- Pentecostalism and its enduring durability, adaptability and dynamic interaction with other powerful forces in the globalising world has attracted an interest amongst researchers to understand its political, social and economic factors in emerging societies.
- Between the 1996 and 2001 census, churches classified as Pentecostal or charismatic have been the fastest growing group of all non-mainstream churches.
- The current dramatic growth of independent Pentecostal churches can be broadly understood as a third wave of Protestantism which has been argued as a major drive force behind the development of capitalism due to its assertion of an inheritance of progress and prosperity after Baptism.
- The concern that Pentecostal churches in South Africa are being run like commercial vehicles that replace the spiritual well-being of society is paralleled by the advantage that it instils a sense of purpose and confidence in worldly engagements amongst the congregants.
Press release: Untapped social capital burgeoning ‘under the radar’
