The pastor’s ‘love offering’: prosperity gospel and a child witchcraft accusation narrative

ABSTRACT

This reflective first-person narrative study emerged from a personal encounter in a village near Eket City in Nigeria. This article adopts a multidisciplinary approach with a theological concentration to understand the issues of beliefs, uncertainty, religious leaders, and prosperity gospels and how these factors contribute to witchcraft labelling. This study brings an untold story to the forefront, using moral narrative techniques. The encounter provoked two lines of reflection. First, it questions the role of Pentecostal leaders: are they rescuers or complicit parties in witchcraft accusations? Second, it examines the ethical implications of these leaders accepting gifts in contexts where poverty is pervasive. The notion of ‘the love offering’ poses ethical questions as it relates to congregants presenting gifts to their clergy, frequently side-lining their moral obligations. As delineated in this study, this dynamic provokes critical inquiry: Are these gifts genuinely acts of love, or are they made in anticipation of a reciprocal benefit from the pastor? Readers are left to draw their own conclusions as they engage with this narrative article.

KEYWORDS:

• Child witchcraft accusation
• prosperity theology
• misplaced priority
• Nigeria
• Pentecostalism
• deliverance

Acknowledgement

The author thanks the participants for making this study possible through their support and time.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Notes

1 As stipulated under Section 1 of Nigeria’s Child Rights Act 2003, the child’s best interest shall be the primary consideration. Hence, this article’s case study fulfils that requirement regarding the narrated event and the urgency to rescue the victim from the precarious situation. Therefore, it did not violate any ethical research principles related to speaking with someone under 18.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Claire Princess Ayelotan

Claire Princess Ayelotan received her PhD in theology and religious studies at the University of Roehampton. Her primary areas of interest include African Pentecostalism, witchcraft, Yoruba spirituality, sociology of religion, violence against women and children, migration, and transnational studies.