Prosperity Gospel

An aberrant theology that teaches God rewards faith—and hefty tithing—with financial blessings, the prosperity gospel was closely associated with prominent 1980s televangelists Jimmy Swaggart and Jim and Tammy Bakker, and is part and parcel of many of today’s charismatic movements in the Global South. Orthodox Christians wary of prosperity doctrine found a friend in Senator Chuck Grassley, who in 2008 began a thorough vetting of the tax-exempt status of six prominent “health and wealth” leaders, including Kenneth Copeland, Bishop Eddie Long, and Paula White.

Featured Articles

Benny Hinn Is My Uncle, but Prosperity Preaching Isn’t for Me
Benny Hinn Is My Uncle, but Prosperity Preaching Isn’t for Me
As part of the family empire, I lived a life of luxury. Then doubts began to surface.
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On Dying and Reckoning with the Prosperity Gospel
On Dying and Reckoning with the Prosperity Gospel
How church historian Kate Bowler's cancer diagnosis brought her face-to-face with the beauty and terror of the popular movement.
Health and Wealth in Africa
Gospel Riches
Africa's rapid embrace of prosperity Pentecostalism provokes concern--and hope.
Latino Prosperity Churches
First Church of Prosperidad
Arlene Sanchez Walsh on the African-style prosperity gospel right in our backyards--in immigrant Latino churches.