Commercialisation of Religion in Neo-Prophetic Pentecostal/Charismatic Churches in Ghana: Christian Ethical Analysis of their Strategies

Abstract

Neo-Prophetic Pentecostal/Charismatic Christianity in Ghana has become business. It is typically characterised by the sale and purchase of assortments of religious items and services between churches and religious consumers. This practice is said to have experienced its exponential index in view of the utmost demand for miraculous mediation by desperate religious consumers to address their religio-psycho-social pickles. Irrespective of the abuses religious consumers are said to go through, coupled with the high cost the religious items and services are sold, one is curious to ascertain by what means the churches use to hook religious consumers to their offers. This paper thus, sets out to reveal and analyse some of the main strategies Neo-Prophetic Pentecostal/Charismatic churches in Ghana use to hook religious consumers onto their offers using Christian ethics as assessment criteria. The paper argues that the strategies the churches use are not in conformity with Christian ethics, thus, they are unethical. This is because it was revealed that the intentions that drive the strategies are mostly geared towards selfish, domineering and manipulative end.

Keywords: Ghana, religion, commercialisation, Neo-Prophetic Pentecostal/Charismatic Churches, strategies, Christian ethics.

DOI: 10.7176/JPCR/42-01

Publication date:March 31^st 2019