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Prosperity Gospel

Prosperity Gospel

Duration: 27 minutes

First broadcast: on BBC World Service OnlineLatest broadcast: on BBC World Service Online

Available for over a year

Prosperity Gospel is a movement within Christianity which says that if you believe, you will be blessed with prosperity. Or, in other words, Christianity will make you rich. The last time Nigerian-born writer Dotun Adebayo returned to his country of birth, he saw a church pastor driving a car through poverty stricken streets, with a bumper sticker that read 'God is great, life is sweet!'

In Nigeria, prosperity and the Gospel are apparently not in conflict. In this programme, Dotun sets out to discover why the prosperity Gospel of his Nigerian upbringing, is flourishing in Britain. He visits the fastest growing church in Western Europe and hears powerful sermons mixing theology, finance and self-help. He meets people who claim their lives have been transformed by the message and others who were left feeling cheated, lied to and lost.

With congregations in their thousands and bank balances in the millions, Dotun explores how the churches raise vast revenues through donations from congregations. Perhaps you can't subject God's work to a financial audit but Dotun seeks to uncover where the money goes and what those that give, receive in return? Show less

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