WHO IS AFRAID OF THE HOLY GHOST? Pentecostalism and Globalization in African and Beyond

Pentecostal/charismatic movements represent one of the most popular, fastest growing religious movements within contemporary world Christianity. The nascence, expansion of the Pentecostal movement in twentieth and twenty-first century Africa and the African Diaspora leads to a recognition of Pentecostalism as an integral part of the globalization process but also as a product or consequence of it. The fluid, elastic nature of the phenomena, particularly its influence on mainline Christianity render a consideration of a distinctively Pentecostal identity more and more enigmatic. The rhetorical sub-title Who is Afraid of the Holy Ghost? best encapsulates the book s overriding themes and discourses. The why and how of Pentecostal expansion and relative success in Africa, the African Diaspora and globally will continue to pose critical issues relevant to historians of religion, social scientists, secular historians, theologians and policy makers in an era of increasing global insecurity an