Tsys A.V. —
The Problem of Denominational Identity of Churches in Modern Protestantism
// Philosophy and Culture. – 2024. – ¹ 6.
– P. 74 - 92.
DOI: 10.7256/2454-0757.2024.6.70702
URL: https://en.e-notabene.ru/fkmag/article_70702.html
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Abstract: This article examines the history of denominationalism – the division of Protestantism into a multitude of independent religious associations, freely competing with each other. This approach to typologising religious associations, initially adopted for Protestant communities within the United States, has become a global phenomenon. Since the early 1980s, there has been a vigorous debate in the sociology of religion about the contemporary meaning of denominations. There is a growing number of independent churches that do not wish to be associated with any of the Protestant denominations; megachurches are leaving denominations or trying not to emphasise their affiliation with any particular denomination; some megachurches and church organisations are growing into a transdenominational evangelical movement with worldwide influence. The article is based on an analysis of the work of sociologists of religion on the issue of denominationalism in Protestant organizations, ranging from Richard Niebuhr to researchers drawing on contemporary statistical data. The existing congregations that emphasize their denominational identity, none of them exist in a denominational isolated cocoon any more – worship practices and music, missional objectives and educational resources can be adopted from other non-denominational churches and trans-denominational evangelical movements. The very concepts of megachurch, independent church, and evangelical movement can be viewed as separate denominations. Using these terms, members of a congregation identify themselves as holding certain beliefs and engaging in certain practices in common with others around the world. The trend toward the emergence of independent churches is part of the new course of Protestantism – post-denominational Protestantism.
Tsys A.V. —
Historiography of the Genesis of the Pentecostal Movement: Early and Recent Research Directions in English-language Literature
// Philosophy and Culture. – 2024. – ¹ 4.
– P. 86 - 95.
DOI: 10.7256/2454-0757.2024.4.69972
URL: https://en.e-notabene.ru/fkmag/article_69972.html
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Abstract: The purpose of this article is to identify early and recent Pentecostal studies in the West and to highlight the main difference between them. Today there are more than 250 million Pentecostals in the world, and together with the charismatic movement there are more than 500 million. Having begun to spread in the 20th century, the movement claims to be the fastest growing religious phenomenon in human history. In attempts to interpret the phenomenon of the movement's growth, there have been several gradually emerging approaches: explaining the origin of the movement as supernaturally "coming from heaven"; searching for the origins of Pentecostalism in other Christian movements; presenting the emergence of the movement as the result of social and psychological factors such as poverty, marginalization, and the desire to escape from modern society; and the multicultural approach. The paper analyzes the works of Western historians and theologians of Pentecostalism since the second half of the 20th century. The result shows a turning point between early and late studies, namely that late studies aim to revise the history and include participants in the movement around the world, not just in North America, explore the contribution to the development of the movement of local ministers who have long remained in the shadow of Western missionaries, emphasize the diversity of ideologies and social influences that have shaped the movement. It also highlights three major contemporary areas of research: historical, characterized by studies of Pentecostalism in Asia, Africa, and Latin America; theological, focusing on the development and shaping of theoretical theology as a result of the movement's institutionalization; and religious studies, practiced primarily from the perspective of the sociology of religion.