Buy the Future: Charismatic Pentecostalism and African Liberation in a Neoliberal World

Concurring with the mounting pace of neoliberal reform, the rise of African charismatic Pentecostal churches since the 1980s points to the close link between political-economic shifts and religious renewal, and in particular between charismatic Pentecostalism and the neoliberal “market in futures.” Chapter 4’s Ghanaian case study reflects on the intersections between charismatic Pentecostalism, global neoliberalism, and African liberation and progress—Mensa Otabil’s African Pentecostal liberation theology. Placing Otabil’s message of African transformation in the context of neoliberal Ghana, De Witte examines how it comes to be materialized in building projects in the city of Accra, and in a strong audiovisual presence in the urban media landscape. The chapter concludes with a critical reflection on the relations between charismatic Pentecostalism, neoliberalism, and African urban space.