POWER, PROPHECY, AND PROFIT: A CRITICAL INTERDISCIPLINARY ANALYSIS OF RELIGIOUS PRACTICES AND ACCOUNTABILITY IN NIGERIA

Abstract

The rapid expansion of religious movements in Nigeria has reshaped the country’s spiritual and socio-economic landscape. While this growth reflects an increasing search for meaning, it has also generated concerns about abuse, commercialization, and weak accountability structures. This study examines the interplay between power, prophecy, and profit in contemporary religious practice, focusing on leadership dynamics, the psychological dimensions of prophetic practices, and the commodification of spirituality through financial demands on adherents. Adopting an interdisciplinary theoretical approach grounded in theories of charismatic authority, power, and religious economy, the paper employs critical thematic analysis to interrogate these developments. The findings reveal that weak check-and-balance systems enable financial extraction, prophetic manipulation, and coercive control within religious spaces. The study contributes to ongoing scholarly and policy debates by proposing a multi-level ethical and regulatory accountability framework that preserves religious freedom while addressing systemic abuse. It underscores the need to recalibrate the relationship between faith, authority, and responsibility in order to safeguard adherents and strengthen the integrity of religious practice in Nigeria.