Political Pentecostalism and Faith-Based Development in Nigeria : Rethinking the Postcolonial Megachurch

This book examines how the Redeemed Christian Church of God (RCCG) mobilises its theological teachings, financial resources, and political interests to invest in social development in Nigeria. Focusing on the megachurch’s extensive portfolio of development institutions, the book explores the phenomenon of postcolonial megachurch Pentecostalism by analysing how the RCCG negotiates tensions between charity-driven social welfare and a prosperity-centred theology that underwrites large-scale commercial enterprises.

Drawing on ethnographic research and interviews with with senior church leaders and officials managingRCCG-funded development institutions, the book shows how prosperity theology is not simply a doctrine of accumulation, but a strategic resource in a challenging and dysfunctional postcolonial context that enables the RCCG to bankroll an effective Pentecostal micro-state. Through investments in higher education, healthcare and public health, social welfare, and profit-generating enterprises, the RCCG compensates for Nigerian state failure while generating political capital to support a broader religious and socio-political vision.

Situating these practices within the framework of third-generation Pentecostalism, the book establishes productive parallels between RCCG theology and Catholic social teaching, demonstrating how both traditions draw on religious content to shape individuals, institutions, and communities. Through offering a balanced assessment of prosperity theology and a detailed organisational analysis of RCCG development institutions, this study provides a significant contribution to scholarship on African Pentecostalism, theology, and urban development.