Prosperity theology

=== International growth ===
By the late 2000s, proponents claimed that tens of millions of Christians had accepted prosperity theology.{{refn|name=rosin}} The [[Neo-charismatic movement|neo-Pentecostal movement]] has been characterized in part by an emphasis on prosperity theology,{{sfn|Coleman|2000|p=23}} which gained greater acceptance within [[charismatic Christianity]] during the late 1990s.{{sfn|Coleman|2000|p=27}} In the 2000s, Evangelical-Pentecostal churches teaching prosperity theology saw significant growth in the [[Global South]] and [[Third World]] countries.<ref name="Smith 2021">{{cite journal |last=Smith |first=Daniel J. |date=March 2021 |title=The Pentecostal prosperity gospel in Nigeria: Paradoxes of corruption and inequality |journal=[[Journal of Modern African Studies]] |location=[[Cambridge]] |publisher=[[Cambridge University Press]] |volume=59 |issue=1 |pages=103–122 |doi=10.1017/S0022278X2000066X |pmid=37398918 |pmc=10312994 |issn=1469-7777 |lccn=2001-227388 |oclc=48535892 |s2cid=232223673}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last=Haynes |first=Naomi |date=March 2012 |title=Pentecostalism and the morality of money: Prosperity, inequality, and religious sociality on the Zambian Copperbelt |journal=[[Journal of the Royal Anthropological Institute]] |publisher=[[Wiley-Blackwell]] on behalf of the [[Royal Anthropological Institute]] |volume=18 |issue=1 |pages=123–139 |doi=10.1111/j.1467-9655.2011.01734.x |doi-access=free |issn=1467-9655 |jstor=41350810 |s2cid=142926682 |url=https://www.pure.ed.ac.uk/ws/files/10092601/HAYNES_2012_Pentecostalism_and_the_Morality_of_Money.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180718220724/https://www.pure.ed.ac.uk/ws/files/10092601/HAYNES_2012_Pentecostalism_and_the_Morality_of_Money.pdf |archive-date=18 July 2018 |access-date=25 November 2021 |url-status=live}}</ref>{{sfn|Jenkins|2011|p=99}}<ref>{{cite book |last=Freston |first=Paul |year=2008 |chapter=The Changing Face of Christian Proselytization: New Actors from the Global South |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=y5TCBQAAQBAJ&pg=PA109 |editor-last=Hackett |editor-first=Rosalind I. J. |editor-link=Rosalind Hackett |title=Proselytization Revisited: Rights Talk, Free Markets, and Culture Wars |location=[[New York City|New York]] and [[London]] |publisher=[[Routledge]] |edition=1st |pages=109–138 |isbn=9781845532284 |lccn=2007046731}}</ref> According to [[Philip Jenkins]] of [[Pennsylvania State University]], poor citizens of impoverished countries often find the doctrine appealing because of their economic powerlessness and the doctrine's emphasis on miracles.{{sfn|Jenkins|2006|p=95}} One region seeing explosive growth is Western Africa, particularly Nigeria.<ref name="Smith 2021"/>{{sfn|Jenkins|2011|p=99}} In the Philippines, the [[El Shaddai (movement)|El Shaddai movement]], part of the [[Catholic Charismatic Renewal]], has spread prosperity theology outside Protestant Christianity.{{sfn|Wiegele|2005|p=7}} One South Korean prosperity church, [[Yoido Full Gospel Church]], gained attention in the 1990s by claiming to be the world's largest congregation.{{sfn|Jenkins|2006|p=91}}

A 2006 poll by ''[[Time (magazine)|Time]]'' reported that 17 percent of Christians in America said they identified with the movement.{{refn|name=time}} By the 2000s, adherents of prosperity theology in the United States were most common in the [[Sun Belt]].{{refn|name=rosin}} By 2006, three of the four largest congregations in the United States were teaching prosperity theology, and [[Joel Osteen]] has been credited with spreading it outside of the Pentecostal and Charismatic movement through his books, which have sold over 4 million copies.{{refn|name=time}}{{cref2|D}} [[Bruce Wilkinson]]'s ''[[The Prayer of Jabez]]'' also sold millions of copies and invited readers to seek prosperity.{{sfn|Jenkins|2006|p=91}}