The Spiritual Marketplace in Contemporary Ghana

Abstract

This chapter introduces and examines the role of spiritual consultants—religious agents who operate in the market as experts of spiritual matters and offer their services to consumers for a fee—in the marketization of religion in Ghana. Spiritual consultants in Ghana and many other African countries include church pastors, traditional priests and Islamic spiritualists (mallams), among others. We pursue answers to the question: What specific services and value do spiritual consultants offer to their consumers in order to authenticate their role as agents of the gods and spirits? Our data, including news media coverage and roadside (outdoor) advertising by these agents, allows for historical a..