Abstract
Two connected elements of APCC’s beliefs and practices were continually emphasized within the church: the Prosperity Gospel and Holy Spirit Power. These were described by congregants as having particular utility for African migrants. The Prosperity Gospel is a religious doctrine maintaining that God will bless faithful believers with physical health and material wealth, while Holy Spirit Power incorporates numerous ideas about supernatural power, protection from curses and the devil, as well as the expression of spiritual gifts. This chapter details narratives concerning how the Prosperity Gospel provides migrants with success, healing, and a conceptual framework for charitable giving and remittance. Congregant accounts of Holy Spirit Power are also conveyed, which include descriptions of supernatural faculties, exorcisms, and the need for divine protection from demonic attacks.
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Notes
Laryea and Hayfron, “African Immigrants,” 116, 18; Dennis D. Cordell, “Paradoxes of Immigrant Incorporation: High Achievement and Perceptions of Discrimination by Nigerians in Dallas/Fort Worth, Texas (USA),” in Trans-Atlantic Migration: The Paradoxes of Exile, ed. Toyin Falola and Niyi Afolabi (New York: Routledge, 2008), 13–17.
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William James, Varieties of Religious Experience: A Study in Human Nature (New York: Collier Books, 1961), 351.
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© 2015 Thomas Aechtner
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Aechtner, T. (2015). Beliefs and Practices: The Prosperity Gospel and Holy Spirit Power. In: Health, Wealth, and Power in an African Diaspora Church in Canada. Religion and Global Migrations. Palgrave Macmillan, New York. https://doi.org/10.1057/9781137485496_2
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1057/9781137485496_2
Publisher Name: Palgrave Macmillan, New York
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