World Bank & Heavenly Bank in Poverty & Prosperity: The Case of Tanzanian Faith Gospel1

TLDR

The article examines how Pentecostal‑charismatic Christianity in Tanzania intertwines religious rhetoric with neoliberal market principles, arguing that lived reality both shapes and is shaped by religious beliefs, which in turn influence economic perceptions and actions. The study discusses charismatic Christian perceptions of spiritual and economic change in Tanzania leading up to the 2005 general election. The authors analyze how prosperity gospel rhetoric—using biblical allegories, gift‑exchange logic, and born‑again interpretations of offerings—was employed by a specific charismatic ministry in Tanzania, drawing on 2003‑2004 research funded by the Nordic Africa Institute.

Abstract

This article discusses the articulation of religious rhetoric with neoliberal principles of the market economy in Tanzania, looking specifically at Pentecostal-charismatic Christianity. Religion is interpreted here as a reflection of and model for a lived reality. On the one hand, a lived reality generates and shapes religious beliefs and ideas. On the other, religious beliefs and ideas inform the ways that economic circumstances are perceived, interpreted and acted upon in specific social and historical contexts. This is a discussion of charismatic Christian perceptions and of the perceived spiritual and economic changes in Tanzania ahead of the general election of 2005. These Biblical allegories, as well as the gospel of prosperity, are brought together through an account of the activities of one particular charismatic ministry. The rhetoric and logic of prosperity through giving are discussed within the anthropological notion of gift exchange as well as with some born-again understandings of the significance of offerings to God as a means to prosperity and accumulation. This paper draws upon research that was conducted in Tanzania in 2003 and 2004 and funded by the Nordic Africa Institute. An earlier version was presented in a panel organized by Paul Gifford at the AEGIS conference in London 2005.