Abstract:
Urban cities in the sub-Saharan Africa have witnessed unprecedented transformation because
of the proliferation of religious orders within the social landscape. From Nigeria, Ghana and
Cameroon to Uganda, religious practitioners are actively involved in the spatial transformation
through the construction of sacred spaces or prayer camps. The Redeemed Christian Church
of God (RCCG) typifies one of the several examples of African Pentecostal denominations with
transnational status in 200 countries across the world with the hub of its international office
situated at the Redemption Camp, Mowe, Nigeria. The sacralisation of forest areas spanning
1600 ha of land has redefined religious institutions such as RCCG as perhaps one of the largest
owners of private estate in Nigeria. However, there seems to be an intentional replication of
the Redemption Camp, Mowe across Nigeria as well as across the Atlantic as part of the RCCG
missionary enterprise. This study aims to utilise the ethnography of the Redemption Camps in
Nigeria and Floyd, Texas, United States. The theoretical framework of social worlds is
employed to examine the dynamics of religious creativity, innovations, contextual challenges
of place-making involved in creating Redemption Camps across borders by the leadership of
RCCG through the appropriation of religious capital of its community of sentiments.
