Pentecostalism and Social, Political, and Economic Development

Abstract

This article traces the global impact of Pentecostalism with reference to its definition, varieties, and statistics. It also discusses the subject of development from a theological perspective, considering how development applies to Pentecostalism. The first part considers the ambivalence involved in Pentecostal sociopolitical engagement, and then in the second part, discusses how Pentecostalism and development relate to each other. It gives examples throughout the article of how Pentecostals are involved in development projects and sociopolitical activities worldwide. Pentecostalism’s(Global(Impact( It now a well-known fact that Pentecostalism has spread across the world to such an extent that it is found in almost every country and has affected every denomination worldwide. This has happened in a remarkably short space of time, beginning in the early twentieth century but with most of it occurring in the past fifty years. There are many different movements accepted by scholars as “Pentecostalism” but among these movements there is absolutely no uniformity. There is no single form of Pentecostalism, nor clear-cut theological criteria by which it can be defined.1 They can be divided historically into four very broad, often overlapping groups. First there