Ilana van Wyk is a researcher at the Institute for Humanities in Africa at the University of Cape Town, South Africa.

• 1. Introduction; 2. Christian warriors and the spiritual warfare; 3. On the frontlines; 4. Women of God, love and marriage; 5. The leaking nature of things; 6. Gossiping demons, strong words and lies; 7. Profit prophets and God's money; 8. Family demons and the blessed life; 9. Conclusion.

'In what is by far the most profound and wide-ranging study of one of the world's most challenging and disconcerting religious phenomena, Ilana van Wyk has produced a truly engrossing work of ethnography. In its triumphant march out of Brazil and across the globe, the Universal Church of the Kingdom of God attracts millions of followers, but also puzzlement, indignation and shock for its success with methods which seem at first sight to be utterly out of keeping with contemporary cultures. This book covers the controversial aspects one by one: money, demonic possession and exorcism; unbearable family tensions amidst poverty and AIDS; and the mysteries of the church's internal dynamics. Some of the case material is deeply distressing, but the analytical fruits will be with us for a long time to come.' David Lehmann, University of Cambridge

Ilana van Wyk is a researcher at the Institute for Humanities in Africa at the University of Cape Town, South Africa.

• 1. Introduction; 2. Christian warriors and the spiritual warfare; 3. On the frontlines; 4. Women of God, love and marriage; 5. The leaking nature of things; 6. Gossiping demons, strong words and lies; 7. Profit prophets and God's money; 8. Family demons and the blessed life; 9. Conclusion.

'In what is by far the most profound and wide-ranging study of one of the world's most challenging and disconcerting religious phenomena, Ilana van Wyk has produced a truly engrossing work of ethnography. In its triumphant march out of Brazil and across the globe, the Universal Church of the Kingdom of God attracts millions of followers, but also puzzlement, indignation and shock for its success with methods which seem at first sight to be utterly out of keeping with contemporary cultures. This book covers the controversial aspects one by one: money, demonic possession and exorcism; unbearable family tensions amidst poverty and AIDS; and the mysteries of the church's internal dynamics. Some of the case material is deeply distressing, but the analytical fruits will be with us for a long time to come.' David Lehmann, University of Cambridge

Ilana van Wyk is a researcher at the Institute for Humanities in Africa at the University of Cape Town, South Africa.

• 1. Introduction; 2. Christian warriors and the spiritual warfare; 3. On the frontlines; 4. Women of God, love and marriage; 5. The leaking nature of things; 6. Gossiping demons, strong words and lies; 7. Profit prophets and God's money; 8. Family demons and the blessed life; 9. Conclusion.

'In what is by far the most profound and wide-ranging study of one of the world's most challenging and disconcerting religious phenomena, Ilana van Wyk has produced a truly engrossing work of ethnography. In its triumphant march out of Brazil and across the globe, the Universal Church of the Kingdom of God attracts millions of followers, but also puzzlement, indignation and shock for its success with methods which seem at first sight to be utterly out of keeping with contemporary cultures. This book covers the controversial aspects one by one: money, demonic possession and exorcism; unbearable family tensions amidst poverty and AIDS; and the mysteries of the church's internal dynamics. Some of the case material is deeply distressing, but the analytical fruits will be with us for a long time to come.' David Lehmann, University of Cambridge