Digital Liberation and Global Identity: NSPPD's Role in Redefining Religious Freedom for the African Diaspora

The African diaspora, a community of people of African descent, spread across the globe, has long sought enhanced ways to maintain spiritual and cultural unity amidst geographical dispersion (Ackah, 2018; Zeleza, 2022). Since the early 2000s, digital technologies have emerged as transformative tools to bridge these divides (Jenkins, 2006). The New Season Prophetic Prayers and Declarations (NSPPD), launched in March 2020 by Pastor Jerry Eze of Streams of Joy International Church in Nigeria, epitomises this transformation. NSPPD emerged during the COVID-19 pandemic, a time when physical worship spaces were closed. Rooted in African spirituality, the movement embodies the belief that "what God cannot do does not exist" and emphasizes faith in the "fire altar." NSPPD streams daily prayers through its innovative use of digital platforms such as YouTube, Facebook, Instagram, Mixlr, a dedicated mobile app, and the newly launched WhatsApp Channel. It has since grown into a global phenomenon, using digital platforms to create inclusive, accessible, and empowering spaces for worship, prayer, and community-building. This has united the African diaspora in a dynamic faith experience (Hoover, 2016) The global reach of NSPPD is evident in its emergence in 2022 as the world’s number one online prayer platform and the “Daily Most Super Chatted Gospel Channel,” with 313,768,909 chats, equivalent to 889,627 chats per day (Adepegba, 2022; Agbakwuru, 2022). 

This study posits that NSPPD redefines religious freedom for the African diaspora as a networked, participatory, culturally sovereign, and communal experience, surpassing traditional legal definitions. It argues that NSPPD liberates participants from geographical isolation, institutional hierarchies, and Western cultural norms, forging a global African identity, and presents compelling evidence of digital empowerment.

This argument is grounded in three interlocking theories. Heidi Campbell’s Digital Religion Theory (2013) frames NSPPD as a 'networked religion,' where digital platforms such as live streaming and social media dismantle traditional hierarchies, enabling direct spiritual agency and hybrid practices online (Campbell, 2013). Stuart Hall’s Diaspora Theory (1990) reveals how NSPPD rearticulates an Afrocentric faith, leveraging shared cultural narratives to construct global African identities that resist Western norms (Hall, 1990). Manuel Castells’ Network Society Theory (2010) positions NSPPD as a node in the 'space of flows,' redefining freedom through real-time, borderless connectivity to sustain a transnational faith community (Castells, 2010). Together, these theoretical lenses reveal how NSPPD engages digital networks to empower the African diaspora, blending accessibility, identity, and global reach into a transformative spiritual experience.

Building on this framework, I employ digital ethnography, content analysis, and discourse analysis in this qualitative study to examine NSPPD’s digital evolution from March 2020 to March 2025. Through digital ethnography, I immersed myself in live NSPPD sessions to observe rituals and participant interactions (Hine, 2015). Content analysis identifies recurring themes of liberation in prayers, such as ‘chains are breaking', 'Oh Lord, show me mercy!'  (Krippendorff, 2018). Discourse analysis examines diasporic identity formation in comments like 'Amen from Tokyo!' (Fairclough, 2015). Analysing digital media content from Pastor Jerry Eze’s verified accounts, NSPPD’s official platforms, and diaspora users between 2020 and 2025, I investigate how these digital spaces facilitate inclusive worship, prayer, and community-building for the African diaspora. The content was selected based on its relevance to themes of liberation, identity, and community. 

NSPPD redefines religious freedom as a dynamic, networked reality, built on four defining pillars: agency, accessibility, cultural sovereignty, and community. NSPPD’s scale underpins this shift, evidenced by a 2022 survey reporting 244 million participants over six months (Ige, 2022; Olagoke, 2022). This reflects a global reach that has sustained and expanded the movement’s momentum into 2025. First, agency empowers participants worldwide to engage Pastor Jerry Eze directly, bypassing traditional clergy, as Campbell’s (2013) dismantling of hierarchies confirms. Second, accessibility transcends physical and temporal barriers, aligning with Castells’ “timeless time” (2010). Pastor Eze’s ritual question, “Which country are you watching from?” often elicits responses like “I’m watching from Bilbao, Spain!” or “Calgary, Canada!” in 2025 chats, illustrates worship unbound by secular locales or time zones. Third, cultural sovereignty asserts an Afrocentric identity, as Hall’s (1990) theory underscores. NSPPD’s Nigerian expressions like “We dey pray, e dey show” and testimonies of liberation rebroadcast from diasporans forge a pan-African ethos, resisting Western norms (Hall, 1990). Fourth, community liberates from isolation. NSPPD empowers a pan-African identity among its millions, uniting Nigerians, Kenyans, Ghanaians, Zimbabweans, and others into a single community called “NSPPDIANS.” Posts like “Zambia, we come in the name of the Lord,” and comments like “Uganda feels the fire!” (YouTube, March 9, 2025) reflect a shared ethos, shifting solitary faith into collective belonging. This shift reframes freedom from passive protection to a participatory, networked experience. Conversely, its Christian exclusivity and reliance on digital infrastructure echoing Jenkins’ (2006) critique of tech-driven convergence pose challenges to inclusivity and equitable access across the diaspora.

NSPPD’s redefinition of freedom challenges Eurocentric religious models, proving digital networks can empower African voices (Gilroy, 1993). By 2025, it stands as a counterpoint to Western ministries, emphasising cultural resonance over universalism (Hoover, 2016). Its export of African Pentecostal spirituality through Appadurai’s “ethnoscapes” reshapes diaspora worship, offering a strong case for technology as a liberator (Appadurai, 1996). NSPPD’s model underscores the network society’s potential to redefine belonging (Castells, 2010).

This research contributes to the growing body of literature on digital religion, diaspora studies, and globalisation by focusing on an African Christian movement that has been overlooked in academic discourse. NSPPD’s approach could inspire other diasporas to redefine freedom digitally, extending beyond religion (Wellman, 2001). Yet, its sustainability hinges on broadening inclusivity and addressing tech disparities (Jenkins, 2006). Its enduring impact, whether as a lasting redefinition or a fleeting innovation, merits further study (Hine, 2015). NSPPD’s case compels a rethinking of freedom in a connected world.