Prosperity gospel redefines black Christian identity as blessed consumer rather than justice seeker

Evidence

Moreover, the popularity of what has been called prosperity gospel, a view that God wills that those who are born again be materially wealthy (a view Bishop Long adapted), has greatly affected how some black churches understand the gospel and its relation to questions of justice. … For Dollar and many others, wealth is a sign of God’s blessing. Poverty is a sign of his punishment. What results is an understanding of the African American Christian as a “blessed entrepreneur and consumer” and the church as a place to facilitate his or her exercise of choice/blessings. — Eddie S. Glaude Jr., Democracy in Black, 386

Categorization

• DEFINE: Glaude defines prosperity gospel and its consequence for church function: it reorients faith away from collective justice toward individual blessing and consumption.
• XREF: Parallels the reader’s earlier note about the value gap’s roots and how moral frameworks get repurposed to serve dominant structures.