Pentecostal Movements

Pentecostal movements form a relatively recent stream of Christianity, currently comprising about [Page 982]a quarter of Christians worldwide. Significantly, Pentecostal movements account for a large share in the enormous growth of Christianity in the 20th century. Pentecostal movements—also known as Pentecostalism—should be seen as a type of Christianity rather than as a denomination or a single religious movement. As such, Pentecostal religiosity takes many different forms; both insiders and outsiders use the term charismatic Christianity as a synonym.

In their theology, the majority of Pentecostals acknowledge the classical evangelical doctrine of repentance from sin and conversion to Jesus Christ and a view of the Bible as the fully inspired and authoritative word of God and have a strong missionary zeal. Pentecostal spirituality is also strongly affective, ...