Pentecostalism and other similar charismatic movements are among the fastest-growing sectors of global Christianity. So says a 10-nation study published by the Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life. The Washington, D.C.-based research group released the study Oct. 5.
According to the study, around a quarter of the world's estimated 2 billion Christians are thought to be members of Pentecostal and charismatic groups, which emphasize the active role of the Holy Spirit in their daily lives.
The study was based on random surveys carried out in the United States; Brazil, Chile and Guatemala in Latin America; Kenya, Nigeria and South Africa in Africa; and India, the Philippines and South Korea in Asia.
Pentecostalism was born just a century ago and now ranks second only to Catholicism in the number of followers. Pentecostals now account for about three in every four Protestants, according to the World Christian Database. The term "Pentecostal" is used to describe members of a range of different groups: from the Assemblies of God (or Church of God in Christ) which were founded almost a century ago, to more recent ones, such as the Brazil-based Universal Church of the Kingdom of God.
In seven of the 10 countries surveyed at least half of Pentecostals say that the church services they attend frequently include people practicing the "gifts" of the Holy Spirit, such as speaking in tongues, prophesying or praying for miraculous healing.
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