Here nobody, it seems, can afford not to pray
• Hodgepodge
A look at religion in Brazil and Nigeria:
In Africa, a big part of the success of Pentecostal movements, scholars say, rests on the ability to tap into traditional cosmology, in which gods have long been solicited in pursuit of specific, worldly favours. “God has become a modern-day juju God,” said Chichi Aniagolu, a Nigerian sociologist and a Catholic who, by her own admission, dips into Pentecostal services. “You appease him. You bring him yams, goats, make sacrifices, and you get what you want. Today, you’re not making sacrifices. You’re giving tithes.” ...
Like other proponents of prosperity theology, the pastor likes to remind his congregation that God multiplies what the faithful give to the church. “If you don’t sow, you don’t reap,” he says. “I have heard God speak,” the pastor went on, “and I can tell you, I have heard the sound of abundance.” Abundance certainly has come to the Redeemed Church. There are no fewer than 5,000 parishes worldwide, about 4,000 of them in Nigeria, Adeboye said.
Somini Sengupta and Larry Rohter, Daily Times: Seeking God on the highway