text: Often what gets called "the prosperity gospel" is not the prosperity gospel at all.
  
  The prosperity gospel is "Pray in my church and your prayers will be answered."
  
  But just saying that if you stop drinking, stop smoking, stop cheating on your wife, tell the truth, keep your promises, go to bed early and work diligently at your job, then God will be pleased AND your worldly affairs will probably (not certainly, obviously, because bad things happen to good people in a fallen world) improve is not prosperity gospel. It's just recognizing that God knows what's good for people and wants them to do it.
  
  One reason evangelicalism is popular in Latin America is alcoholism causes a lot of misery among poor people. Evangelical churches tend to take a tough line on drinking and the Catholic hierarchy have a not-entirely-undeserved reputation for a weakness for the bottle.