Pentecostalism is a movement within Protestant Christianity, generally associated with Evangelical Christianity, that places particular emphasis on the activity of the Holy Spirit in the lives of believers. Emerging in its modern form in the early twentieth century, it is especially distinguished by its understanding of personal religious experience and the importance it attaches to prayer, healing, and spiritual gifts. Today, it constitutes one of the major movements within global Christianity.
The name “Pentecostalism” comes from Pentecost, the Christian festival commemorating the descent of the Holy Spirit upon the disciples of Jesus, fifty days after Easter. According to the Acts of the Apostles in the New Testament, the disciples gathered in Jerusalem received the ability to speak in different languages. Pentecostal Christians believe that this experience was not limited to the beginnings of Christianity and that the Holy Spirit can continue to manifest itself in the lives of believers today.
Modern Pentecostalism originated in Protestant revival movements in the United States, particularly those associated with Methodism and the nineteenth-century Holiness Movement. In 1901, in Topeka, Kansas, the preacher Charles Fox Parham and students at his Bible school placed particular emphasis on “speaking in tongues,” which they regarded as evidence of baptism in the Holy Spirit.
A decisive event took place in Los Angeles in 1906, with the Azusa Street Revival, led by the African American pastor William Joseph Seymour. The religious meetings brought together believers from different backgrounds in a society still deeply marked by racial segregation. The movement attracted visitors and preachers who subsequently helped spread its teachings internationally. The Azusa Street Revival is generally regarded as one of the principal founding events of contemporary Pentecostalism.
A central Pentecostal belief is that the Holy Spirit can bestow spiritual gifts, known as charisms, upon believers. These include prophecy, healing through prayer, spiritual discernment, and speaking in tongues, also known as glossolalia. This last practice involves uttering words or sounds that believers consider inspired by the Holy Spirit, without necessarily understanding their meaning themselves.
Pentecostals also attach great importance to “baptism in the Holy Spirit,” a spiritual experience they generally distinguish from baptism with water. In many classical Pentecostal churches, speaking in tongues is regarded as the initial evidence of this experience. Other communities adopt a more flexible interpretation and recognize different manifestations of the Holy Spirit’s activity.
Pentecostal worship services are often characterized by active participation from the congregation. Singing, sometimes accompanied by musical instruments, spontaneous prayers, personal testimonies, and preaching occupy an important place. Some services include collective prayers for the sick, accompanied by the laying on of hands. Believers may express their faith through gestures, spoken words, or emotional expressions, although practices vary considerably between communities.
Like other movements within Evangelical Christianity, Pentecostalism emphasizes the authority of the Bible, faith in Jesus Christ, personal conversion, and the proclamation of the Gospel. Most Pentecostal churches practice baptism by immersion for individuals who have personally professed their Christian faith. They also celebrate the Lord’s Supper, or Holy Communion, in remembrance of Jesus’ final meal with his disciples.
Pentecostalism is not a single church but a diverse collection of communities and religious organizations. Major denominations include the Assemblies of God, the Church of God in Christ, and the International Church of the Foursquare Gospel. Most Pentecostal churches affirm the traditional Christian doctrine of the Trinity, understanding God as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. However, some communities, known as Oneness Pentecostals, reject this traditional Trinitarian understanding. This diversity is described in detail by the World Council of Churches.
In France, Pentecostalism became established mainly from the 1930s, notably through the work of the British preacher Douglas Scott. The Assemblies of God in France held their first convention in Le Havre in 1932. The movement subsequently expanded into different regions of the country. Another important expression of French Pentecostalism is the Evangelical Gypsy Mission Vie et Lumière (Life and Light), founded in the 1950s under the leadership of Pastor Clément Le Cossec.
Worldwide, Pentecostalism has experienced particularly significant expansion in sub-Saharan Africa, Latin America, and several regions of Asia. It has also influenced the development of charismatic movements, which place considerable emphasis on the activity of the Holy Spirit while sometimes remaining within other Christian traditions, notably Catholicism.
It is therefore important to distinguish between Pentecostal churches as such and charismatic movements that share some of their beliefs and practices. The latter may operate within established Protestant or Catholic churches without forming separate Pentecostal denominations.
Finally, some Neo-Pentecostal churches promote what is known as “prosperity theology” or the “prosperity gospel,” according to which religious faith can lead to material success and good health. This teaching is not universally accepted and has attracted criticism, including from within Pentecostal Christianity itself.
Pentecostalism thus represents a form of Christianity centered on the personal experience of faith and the conviction that the spiritual manifestations described in the New Testament can continue to occur in the present day.