ABSTRACT
This chapter analyses the function of religion in the process of modernization in Nigeria, and focuses on the structures and dynamics of pastoral leadership in Pentecostal and Charismatic African churches in Ghana, Nigeria, and in the Italian Diaspora. It addresses the centrality of leadership formation and its circulation from African points of origin to missionary destinations, to Europe, and back to Africa. The chapter enquires into the different narratives and discourses shaped by post-colonial African contexts and the neo-colonial migrations of the African Diasporas that informed visions of Pentecostal leadership. It deals with the effectiveness of pastoral leadership and its impact on the popularity and spread of Pentecostal and Charismatic churches, as well as launching inquiries into the organizational structures of their religious communities. The chapter argues that Nigeria's laboratory represents a case study for analysing the resurgent power of religious imagination and its coherence with the values, lifestyles, and socio-economic mobility of individuals in a modern post-colonial society.
