Proliferation of Churches

European Journal of Scientific Research ISSN 1450-216X Vol.45 No.4 (2010), pp.649-657 © EuroJournals Publishing, Inc. 2010 http://www.eurojournals.com/ejsr.htm

Proliferation of Churches: A Leeway to Commercialization of Religion
Anthonia M. Essien Department of Religious and Cultural Studies Faculty of Arts, University of Uyo, Nigeria E-mail: [e-mail] Tel: [phone] Abstract This paper posits that religion has become a top bracket business in Nigeria. This is occasioned by the agglomeration of autonomous, non-centralized, independent and illegally established religious movements in Nigeria. This situation favours commercialization of religion. Although the founders and leaders postulate spiritual reasons for the emergence and expeditious growth of these religious movements but our research has shown that the pivotal reason of their emergence is basically economic. When religious adherents go to see ‘men and women of God’ who are assumed to develop power, predict the future, explain the present and uncover the past, they pay for the supposedly religious services rendered. Strikingly and paradoxically, the poor pay to be freed from poverty. Religion is now one of the easy means of achieving riches rather than a means of making people better citizens for a healthier society. This paper concludes that this situation can be revolutionized by improving social and health care services for the vulnerable in society. Basic theological education is to be given to people in the school system to help them understand the workings of the authentic religion. Religious leaders who commercialize religion should heed Jesus’ mandate: freely you have received freely you must give.

Keywords: Religion, Commercialization, Manipulations, Prophecy, Proliferation, Money, Faith, Healing.

1. Introduction
Nigeria, like other nations in the third-world, has been witnessing the agglomeration of autonomous and non-centralized religious groups and movements in the past

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