Pentecostalism and the spirit of entrepreneurship in Ghana: the case of Maame Sarah prayer camp in Ghana

ABSTRACT

This paper examines the role that Pentecostalism plays in stimulating entrepreneurial spirit and innovation in Ghana. The study adopts an ethnographic approach, and focuses on the Goka Prayer Camp of the Church of Pentecost in the Jaman North District of the Brong Ahafo Region of Ghana. It is grounded in Weber’s theory of religion as a catalyst for the development of capitalist societies and focuses of religious doctrines, leadership, and institutional networks. Key findings indicate that there is a nexus between Pentecostalism and entrepreneurship development in Ghana. The study showed that Pentecostalism encourages self-determination, self-reliance, and entrepreneurship initiatives among believers due to its prosperity doctrine which states that because believers share in the victory of Jesus Christ over sin, poverty and suffering, they are destined to prosper once they have embraced the faith, maintained strict moral discipline and paid tithe. In addition, Pentecostalism is seen to provide spiritual backing for entrepreneurship by freeing people from ancient superstitious beliefs, and fears that they will be accused of witchcraft, victimised, or die once they become successful. Moreover, the explicit engagement of Pentecostal leaders in the pursuit of material wellbeing sets the pace for members to follow. However, in spite of the role of this strand of Christianity in motivating individuals to engage in entrepreneurial activities, we found that they provide weak networks and institutional support, apart from those in the spiritual domain, to facilitate entrepreneurship development among members. It is rather members of the top hierarchy that appear to benefit from these social networks.

KEYWORDS:

• Pentecostalism
• prayer camps
• entrepreneurship
• Ghana

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Notes on contributors

Edmond Akwasi Agyeman is a Lecturer in African Studies at the University of Education, Winneba, Ghana. He holds a PhD in migration studies from the Comillas Pontifical University in Madrid, Spain. His research interest focuses on religion, migrants' integration and migration policies.

Emmanuel Carsamer is a Senior Lecturer in the Department of Economics at the University of Education, Winneba. He holds a PhD in Economics from the National Institute of Development Administration in Bangkok, Thailand. His research interest is in the area of development economics, entrepreneurship, finance and religion.

Notes

1 This paper focuses on Pentecostalism in Ghana. By Pentecostalism, we refer to a strand of Christianity that traces its roots to the event of Pentecost as it is depicted in Acts 2 and 1Corinthians 12–14, in which the Holy Spirit of God was said to have descended on the Apostles in tongues of flames (Sackey 2006). According to Asamoah-Gyadu (2005, 12) this stream of Christianity emphasises ‘salvation in Christ as a transformative experience, wrought by the Holy Spirit and in which pneumatic phenomenon including “speaking in tongues”, prophecies, visions, healing, and miracles in general’ are paramount.

2 Expressed permission was sought from participants and from the Camp before the interviews were conducted. Additionally, identity of our participants was protected by using pseudonyms during the coding and in this paper.

3 Information provided in this section is based on oral accounts during the group discussion, key informant interviews, and documentary evidence, including a video documentary and a brochure reporting Maame Sarah’s life history.

4 Pentecostal Christianity in Ghana has its roots in the Faith Tabernacle Assemblies and Apostolic faith that were introduced in Ghana during the late 1930s through the activities of Peter Anim and James McKeown, as well as the earlier evangelical activity by Prophet Harris on the West African coast. Faith healing and female leadership featured a lot in the early stages of this new form of Christianity (Wyllie 1974; Sackey 2006).

5 This information was attained during an interview session with Elder Joe Daah, leader of the Goka Prayer Camp

6 The theology of giving is articulated as follows: ‘God is waiting for you to bless him before he blesses you’. In other words, the first requirement for prosperity is to first give to God or to the Man of God (Gifford 2004, 62).

7 The chief of Goka said he also dammed part of the river and started fish farming following the woman’s initiative. But he added that when the fish were harvested, people who ate them had skin rashes and boils, so the business was discontinued. Later, a person drowned in one of the dams, and so people stopped going there to fetch water. This was interpreted as a defeat to Maame Sarah in her effort to challenge ancient traditions.

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by John Templeton Foundation.