“Divine Health” among African Pentecostals and Charismatics

While much scholarship exists on faith healing, the distinct doctrine of divine health remains under-theorized within African Pentecostalism. This qualitative study explores this concept through the lived experiences and theological convictions of Ghanaian Pentecostal and Charismatic Christians. It argues that divine health represents a distinct theological development within global Pentecostalism, moving beyond curative faith healing to a preventive, sustained state of wellness grounded in a performative faith. Drawing on interviews, this article demonstrates how this framework, while innovative and empowering, risks marginalizing chronic suffering and fostering a detrimental “blame theology.” Consequently, the analysis demands a pastoral recalibration that incorporates divine sovereignty and an eschatological understanding of redemption. The study contributes to global Pentecostal theology and interdisciplinary conversations on health and religion by clarifying the contours of this doctrine and proposing a constructive framework, the Theology of Responsible Healing, for integrating robust faith with a compassionate response to human finitude

Charisma · Doctrine · Faith · Performative utterance · Scholarship · Sovereignty · Christian Theology and Mission · Pentecostalism and Christianity Studies · Religion, Society, and Development