Destiny Church (New Zealand)

37°00′04″S 174°52′37″E / 37.0010278°S 174.8769320°E / -37.0010278; 174.8769320

Destiny Church
Classification	Pentecostalism New religious movement (disputed)
Theology	Prosperity theology Christian fundamentalism Right-wing populism Conspiracism
Region	New Zealand - Upper North Island (Auckland Region, Waikato, East Cape, Bay of Plenty - Other cities (Wellington, Christchurch, Nelson, Australia (Gold Coast)
Founder	Brian Tamaki, Hannah Tamaki
Origin	July 1998; 26 years ago (July 1998) South Auckland
Members	1,772 (2018 New Zealand census) 6,000 (claimed)

Destiny Church is a far-right New Zealand Christian fundamentalist organisation variously described as a church, a religious movement, or a cult.^{[1][2][3][4][5]} Based in South Auckland and with a strong Māori conservative character, Destiny Church's direction and ideology is highly personalised around its leader and founder,^[6] Brian Tamaki, whose title is "Apostle Bishop", and his wife Hannah Tamaki. The couple founded Destiny Church in 1998, and quick growth led to it peaking in 2003 with approximately 5,000 members. As of the 2018 New Zealand Census, the organisation has a recorded 1,772 followers, under a third of the 6,000 claimed by Tamaki.^[7]

Destiny Church describes itself as itself as an "iwi-tapu" or a "spiritual tribe of God's people". Its structure is pentecostalist, with Tamaki preaching the prosperity gospel to his largely low-socioeconomic base, who are overwhelmingly Māori and Pasifika. Destiny Church's far-right ideology has been described as insurrectionist,^[8] authoritarian,^[9] or as a form of Māori fascism.^[10][11] The group advocates strict adherence to biblical morality, and has a reputation for its vitriolic position against homosexuality, for its patriarchal views and for its calls for a return to biblical conservative family values and morals. In the 2000s, Destiny Church expanded outside of Auckland; this was mostly across the Upper North Island, but there is also a branch in Wellington, two in the South Island, and one in Australia on the Gold Coast,^[12] which has a very significant Māori population.^[13]

Rising to prominence in the 2000s, Destiny Church sponsored a nationwide rally against civil unions,^[14] attempted to build a commune,^[15][16] and issued a DVD which labelled the Government of New Zealand as "evil". During the COVID-19 pandemic, Tamaki incorporated anti-vaccination conspiracy theories into the group's ideology, including the denial of the virus' existence altogether.^[17][18] Tamaki soon became extremely opposed to lockdowns and mask mandates in New Zealand, and the group partook in the 2022 Wellington anti-vaccine protest.^[18] Various small political parties split from the group to contest the 2020 and 2023 New Zealand general elections, including Freedoms New Zealand, Vision NZ, and the New Nation Party,^[19][20] none of which gained more than 0.5% of the party vote.^[21][22][23] Since the beginning of the Israeli invasion of Gaza, the group has strongly backed Israel and performed haka to show support for the Israel Defence Forces.^[24][25][26]

Tamaki's actions and rhetoric have attracted criticism from the New Zealand media and from other public figures. He has been criticised for blaming the 2011 Christchurch earthquake on the "sexual perversion" of gay people,^[27][28] and for holding a gathering of 700 men who swore a "covenant"^[29] oath of allegiance, obedience, and deference to him. For his actions, Tamaki has run afoul of the law, having been imprisoned for breaching bail conditions as he took part in an anti-vaccination protest in Christchurch.^[30] In 2022, Destiny Church's tax-free charity status was revoked.^[31]