TruthBook Religious News Blog

A new 10-nation survey says Christian Pentecostalism is growing, and that Pentecostals, known for their exuberant style of worship, are also becoming more active in politics. Mike O'Sullivan reports from Los Angeles, where modern Pentecostalism was born 100 years ago, and where scholars met at the University of Southern California to assess the movement's impact.

There have been times in Christian history when believers experienced what they said were gifts of the Holy Spirit -- an ecstatic form of expression called speaking in tongues, divine healing, and utterances of prophecy, which are messages they believe come directly from God.

The prototype for the experience is seen in the New Testament Book of Acts, which says the spirit of God descended on the followers of Jesus on the feast of Pentecost.

In the early 1900s, there were scattered episodes of Pentecostal enthusiasm -- in Wales in southwest Britain and near Pune, India. But in 1906, a major movement erupted in Los Angeles to which historians trace the rise of modern Pentecostalism.

On the 100th anniversary of the birth of the modern movement, the new study of Pentecostals shows they are numerous. Together with charismatics, they may make up one-quarter of all Christians. They are nearly one-fourth of the U.S. population, according to the study, and almost half the population of Brazil.

The study of the Pentecostal movement was conducted by the Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life. It suggests that more than half of the people of Kenya are Pentecostals or charismatics, and 60 percent of the people of Guatemala.

Pew Forum Director Luis Lugo says the study has some surprises.

He said, "One, to me, was the extent to which Pentecostal beliefs and practices had made their way into these non-Pentecostal churches. In several of these countries, the percentage of charismatics was at least double that of Pentecostals."

Those countries include Chile, South Africa, and South Korea.

In the Philippines, the number of charismatics, most of them Catholic, is 10 times the number of Pentecostals. The study groups all of them together under the term renewalists.

John Green of the Pew Forum, says Pentecostals and charismatics, like other traditional Christians, have a high regard for the Bible and attend church often. Surprisingly, he says, they are also interested in worldly matters.

"They are very interested in politics. They are very interested in the free market. They are very interested in social welfare programs," he said. "These are very different than the common stereotype of Pentecostals as being other-worldly."

The Pew Forum's Luis Lugo says the study gives hints as to why Pentecostalism is growing. He says renewalist churches offer a joyful form of worship and the sense that God is really present.

Pentecostalism has also adapted to local cultures, blending its enthusiastic form of expression with Christian beliefs and practices in indigenous African churches. Through the charismatic movement, it has also enlivened the ritual of older denominations.

Finally, he says Pentecostals are building a sense of community by reaching out to the displaced, including migrants to the city, providing a spiritual home in a world that is quickly changing.