Pentecostalism is the fastest growing religious movement in the world, currently estimated to have at least 500 million adherents. In the movement's early years, most Pentecostal converts lived in relative poverty, leading many scholars to regard the new religion as a form of spiritual compensation. Yet the rapidly shifting social ecology of Pentecostal Christians includes many middle-class individuals, as well as an increasing number of young adults attracted by the music and vibrant worship of these churches. The stereotypical view of Pentecostals as ''other-worldly'' and disengaged from politics and social ministry is also being challenged, especially as Pentecostals--including many who are committed to working for social and political change--constitute growing minorities in many countries. Spirit and Power addresses three main questions: Where is Pentecostalism growing globally? Why it is growing? What is its social and political impact? The contributors include theologians, historians, and social scientists, bringing diverse disciplinary perspectives to these empirical questions. The essays draw on extensive survey research as well as in-depth ethnographic field methods, with analyses offering diverging and sometimes competing explanations for the growth and impact of Pentecostalism around the world. This volume puts Pentecostalism into a global context that examines not only theology and religious structures, but the social, cultural, and economic settings in which it is, or is not, growing, as well as the social and political development of Pentecostal groups in different societies around the world.

About the Author
DM: Professor of Religion and Director of the Center for Religion and Civic Culture, USC; KS: Vice-President for Human Sciences, John Templeton Foundation; RF: Director of Research, Center for Religion and Civic Culture and Associate Research Professor of Sociology, USC

Reviews
Spirit and Power signals the scholarly coming age of the study of global Pentecostalism . a spectacular achievement. * Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion *
Spirit and Power makes a much need scholarly contribution to the study of global Pentecostalism... This volume sets the standard for a more sophisticated, multidimensional, and diverse comprehension of the growth and impact of global Pentecostalism. * Journal of the American Academy of Religion *
The twenty contributors to this volume are diverse in nationality, professional background, and academic disciplines... These valuable essays explicate this fastest growing segment of Christianity--renewalists. * CHOICE *
Amazing as it might have seemed a generation ago, we now have to reckon Pentecostal Christianity as one of the most successful and transformative global movements of the twentieth century. Fortunately, the topic has attracted some really first class scholarship, which is amply represented in Spirit and Power. This is a rich and multi-faceted collection of studies. Readable and, often, inspiring. * Philip Jenkins, author of The Next Christendom *



Book Information
ISBN 9780199920570
Author Donald E. Miller
Format Hardback
Page Count 432
Imprint Oxford University Press Inc
Publisher Oxford University Press Inc
Weight(grams) 862g
Dimensions(mm) 160mm * 239mm * 31mm