There has been a surge in the growth of neo-Pentecostal churches in the Ghanaian context. These churches broadcast their activities through television and are able to reach many people and have mass followers. Their main activities are miracles, healing, prophecies, and teaching. Although studies have been conducted on their activities, little is known of how leaders of these churches influence their followers to adhere to their teachings and doctrines. The present paper explored mechanisms used by church leaders to compel members to be obedient to them and the potential implications on congregants’ well-being, as well as their decision to either stay in or leave the church. Through a thematic analysis of interviews with 20 congregants, it emerged that the nature of the churches’ doctrine, the activities, and the charisma of the leaders are able to influence congregants to remain in or leave the church and to enhance their self-beliefs. Strategies that compelled congregants to remain in the church included techniques that encouraged giving, lifestyle restrictions, reverence of and obedience to church leaders, recruitment of congregants, and spiritual cleansing/fortification. Strategies that inadvertently compelled congregants to leave the church included excessive monetary demands, rigid lifestyle demands, and repeated false or unconfirmed prophecies. A few mechanisms appeared to enhance the well-being of congregants by building self-efficacy and instilling positive lifestyle changes. Implications of the findings are discussed along with the impact of these mechanisms on congregants’ well-being.

中文翻译：

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“先知说……”：对加纳新五旬节派教会会众顺从的机制进行定性分析

在加纳的背景下，新五旬节教会的增长激增。这些教会通过电视广播他们的活动，能够接触到很多人并拥有大量的追随者。他们的主要活动是奇迹、医治、预言和教导。尽管对他们的活动进行了研究，但对这些教会的领袖如何影响他们的追随者以坚持他们的教义和教义知之甚少。本文探讨了教会领袖用来强迫成员服从他们的机制，以及对会众福祉的潜在影响，以及他们决定留在教会还是离开教会。通过对 20 位会众的访谈进行专题分析，发现教会教义的性质、活动、领袖的魅力能够影响会众留在或离开教会，并增强他们的自信。迫使会众留在教会的策略包括鼓励捐赠、限制生活方式、敬畏和服从教会领袖、招募会众以及精神净化/强化的技巧。无意中迫使会众离开教会的策略包括过度的金钱要求、严格的生活方式要求以及重复的错误或未经证实的预言。一些机制似乎通过建立自我效能和灌输积极的生活方式改变来提高会众的福祉。讨论了这些发现的影响以及这些机制对会众福祉的影响。