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Religion

Pentecostalism in the Black Community

What has been the impact of Pentecostalism on the black community?

Pentecostalism burst on the American scene in 1906 and has become a major religious force within the black community. The Church of God in Christ, a Pentecostal denomination, has become the second largest black denomination in the United States. Meanwhile, the charismatic, or Neo-Pentecostal, movement has revitalized many congregations within mainline black denominations. The Black Nationalism of Bishop Henry McNeal Turner helped achieve its full potential in the work of such men as Marcus Garvey (and his chaplain general, George A. McGuire), Elijah Muhammad, and Malcolm X. There has been a spectacular rise in storefront churches, some of which were led by flamboyant showmen such as Father Divine and “Sweet Daddy” Grace. Each of these trends has been significantly aided by the black migrations from the South to the North, which greatly strengthened Northern black communities.



Black nationalists like Malcolm X (shown here) were key in growing the movement begun by Bishop Henry McNeal Turner.

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