PENTECOSTALISM

charismatic religious movement that gave rise to a number of Protestant churches in the United States in the 20th century and that is unique in its belief that all Christians should seek a postconversion religious experience called baptism with the Holy Spirit. Recalling the Holy Spirit's descent upon the first Christians in Jerusalem on the day of Pentecost, or Shabuoth (Acts of the Apostles 2-4), this experience appears to have been common in the Christian movement during its first generations. Baptism with the Holy Spirit is also believed to be accompanied by a sign, the gift of tongues. This "speaking in tongues" occurs as glossalalia (speech in an unknown language) or xenoglossy (speech in a language known to others but not the speaker). Speaking in tongues is considered one of the gifts of the Spirit described by St. Paul the Apostle (1 Corinthians 12), and Pentecostals believe that those baptized by the Holy Spirit may receive other supernatural gifts that purportedly existed in the early church: the ability to prophesy, to heal, or to interpret speaking in tongues. Faith healing is also part of the Pentecostal tradition, which reflects patterns of faith and practice characteristic of the Baptist and Methodist-Holiness churches-the Protestant denominations from which most of the first generation of Pentecostals came. Like them, Pentecostals emphasize conversion, moral rigour, and a literal interpretation of the Bible. However, Pentecostals never formed a single organization; instead individual congregations came together to found the various denominations that constitute the movement today. Additional reading The primary reference work on Pentecostalism is Stanley M. Burgess, Gary B. McGee, and Patrick H. Alexander, Dictionary of Pentecostal and Charismatic Movements (1988, reprinted with corrections 1993). Other important surveys include Walter J. Hollenweger, The Pentecostals (1972, reprinted 1988; originally published in German, 1969); and Karla O. Poewe (ed.), Charismatic Christianity as a Global Culture (1994). During the 1970s an effort to make sense of the very diverse Pentecostal movement resulted in a number of new histories, including Vinson Synan, The Holiness-Pentecostal Movement in the United States (1971, reissued 1987), and his more recent The Twentieth Century Pentecostal Explosion (1987). A major research sourcebook was compiled by Charles Edwin Jones, A Guide to the Study of the Pentecostal Movement, 2 vol. (1983). Fred J. Foster, Their Story: Twentieth Century Pentecostals, rev. ed. (1981, reprinted 1998), addresses the Apostolic Pentecostals.