Pentecostalism

Christianity of the Spirit: tongues, healing, and fervent worship.

from 1906 CE → · US, then worldwide · Abrahamic

Pentecostalism began with revivals in the early 1900s, most famously the Azusa Street revival in Los Angeles led by William J. Seymour, teaching that believers can receive a powerful baptism in the Holy Spirit shown in gifts such as speaking in tongues, prophecy, and healing. Its stress on direct experience and expressive worship fueled explosive growth. It is now among the fastest-growing forms of Christianity in the world.

Key figures

• William J. Seymour (Azusa Street revival)

Texts

• The Bible

Beliefs

• A direct baptism in the Holy Spirit
• Gifts such as tongues, prophecy, and healing
• A personal, experiential faith

Rituals

• Exuberant worship and prayer
• Speaking in tongues
• Prayer for healing

Grew from

• Protestantism

Connections in the atlas

• William J. Seymour
• The Roma
• Cities
• Ecstatic trance and spirit possession (ritual)
• ▶ The Reformation and after
• Aimee Semple McPherson
• The Quechua and Andean peoples
• ▶ How Christianity spread
• The Akan and the Asante
• ▶ Land and belief
• The Maya
• The Bantu-speaking peoples