Grassroots Pentecostalism in Brazil and the United States

This book offers an historical and comparative profile of classical pentecostal movements in Brazil and the United States in view of their migratory beginnings and transnational expansion. Pentecostalism’s inception in the early twentieth century, particularly in its global South permutations, was defined by its grassroots character. In contrast to the top-down, hierarchical structure typical of Western forms of Christianity, the emergence of Latin American Pentecostalism embodied stability from the bottom up—among the common people. While the rise to prominence of the Assemblies of God in Brazil, the Western hemisphere’s largest (non-Catholic) denomination, demanded structure akin to mainline contexts, classical pentecostals such as the Christian Congregation movement cling to their grassroots identity. Comparing the migratory and missional flow of movements with similar European and US roots, this book considers the prospects for classical Brazilian pentecostals with an eyeon the problems of church growth and polity, gender, politics, and ethnic identity.

“Palma’s meticulous and erudite—but highly readable—work is a first-rate study of three ‘first wave,’ or ‘classical,’ Pentecostal denominations in Brazil: The Assemblies of God, introduced to South America by Swedish missionaries, and the Italian Christian Congregation and Christian Assembly. In this rich foundational historical work, Palma explores how these three churches evolved from imported missions to dynamic ‘grassroots’ denominations that have helped transform Brazil into what is today one of the most actively Pentecostal nations in the world.” (Virginia Garrard, Professor of History, The University of Texas at Austin, USA)

“Paul Palma’s incisive comparative analysis and history of the Assemblies of God and Christian Congregation, two of the largest Pentecostal denominations in Brazil, illuminates the dynamics of the Pentecostal boom in the South American giant, which is home to the largest population of Protestant Charismatics on the planet. The sharp focus on the churches’ polities and holiness ethics reveals how the Christian Congregation preserved its grassroots identity and grew modestly while the Assemblies of God did not but experienced much greater growth. Grassroots Pentecostalism in Brazil and the United States belongs on the top shelf of all those interested in global Christianity and the proliferation of Pentecostalism in the Global South.” (R. Andrew Chesnut, Professor of Religious Studies, Virginia Commonwealth University, and author of Competitive Spirits: Latin America’s New Religious Economy)

“For those interested in Pentecostal history and theology, Paul Palma provides firsthand historical data pointing to the origins and further development of Pentecostal Christianity in the Global South. Having the records at hand helps not only to understand Brazilian Pentecostalism but Latin America as a whole. This volume shows the heart of Pentecostalism in its early accounts and further development. It helps readers understand the mission and mobility of a movement made to travel. I recommend this book to Pentecostal and Charismatic historians.” (Miguel Alvarez, President of Seminario Bíblico Pentecostal Centroamericano (SEBIPCA),Quetzaltenango, Guatemala)

“Brazil is today a country with one of the highest Pentecostal memberships in the world. Yet, its various forms of Pentecostalism remain unknown to much of the academic world in general and Pentecostals in particular. The work of Paul Palma, which contemplates the fruit of Luigi Francescon’s missionary work in Latin America and the United States, dedicating substantial research to the oldest branch of the movement in Brazil, that of the Christian Congregation, brilliantly fills this gap, helping to unravel the mysteries that made it the second-largest Brazilian Pentecostal denomination.”  (Paulo Ayres Mattos, Research Professor at the School of Theology Refidim, Joinville, Santa Catarina, Brazil)