The Maintenance of Enthusiasm: Involvement in a New Religious Movement
Religious revivals and renewal movements develop routinized forms of involvement and workable social structures if they are to sustain their participants' intense experiences of conversion and inspiration. From observational and questionnaire data on Catholic Pentecostalism, a highly successful...
Main Author: | |
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Format: | Electronic Article |
Language: | English |
Check availability: | HBZ Gateway |
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Fernleihe: | Fernleihe für die Fachinformationsdienste |
Published: |
[publisher not identified]
1975
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In: |
Sociological analysis
Year: 1975, Volume: 36, Issue: 2, Pages: 150-160 |
Online Access: |
Volltext (JSTOR) Volltext (lizenzpflichtig) Volltext (lizenzpflichtig) |
Summary: | Religious revivals and renewal movements develop routinized forms of involvement and workable social structures if they are to sustain their participants' intense experiences of conversion and inspiration. From observational and questionnaire data on Catholic Pentecostalism, a highly successful renewal movement, this paper analyzes how such movements focus and sustain the participants' experiences of inspiration. Most participants in the Catholic Pentecostal Movement attend weekly Pentecostal prayer meetings, which are distinguished by their spontaneity, occurrences of speaking in tongues and prophecy, and a sense of direction by the Holy Spirit. Participants also attend other Pentecostal activities, become immersed in Pentecostal friendship networks and lead intense devotional lives. Tolerance within the movement of diverse styles and varying degrees of involvement has facilitated broad recruitment. At the same time a sectarian core has emerged which embodies the movement's ideals, provides leadership and insures effective organization. These patterns of involvement appear to promote commitment to the movement in diverse, complementary ways. These various sources of commitment appear to be present in most successful social movements. |
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ISSN: | 2325-7873 |
Contains: | Enthalten in: Sociological analysis
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Persistent identifiers: | DOI: 10.2307/3710477 |