Pentecostalism: Origins and Developments Worldwide

"The esteemed elder statesman of Pentecostal studies has now given us this comprehensive and absorbing account of how it started and why it is growing."--Harvey Cox, Harvard University
One of the premier interpreters of Pentecostalism, Walter J. Hollenweger has written what is in many ways a sequel to his magisterial The Pentecostals (1972). This volume assesses the origins of perhaps the fastest-growing religious phenomenon in this century in light of its current development. Hollenweger contends Pentecostalism is at a critical crossroads in its evolution. Focusing on the theological stories of the Pentecostal movement within the contexts of its "Black Oral Root," "Catholic Root," "Evangelical Root," "Critical Root," and "Ecumenical Root," Hollenweger calls our attention to the significance of this movement for religion, politics, and, indeed the future of the world.