Abstract

In just a century, the Pentecostal movement has become a numerical force in world Christianity and the largest movement in Protestantism. But there are many different movements recognised by scholars as ‘Pentecostalism’, and there is absolutely no uniformity among these movements. There is no single form of Pentecostalism, nor are there clear theological criteria by which it can be defined. Researchers wonder whether it is even possible to speak of global Pentecostalism as a single phenomenon. It is similarly impossible to define what Pentecostalism is without understanding how the movement originated. Until recently, the historiography of the movement has been based on North American history, but recent research has increased the complexity of defining Pentecostalism. This paper examines the following scholarly approaches to defining Pentecostalism: phenomenological, historical, sociological, theological, and global perspective approaches. These approaches do not exclude each other, but are interdependent and complementary. As a result, it is shown that through the ‘global perspective’ approach Pentecostalism can be defined as a global network movement. From the historical and theological approaches, it is revealed that Pentecostalism cannot be seen as a movement with a clear beginning in the USA or elsewhere, nor as a movement based on one particular theology. It is a movement in constant flux, whose followers' spirituality is expressed in a constant search for an “experience of the Spirit” and spiritual gifts. It is a movement that took several years and several different formative ideas and events to emerge, a movement that from its inception has had a global character. It is therefore best thought of as an early 20th century Protestant global networking movement with an emphasis on the ‘experience of the Spirit’ and the application of spiritual gifts.