity gospel
• Prosperity theology
• Global south

Identifier

hdl:10133/3527

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:opus.uleth.ca:10133/3527