In this episode of On Being (formerly Speaking of Faith), Krista Tippett looks at the Pentecostalism movement, which began at the Azusa Street Revival in Los Angeles in April of 1906. The program goes to the 100-year anniversary of the revival in 2006 to talk to Pentecostalists and get a flavor for this diverse and charismatic movement. Tippett talks throughout the program to Pentecostalist minister and historian Cecil M. Robeck, who wrote the book The Azusa Street Mission and Revival: The Birth of the Global Pentecostal Movement.
Pentecostalism is often identified with speaking in tongues and other spiritual gifts, and Robeck addresses those gifts. With over 700 denominations and over 250 million Pentecostals worldwide, the movement keeps on growing. Robeck also addresses how the Charismatic movement has spread into other Protestant and Catholic churches. While the original movement was egalitarian, allowing all races to worship together and letting women in the pulpit, today in the United States, it often gets associated with Christian conservatives and fundamentalism. Robeck tries in this episode to sort out some of these differences.