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The Universal Church of the Reign of God (IURD), which has lately been increasing its membership from half a million to three and a half millions, and is said to own temples in no less than 50 countries, has been the centre of a lasting controversy in Brasil during the second semester of 1995. Repudiated by other Pentecostal and Evangelical denominations, this autonomous church born in Brasil in 1977, has been depicted as totally different from classical Pentecostalism of which the Assembly of God is a representative part. This text tries to go against what has falsely been put up as obvious facts carried by this controversy. On one hand, the distinction between "Neo-Pentecostalism" and "classical Pentecostalism" is in fact a polysemical distinction, and on the other hand it doesn't refer to radically different phenomena. As matter of fact, a general evolution is taking place on the whole of Brazilian Pentecostalism. Some churches or church sectors are a lot advanced in this evolution than others. Although the Universal Church uses a specific "narrative machine" which both brings about and explains its successful expansion, some of these "narrative machine" discursive mecanisms are spreading to other churches (including "classical Pentecostal" churches). This contagion is helped by a new public/private relation which reveals itself through the Pentecostal'sentering into politics, "assistancialist" programs as well as television and the cultural industry.

"The Politics of Pentecostalism in Africa" published on by Oxford University Press.

"Brill's Encyclopedia of Global Pentecostalism (BEGP) provides a comprehensive overview of worldwide Pentecostalism from a range of disciplinary perspectives. It offers analysis at the level of specific countries and regions, historical figures, movements and organizations, and particular topics and themes. The online version of the Encyclopedia is already available. See here . Pentecostal Studies draws upon areas of research such as anthropology, biblical studies, economics, gender studies, global studies, history, political science, sociology, theological studies, and other areas of related interest. The BEGP emphasizes this multi-disciplinary approach and includes scholarship from a range of disciplines, methods, and theoretical perspectives. Moreover, the BEGP is cross-cultural and transnational, including contributors from around the world to represent key insights on Pentecostalism from a range of countries and regions. Providing summaries of the key literature, the BEGP will be the standard reference for Pentecostal Studies. All articles are organized alphabetically with bibliographic information on scholarly work and directions for further reading. 62 important themes & topics in Pentecostalism Biographies of 129 historical figures Ca. 70 Pentecostal Movements & Organizations Development of Pentecostalism in 78 countries 5 Regional articles: Africa, Asia, Europe, Oceania, Latin-America"--

This study of the Growth of Pentecostalism in Brazil found that as the country grows more developed and richer, the spread of Pentecostalism quickens. Many scholars have found a correlation between poverty and Pentecostal growth. By contrast, Maureen Dean discovered that as absolute poverty in Brazil decreased, converts to Pentecostalism increased. She used both the GINI and SWID indices to measure inequality. She then looked at the case of the United States and found a similar trends. In the 1960s Brazil was a center for the growth of converts to the Theology of Liberation. There was a proliferation of Catholic Based Communities (CEBs) as Catholic Church leaders worked to organize peasants to solve their socioeconomic problems. But the CEBs have shrunk and the Pentecostal churches have grown. A parallel growth of income inequality has occurred during the same period.

Guatemala is the most Protestant country in Latin America, with a rising population of Pentecostals. Although evangelicals have had substantial social and political influence for decades—one of them was a military dictator at the height of the country's civil war in the early 1980s, and was later tried for genocide—many remain ambivalent about direct engagement with secular power. Instead, evangelical groups have been active in addressing gaps left by the state in a society struggling with violence, in areas such as education, social services, and security.

Este artículo investiga las relaciones históricas y contemporáneas entre el Pentecostalismo y la política en Chile. La primera parte del artículo provee un resumen histórico del crecimiento y consolidación de la religión Pentecostal en relación a diferentes ambientes políticos. En este artículo se esclarecen además las diferentes posturas Pentecostales hacia la esfera política. En particular hago hincapié, en cómo surge una cultura de desencanto político en el Chile post-dictatorial que crea un vacío simbólico, el cual trae como consecuencia el nacimiento de movimientos religiosos. En la segunda parte de este artículo se discute las posibles afinidades entre el Pentecostalismo, como una cultura religiosa, y los principios democráticos. El argumento es que a pesar de que el Pentecostalismo puede contener algunas cualidades democráticas, también existe una compatibilidad notable entre la visión teísta e individualista Pentecostal acerca de los cambios sociales, y un orden social neoliberal, en donde la indolencia política se expande y en donde predomina un sentido de progreso individual y no colectivo.English:This article explores historical and contemporary relationships between Pentecostalism and politics in Chile. The first part of the article provides an historical account of the growth and consolidation of Pentecostal religion within changing political environments and sheds light on Pentecostal stances to and involvements with the political sphere. In particular, it focuses on how a culture of political disenchantment has emerged in post-dictatorial neo-liberal Chile, creating a symbolic void that can be filled by religious movements. The second part of the article discusses possible affinities between Pentecostalism as a religious culture and democratic principles and values. It argues that although Pentecostalism may contain certain democratic qualities, there is also a striking compatibility between, on the one hand, Pentecostal theistic understandings of politics and social change, and, on the other, a neo-liberal social order, where political apathy is widespread and where a privatised rather than a communal and associative sense of progress predominates.

In Argentina, Pentecostalism had a breakthrough in the early 1980s, and today more than 10 per cent of the population are Pentecostals. The revival coincided with a socio-political transformation of Argentinean society. After half a century of dictatorships and Peronism, democracy was restored, and structural changes paved the way for a certain "autonomisation" of politics, law, economy, science and religion. The "new" form of society that developed resembles what in this study is called a Western model, which to a large degree is currently being diffused on a global scale. This work examines the new religious sphere and how Pentecostals relate to society at large, and the political and judicial sphere in particular. Social systems theory and an idea of communication as constitutive of social spheres, such as religious, political and judicial ones, form the theoretical foundation for the study. Methods that have been used are fieldwork, interviews and analyses of written material. It is concluded that evangelisation and transformation are of major concern to Pentecostals in contemporary Argentina and that this follows a global trend. Evangelisation has always been important to, even a hallmark of, Pentecostalism. What has become as important is the urge for transformation, of the individual, the family and society. This leads to increased socio-political engagement. However, Pentecostals do not have a "fixed" idea of how society should be organised, i.e., they do not yet have a full-fledged political theology, a public theology or what could be called a Pentecostal ideology. This is mainly because they experience a lack of "compatibility" between the Pentecostal and the political communication. Their approaches to socio-political concerns seem to be based on an understanding of certain "values" as the fundamental building block of society.