The Prosperity Gospel: Syncretism and African Traditional Religion

There is a reason why the prosperity gospel has spread so fast through Africa, and it has nothing to do with the Spirit of God. Rather, the prosperity gospel has grown to be the dominant religion in much of sub-saharan Africa because it slaps a facade of Christianity over the animistic beliefs of African Traditional Religion (ATR). In the process, it creates a syncretistic religion – but certainly nothing that should be considered ‘genuine’ Christianity.

Animism

Many traditional religions around the world are described as ‘animistic,’ a word that comes from the Latin ‘animus.’ An ‘animus,’ in Latin, is a ‘soul’ or ‘being,’ and the animist sees ‘souls’ in many natural things. The animist lives in an intensely spiritual world, where he encounters the ‘souls’ of trees and birds, wind and rain, deer and bears, lions and antelopes. Everything that happens is the result of some unseen spirit, whether that be an earthquake, a lack of rain, or the attack of a lion.

The animist, then, is cast into a terrifying world: he is surrounded by spirits which are often angry, and his great need is to calm the spirits. Better yet, if he can harness these spirits, they might actually work in his favor. Although the animist often admits that there are gods, they play little role in his life; they are rather distant from him, while the spirits that surround him are in desperate need of appeasement. In fact, many animists will even admit that there is a supreme ‘God’ who rules all things. But this God is so far away, so distant, that they think little of him. Again, the immediate and pressing need is to create some level of order in this complex, chaotic, spiritual world.

It is easy to understand why animism is associated so highly with magic, incantations, medicine men or witch doctors, shamanism and taboos. Everything has a spiritual meaning, and the truly ‘pious’ man is the one who can harness spiritual power to his benefit by doing the right rituals. Within animism, ethics are of little or no concern. The spirits don’t care how one lives; they only care that he does the right rituals, and that he keeps them appeased through magic and rites.

A truly ‘spiritual’ man is one who can use spiritual forces to his advantage. He knows how to lift curses that have been placed on him; he knows how to place curses on others; he knows how to make the spirits happy with him, so that his hunting trip is prosperous, or so that the rain falls on his crops. What animism offers, then, is spiritual power: the ability to lead a successful and prosperous life in the midst of a dangerous, chaotic world of temperamental spirits.

The Prosperity Gospel and ATR

At first glance, the prosperity gospel seems to be a ‘Christian’ tradition, even if quite new and rather suspect. It believes in God, says that Jesus is the Son of God, and is quite emphatic that there is a Holy Spirit. It often will even emphasize personal ‘salvation’ or the importance of being ‘born again,’ at least in some of its streams. But beyond these superficial appearances, the prosperity gospel actually shares many similarities with the animistic thinking of African Traditional Religion (ATR).

It is no easy thing to summarize the spirit of Christianity, but perhaps we could say that, at its core, Christianity is about being humbled before an Almighty God. We learn that we are sinners and cannot save ourselves; we find that God is immensely greater than we are; and, at the brink of despair, we finally find Jesus, the only one who can bridge the overwhelming gap between us and our Maker. This, then, is the essence of Christianity: finding our place before God – and dealing with the fact that it is a very low place.

But the essence of the prosperity gospel is, at its core, the same as ATR: finding a way to ‘manipulate’ the Deity for our own good. Admittedly, the prosperity gospel is a product of the West; it was not African theologians but western ones who first came up with this teaching. But even it is not from Africa, the prosperity gospel certainly appeals to those who have the worldview of African Traditional Religion. Prosperity theology (what is emphasized, regardless of whatever may be printed on a ‘statement of faith’) – like ATR – is about gaining spiritual power, or using certain ‘techniques’ to influence God to create a better environment for the devotee.

The evidence can be seen in the emphases and practices of those who proclaim the prosperity gospel. There is an intense emphasis on ‘words’ in this tradition. The name of ‘Jesus’ is regarded as particularly powerful, and is often used over and over again. Of course, Christians have always believed that Jesus is powerful, even in his name. But historically, Christians have not usually used the name as a sort of magic word, emphasizing ‘in the mighty, powerful name of Jesus I pray…’ as if that did anything to make the prayer more potent. Jesus’ command to pray in his name has, historically, been understood more to mean that the petitioner should come to God not in the name of a false deity or religion, but because he is brought near to the divine throne through Jesus.

Perhaps the clearer example, however, of the undue emphasis on words can be found by looking at the importance of ‘speaking things into existence’ that characterizes this tradition. The prosperity gospel focuses on a few relatively obscure texts to talk about the power of words. The fact that life and death are in the power of the tongue, as Proverbs says, is of course nothing more than an indication that we can drive people to hope or despair (even suicide) by how we talk to them. Instead, verses like this are used to justify an obsession with speaking things. 

The ways in which prayer is practiced – and the way in which things are ‘called into existence’ has little to do with the prayer that the Bible describes, and has much more similarity with the placing of curses and in ATR – except that it being used in the ‘positive’ sense. Again, the worshipper is doing little more than trying to ‘manipulate’ God into getting things, just as the animist tried to manipulate spiritual powers to work in his favor.

Beyond this, there is the weird fascination with charismania, and all things associated with the Holy Spirit. This often goes beyond merely speaking in tongues, to the many oddities and even abuses for which the prosperity gospel is so readily known. Once again, one or two obscure verses here and there are completely twisted out of context in order to justify such exotic practices as being ‘slain in the spirit,’ ‘holy laughter,’ or even stranger ‘manifestations.’ It is difficult to not see the similarities between these strange features and the equally strange rites, ceremonies, and practices of animism.

We see again another similarity when we observe the emphasis on powerful objects within the prosperity gospel. It is true that many people think of holy water when they think of Catholicism, but even the Catholic does not treat his holy water in the same way that many in the prosperity gospel use objects, such as handkerchiefs that have been prayed over. Again, a few biblical passages are used to justify these practices, but the fact remains that, just like animists, the prosperity gospel followers use these objects as if they were sources of spiritual power.

It is impossible to move on without pointing out the incredible significance of certain powerful men in both ATR and the prosperity gospel. Many Christians, of course, have elevated humans to places far beyond what the Bible teaches, but nowhere is this more evident than in the prosperity gospel circles. Within ATR, the witch doctor was one of the most important members of the community because he had the power to manipulate the spirits. He was richly honored by the community, and enjoyed unprecedented prestige. The exact same thing happens within prosperity gospel circumstances. The ‘man of God’ is entitled to immense prestige. And, just like in ATR, he almost always abuses that position, harming people in the process. 

Let’s be brutally honest: the leaders of the prosperity gospel are not merely guilty of heretical teaching; they are also guilty of robbing the poorest members of society of their wealth, taking immense donations from those who can barely afford it, using that wealth to purchase planes and cars and expensive suits, and then claiming that they are doing this because God wants them to be prosperous. For those outside the tradition, it is rank abuse of power and influence. But for those within, these men are entitled to these things, because they really are ‘men of God.’ Just like with the witch doctor of the past, his success is simply evidence of his spiritual authority. The way in which prosperity gospel adherents honor their ‘men of God’ verges nearly on idolatry – just as the ATR gave immense respect to the witch doctor.

Conclusion

Although ATR is not dead in sub-Saharan Africa, it is significantly subdued. At least in much of southern Africa, visiting a witch-doctor is not something that is considered socially acceptable. With that said, many people still do it, but they try to keep these actions hidden. This is significant because it shows that even if ATR is not socially acceptable, people still hold to its worldview: visiting witch doctors, even in private, still happens because people still think of the universe as a place where spiritual power can be manipulated to one’s advantage.

For around a century, this odd situation has been in existence: people have continued to think like animists, but they went to church where they claimed to believe in the Christian God. It was an odd situation, similar perhaps to the situation of Germany shortly after Charlemagne’s conquest: a whole group of people following a new religion because it was socially acceptable, but not yet following its worldview. But worldview transformation is a long process; if Germany is ‘culturally Christian’ now, it is that way because Christianity was the dominant religion for centuries. The Saxon tribes did not become culturally Christian for a long time – centuries, probably. This means that the Africans are still a long way from being Christian in the way that they think, though there are certainly some exceptions.

All of this brings me back to my main point, that the prosperity gospel has exploded in Africa because it is merely syncretism. It allows the facade of Christianity to exist among people who are worldview-animists. This allows them to continue to think in a way very similar to how their ATR forefathers thought, but to also remain ‘Christian.’ The core idea, of manipulating spiritual power for earthly benefit, remains the same. The rites and practices have changed (the Christian God prefers different incantations than those preferred by the spirits of trees), but spiritual power is still something to be manipulated.