Publisher's Synopsis
The last three decades have seen an explosion in the global activities and influence of Prosperity Christianity -- a charismatic form of Christianity that preaches a 'Health and Wealth' Gospel of positive thinking and personal well-being. From the outside, Prosperity preachers are frequently presented as peddling a 'junk Jesus' and furthering the McDonaldization of religion. Images of tele-evangelists asking for money abound and at least one prominent preacher, Jim Bakker, has been successfully prosectued for fraud. Despite this, prosperity Christianity is now thought by many commentators to be the most widespread form of religion across the globe.
This book provides presents both original research and pulls together all the existing work on prosperity Christianity to provide the first textbook in this area. The book examines the message of the movement; the arenas in which it is most successful; its revolutionary use of the internet, magazines and popular communication channels; and its different appeal to various groups around the world, including America, Africa and Asia. Each centre creates its own culturally-specific transnational networks, sometimes along ethnic diasporas, as both the Universal Church of the Kingdom of God and numerous West African churches have done with migrants around the world. Properity Christianity is a truly global phenomenon and its success has been inspirational for other religious movements.
The result is a fascinating book which throws light both on prosperity Christianity and the nature of religion in the modern world.
