"Ask and you shall be given": Pentecostalism and the economic crisis in Cameroon
Akoko, R.M.
Citation
Akoko, R. M. (2007, June 26). "Ask and you shall be given": Pentecostalism and the economic crisis in Cameroon. African studies collection.
African Studies Centre. Retrieved from https://hdl.handle.net/1887/12290
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“Ask and you shall be
given”: Pentecostalism
and the economic crisis
in Cameroon
Robert Mbe Akoko
African Studies Centre
www.ascleiden.nl
R ober t Mbe Ak ok o “Ask and y ou shall be giv en”: P ent ecos talism and t he economic crisis in Cameroon
African Studies Collection 2
2
Cameroon’s economic crisis has led to widespread unemployment and poverty since the 1980s. Civil society organizations, including the churches, believe that bad governance is at the heart of the country’s economic problems and are calling for the introduction of democratic institutions. However, a growing number of Pentecostal churches, especially in Anglophone Cameroon, are also offering an attractive message of salvation to the suffering masses.
This study considers how the new gospel of accumulation and prosperity relates to the material predicaments of Cameroonians. It investigates the proliferation of Pentecostalism and the continuous defection of members of the mainline churches to the new Pentecostal groups that are propagating this gospel of prosperity as opposed to the ascetic doctrine of mainline groups.
160748-ASC-os 31-05-2007 15:53 Pagina 1
