Pentecostal–Charismatic Movements Unit
The Pentecostal-Charismatic Movements Unit of the American Academy of Religion is open to all papers and panels, including book panels on significant books expanding our challenging our understanding of Pentecostalism. For the 2026 meeting in Denver, this unit is especially, though not exclusively, interested in papers and panels on (1) the future of Pentecostalisms and (2) the future of the study of Pentecostalisms.
- Pentecostalism has often been understood as the future of global Christianity; what might that future bring? Pentecostals have demonstrated an at times strained relationship to democratic norms whether that be the epistemic norms of democratic debate or the norms around the formation of democratic authority. The advent of easily accessible AI online has compounded an already troubling proclivity for conspiracy theories. As Pentecostals continue to challenge the form of the political communities in which they find themselves, what forms of authority, geopolitical arrangements, and possible democratic or non-democratic futures might the future of Pentecostalism bring? How should one expect to find Pentecostals resisting and/or maintaining authoritarian power? What do these potential relationships mean for the future of global Christianity?
- As Pentecostalism has grown in its varied forms, the study of those various Pentecostalisms has also grown and evolved over time. At times, studies of Pentecostalism have been hosted by specific disciplines and understood through the norms of those disciplines. For instance, historians, theologians, and anthropologists have each, but not without an awareness of one another, hosted conversations over the study of Pentecostalism. In what ways have existing methodological norms shaped the study of Pentecostalism? What can the diverse methods represented in the study of Pentecostalism learn from one another? What are the disciplinary and methodological questions that will or should animate the future study of Pentecostalism?
For panels, the unit requests diverse representation in presenters, research subjects, topics, and methodologies.
This unit provides a forum for scholarly consideration of global phenomena associated with Pentecostalism and Charismatic movements. This unit provides an arena for a wide array of scholars, disciplinary orientations, and methodological approaches bringing together those working constructively from within these traditions with scholars considering the phenomena from historical, sociological, ethnographic, theological, and other perspectives. The unit intentionally seeks to encourage a global and pluralist perspective.
| Chair | Dates | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Creighton Coleman | cdc9vu@virginia.edu | - | View |
| Erica Ramirez | erica.ramirez@gmail.com | - | View |