[Music] How did a branch of Christianity started by the son of freed slaves in 1906 Los

Angeles go on to become the fastest-growing religion on Earth just over one century later? There are around 650 million

Pentecostals in the world today, by some estimates. Today, Pentecostals are converting around 35,000 people each day.

Pentecostalism is a branch of Evangelical Christianity. It's a kind of 'Born Again,' plus: a new convert will

accept Jesus as their lord and savior, but then, as a Pentecostal, they'll also be baptized again in the Holy Spirit,

which means being filled with the nine gifts of the Holy Spirit promised in the Bible; things like miracles, prophecy,

divination, and what Pentecostals are probably best known for, which is the gift of speaking in tongues. Go ahead, let

that Holy Ghost language come up out of you. Go ahead. Pentecostalism's key point of

difference is its strong focus on the Holy Spirit, on its believers' direct experience of and personal interaction

with the presence of God and all of the miracles that come with it: success in matters of mind, body, spirit, and wallet.

There are around 650 million Pentecostals in the world today; that's around 25 to

30% of Christians. Although the rapid growth and popularity of the movement means that other Christian denominations are copying Pentecostal practices, so we

can certainly argue that its influence is much wider. To put this rapid shift in context: in 1980, only about 6% of global

Christians were Pentecostal. By some estimates, today Pentecostals are converting around 35,000 people each day.

To put that into context: the capacity of Madison Square Garden in New York is 20,000; the capacity of Lords in London

is 31,000 by 2050. Around 1 in 10, or 1 billion people around the world, are

projected to be Pentecostal. Let's look at some of the reasons for the movement's popularity. I

believe that there are three key factors driving people to convert to Pentecostalism: health, wealth,

and authenticity. Let's start with health. Health is often seen through the prism of faith healing; spiritual sickness manifested

through physical means. Because Pentecostals, they're not only providing healthcare by miracle, but they're really

helping out people in terms of basic necessities for life, like childcare and perhaps a basic medical clinic where you

can get a wound tended to or someone can see to your cough. Wealth is another really important driver of

Pentecostalism, largely through the Prosperity Gospel, where it's argued by believers that if you sow some seeds

of wealth, in the form, usually, of donations to your church or your pastor, you can then reap a harvest through your

belief and your good spiritual practice. For understandable reasons, the Prosperity Gospel doesn't have a great name among a

lot of non-believers, but there's also a wealth aspect that has gone under the radar with Pentecostalism. There is a wealth of

evidence that shows people who go to Pentecostal churches tend to get their lives together. Often this is because

Pentecostalism is driving people to give up addictions to things like alcohol, drugs, and gambling, but it also

emphasizes concentration on work and family life, and through church networks it offers support and accountability. It's important to remember that in many

parts of the world, churches are the only game in town for these sorts of services, particularly for welfare and support.

Believers then go on to see the world in a clear demarcation of life before and after being born again; in turn, that

leads them to give powerful testimony, but also to try and recruit others. Finally, there's authenticity because Pentecostalism has

no Pope or Archbishop of Canterbury; there is no overarching authority. Crucially, this removes a lot of the

barriers to entry for pastors who might not have the money or the social status to pursue religious education in Brazil.

One of the largest, if not the largest, Pentecostal nation on Earth, Pentecostals

have been sweeping up Catholics in large part because Pentecostalism looks and feels like the local

culture. This is particularly true in the favelas and in impoverished towns on the outskirts of the Amazon. Traditionally, Catholic priests in

Brazil are white and educated in Spain or Portugal, whereas a preacher in the favela looks and sounds like the people

around him. So that probably means that they're mixed race; they speak in the vernacular of the street;

they open up church from 5:00 a.m. to midnight because they understand that working people just can't go to church

at normal times. They are also very much in the role of a mentor; they're very good at helping people to follow their dreams, to

encourage them to open a small business—a fruit vending stand, for example—and then they'll encourage everyone in their

church to give them patronage. So then that person will see an uplifting in their personal circumstances, as does everyone around

them, within and without the church, and that becomes a pretty powerful thing. Pentecostalism feels very dynamic and

entrepreneurial; it's a faith for the 21st century, whereas Catholicism or other forms of denominations feel quite

stayed and bureaucratic Pentecostalism is also much more accommodating of local spiritual

beliefs and customs in some places in the world, particularly southern Africa and parts of Central America. Pentecostalism is almost syncretic with

local indigenous beliefs and customs, and it allows believers a very modern emphasis on their individual connection with

God. An old-school Evangelical preacher might say that they speak to God; a Pentecostal preacher will say that God

speaks through them. So where is Pentecostalism flourishing? Pentecostalism began as a

multiculturally American phenomenon. From its first days, it saw people of different races sitting side by side,

which is very unusual at the time, and it also allowed for female preachers. Early Pentecostals were also very keen on

spreading their word to far-flung places around the world, and that's why we saw it spread so quickly to all sorts of

different places. Though Pentecostalism is growing in the West today, although most other religions are in decline, it's growing

much more quickly in the developing world. The largest populations of Pentecostals are in Nigeria, Brazil,

Ethiopia. It's growing very fast across sub-Saharan Africa—places like South Africa, Kenya, Zimbabwe—also in Latin

America: Chile, Guatemala. And then we're also seeing it in Asia; it's really big in Korea, but also places like India and

Indonesia. We will see megachurches of hundreds of thousands of people sprouting up. I've also reported that

it's the faith of migrant workers in the Gulf; a lot of very downtrodden and

disenfranchised people are turning to Pentecostal networks, often underground, for spiritual nourishment as well as

Community Support countries such as Brazil, Nigeria, and Korea have really pioneered reverse evangelism; their preachers are coming back to countries

like the United Kingdom and the United States, and they're saying, 'Hey, you brought us the word, and now your

cultures are abandoning it. Look at what's happening to you since your countries are falling apart, and your

societies are falling apart.' So what do Pentecostals really believe? At the heart of modern Pentecostalism is

what's called a 'kingdom now' theology, where believers have to start doing everything they can in order to create a

world that Christ can come back and rule over, instead of focusing on interpretations of the Book of

Revelation as to what will happen, and in what order, and how those events will come to pass. Pentecostals are

increasingly concerned with the here and now. In that, there are two key doctrines that are really moving

Pentecostal believers and also moving them into the political sphere. These are the seven mountains mandate and

spiritual warfare. The seven mountains mandate is the idea that right-thinking Christians are there to take over the

seven mountains, or seven spheres of influence in culture and society. Those mountains are education, religion, family, business, government, arts, and

entertainment and media. In other words, it's repackaged Christian dominionism for the 21st

century, and it's been particularly powerful in fortifying the radical right of United States politics. Spiritual

warfare is more popular, both in the West and the developing world. It's the idea that demons and evil spirits are present

and intervening in our daily lives. Proponents argue that territorial spirits are filled with demons who occupy places and institutions.

strategically think abortion clinics, the LGBT community, or the Democratic Party. These malevolent forces don't

simply advocate for things that believers oppose; they are evil personified and need to be cleansed. So then, what does this all mean?

How is Pentecostalism taking over the world? Pentecostalism is transformative and empowering in a lot of people's

lives, particularly some of the world's most disadvantaged, marginalized people. Equally, it's become a potent political

weapon that can be wielded against other marginalized groups outside the tent. Many Pentecostals feel besieged by a

secular, liberal culture around them. They're particularly concerned about issues like gay marriage and gender expression, but in a more material sense,

they're also quite keen on dismantling things like state welfare and state institutions and using churches for

social services and charity. In other words, Pentecostalism looks a lot like populism for religion, and it's no

coincidence that it's found many friends in anti-elite, right-wing political movements around the world, such as

Donald Trump in the United States, Jair Bolsonaro in Brazil, Abiy Ahmed in Ethiopia, and Javier Milei in

Argentina. This new way of doing faith has transformed the idea of being born again—away from being complete and

liberated within yourself—to a powerful figurehead, a UFC Jesus, if you will, conquering all that comes before him.

The power, and equally the danger, of Pentecostalism lies in the fact that it's not simply for saving souls; it's

about wholly transforming societies. If you'd like to learn more about how Pentecostalism is changing the

world, you should check out ______'s book, *Beyond Belief*. The link is in the video description.

Why 1 Billion People Could Be Pentecostal by 2050 | Elle Hardy

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