The Anthropology of Global Pentecostalism and Evangelicalism - by Simon Coleman & Rosalind I J Hackett (Paperback)

Book Synopsis

The phenomenal growth of Pentecostalism and evangelicalism around the world in recent decades has forced us to rethink what it means to be religious and what it means to be global. The success of these religious movements has revealed tensions and resonances between the public and the private, the religious and the cultural, and the local and the global. This volume provides a wide ranging and accessible, as well as ethnographically rich, perspective on what has become a truly global religious trend, one that is challenging conventional analytical categories within the social sciences.

This book informs students and seasoned scholars alike about the character of Pentecostalism and evangelicalism not only as they have spread across the globe, but also as they have become global movements. Adopting a broadly anthropological approach, the chapters synthesize the existing literature on Pentecostalism and evangelicalism even as they offer new analyses and critiques. They show how the study of Pentecostalism and evangelicalism provides a fresh way to approach classic anthropological themes; they contest the frequent characterization of these movements as conservative religious, social, and political forces; and they argue that Pentecostalism and evangelicalism are significant not least because they encourage us to reflect on the intersections of politics, materiality, morality and law. Ultimately, the volume leaves us with a clear sense of the cultural and social power, as well as the theoretical significance, of forms of Christianity that we can no longer afford to ignore.

Review Quotes

"[I]t does offer some fresh perspectives and analyses of charismatic Christianity around the world and helps establish the anthropology of Pentecostalism and evangelicalism as a valid and indeed crucial specialty for the modern world, while usefully challenging some tired assumptions about Protestantism, Christianity, or for that matter religion."-- "Anthropology Review Database"

"As I would expect from two such accomplished editors, this volume is an outstanding contribution. . . . The introduction alone is worth the price of the book."--Brian Howell, Wheaton College

"Makes a significant contribution to the literature on Pentecostalism, above all by gathering together the work of such high-quality researchers, and offering a context in which to think across their scholarship in one place."--John Burdick, Syracuse University

About the Author

Simon Coleman (Editor)
Simon Coleman is Chancellor Jackman Professor at the Department for the Study of Religion, University of Toronto, and author of Pilgrimage: Past and Present in the World Religions and The Globalisation of Charismatic Christianity.

Rosalind I. J. Hackett (Editor)
Rosalind I.J. Hackett is Professor and Head of Religious Studies, the University of Tennessee, where she is also adjunct Professor in Anthropology and Faculty Associate at the Howard H. Baker, Jr. Center for Public Policy. She has received fellowships from Harvard University, the Rockefeller Foundation and the Pew Foundation. She has published extensively on religion in Africa, notably in the areas of new religious movements, art, gender, media, and conflict.