Global Pentecostal Studies

Call for Papers: International Society for the Sociology of Religion The 33rd ISSR Conference: Sensing Religion .  Louvain-la-Neuve July 2-5, 2015 Thematic Session Pentecostalism, Religious Experience, and the Body / Le pentecôtisme, l’expérience religieuse et le corps Michael Wilkinson, Trinity Western University (Canada) michael.wilkinson@twu.ca Peter F. Althouse, Southeastern University (USA) pfalthouse@seu.edu The intersection of religion, sexuality, gender, disability, health and illness, pain, death and dying, emotions, and embodiment is especially insightful for researching Pentecostal and Charismatic notions of the body. Pentecostalism is well known for overt bodily expressions of religious experience that includes kinesthetic worship such as speaking in tongues, dancing, twirling, and falling down. Among Pentecostals and Charismatics there is considerable debate about bodies, the relationship between bodies and the Holy Spirit, possession of evil spiri...

I just finished attending my first Glopent conference, the 8th international meeting of the European Research Network on Global Pentecostalism . The conference was held at SOAS, University of London. The conference theme was "Pentecostalism and Development" and featured plenary addresses by Matthew Clark (Deakin University, Australia), Tomas Sundnes Drønen (School of Mission and Theology in Stravanger, Norway), and Dena Freeman (visiting fellow at the London School of Economics). The conference attempted to address a number of questions about the relationship between Pentecostalism in the so-called "developing world" and how scholars understand and interpret what is happening. The various speakers and papers in parallel sessions raised a number of excellent questions. For example, one of the basic issues revolves around the relationship between Pentecostals and development agencies, how they view that relationship, who get's to define the role reli...

Pentecostalism is one of the fastest-growing religious movements in the world. Groups in the United States dominated early Pentecostal histories, but recent global manifestations have expanded and complicated the definition of Pentecostalism. This volume provides a nuanced overview of Pentecostalism's various manifestations and explores what it means to be Pentecostal from the perspectives of both insiders and outsiders. Leading scholars in the field use a multidisciplinary approach to analyze the historical, economic, political, anthropological, sociological, and theological aspects of the movement. They address controversies, such as the Oneness-Trinity controversy; introduce new theories; and chart trajectories for future research. The Cambridge Companion to Pentecostalism will enable beginners to familiarize themselves with the important issues and debates surrounding the global movement, while also offering experienced scholars a valuable handbook for reference. ...

A group of evangelical leaders recently had lunch with Pope Francis including Pentecostals and Charismatics Brian Stiller, James Robison, Kenneth Copeland, and John Arnott. Brian Stiller , a prominent Canadian leader was raised in the home of a Pentecostal preacher in the Prairies. He completed a graduate degree at Wycliffe College, University of Toronto and wrote his thesis about Canadian Pentecostalism. Later he served as President of the Evangelical Fellowship of Canada and worked hard to include Pentecostals in the evangelical fold. Stiller recently retired as President of Tyndale University College in Toronto and now serves as Global Ambassador for the World Evangelical Alliance. Stiller reported on the luncheon and included observations about the Pope's views on Christian unity, relationship with Pentecostals, and challenges facing the Roman Catholic Church including issues of sexual abuse, finances, and leadership. Stiller's report can be found here . Pope Fra...

GLOBAL PENTECOSTALISM IN THE 21 ST CENTURY . Edited by Robert W. Hefner .  University of Indiana Press. 2013. Pp. v + 270; paper. This edited volume offers the reader excellent coverage on a range of issues about the social, cultural, and political aspects of Pentecostalism.   With contributions from sociologists, anthropologists, and religion scholars, the editor has brought together some of the top experts in the field with cases from most regions of the world including Brazil, Zimbabwe, China, Russia, Ukraine, India, and the Philippines. The chapters include rich empirical findings, theoretical sophistication, and debates in the literature about the social and political impact of Pentecostals, its civic and public role, why Pentecostalism is or is not growing, issues of institutionalization, relationship to the varieties of modernity, and impact on family and gender issues. The Introduction offers a solid overview of how the volume contributes to the schol...

The University of Heidelberg is hosting a workshop on the dynamics of global Pentecostalism , April 3-5, 2014. The workshop is sponsored by a Junior Research Group on Pentecostalism of the Asia and Europe in a Global Context research cluster.  I will be attending and presenting at the workshop and posting here later. Workshop Description Pentecostalism, one of the many faces of contemporary Christianity, is frequently referred to as a “global phenomenon.” Shaped by globalization processes, but also a major contributor to and integral part of broader global transformations, Pentecostal forms of Christianity have shown a remarkable ability to transgress boundaries and adapt to any new cultural contexts. As such, Pentecostalism acts both, as a homogenizing force that transcends locality and as a transformative power of indigenous appropriation and differentiation. The fundamental heterogeneity of the transnational Pentecostal network is conducive for its flexibility to r...

The Society for Pentecostal Studies will hold its annual meeting at Southeastern University , Lakeland Florida March 12-14, 2015. Plenary speakers will include: Allan Anderson (University of Birmingham), Candy Gunther Brown (Indiana University), Ivan Satyavrata (Buntain Theological College) and a panel discussion on the future of Latino/a Pentecostalism with   Gastón Espinosa , Néstor Medina, and Arlene Sánchez Walsh. The conference theme is " Global Spirit: Pentecostals and the World." Globalization is now one of the most widely used theories across all disciplines. As a process of social change, it captures a range of ideas including the worldwide spread of economic, political, and cultural patterns. And yet, while these patterns suggest sameness, there is also much difference throughout the world. Often this difference is expressed in social, cultural, and religious forms highlighting competing views of the world. In some cases, conflict characterizes the relationsh...