Is American Christianity Turning Charismatic?
Two new surveys from The Barna Group indicate that things are changing dramatically in the religious landscape, indicating that the number of churches and adherents to Pentecostal perspectives and practices has grown significantly in the past two decades.
A decade ago, three out of ten adults — compared with 36 percent today (80 million adults) — claimed to be charismatic or Pentecostal Christians. (For the survey, this included people who said they were a charismatic or Pentecostal Christian, that they had been “filled with the Holy Spirit” and who said they believe that “the charismatic gifts, such as tongues and healing, are still valid and active today.”) Although just eight percent of the population is evangelical, half of evangelical adults (49%) fit the charismatic definition. A slight majority of all born-again Christians (51%) is charismatic. Nearly half of all adults who attend a Protestant church (46%) are charismatic.
The survey revealed that four out of every 10 non-denominational churches are charismatic, in addition to the most well-known charismatic denominations, which include the Assemblies of God, Foursquare and Churches of God in Christ. The profile of the typical charismatic congregation is nearly identical to that of evangelical, fundamentalist and mainline Protestant churches with four out of five (80%) having a full-time, paid pastor (average age:52-years-old) in charge of the ministry. Weekly attendance is equivalent to that of other Protestant bodies (82 adults at Pentecostal gatherings compared to 85 adults among all Protestant churches).
The Barna study found that several widespread assumptions about charismatic churches are inaccurate:
- Although many people believe that charismatic Christianity is almost exclusively a Protestant phenomenon, 36 percent of all U.S. Catholics are charismatic.
- Thought to belong to a strictly defined group of denominations, the growth of Pentecostalism has recently crossed denominational boundaries with seven percent of Southern Baptist churches and six percent of mainline churches being charismatic, according to their senior pastors.
- One widespread view is that charismatic Christianity is found mostly in small, relatively unsophisticated congregations. But, charismatic congregations are about the same size as non-charismatic Protestant churches and are more likely than other Protestant churches to use five of the seven technological applications evaluated, such as the use of large-screen projection systems, etc.
- Many female pastors were thought to be welcomed into the Pentecostal community, but nine percent of both charismatic and non-charismatic Protestant churches are currently led by a female senior pastor.
- It is assumed faith trends in America are dictated by white churches, which represent about 77 percent of the nation’s Protestant congregations. However, only 16 percent of the country’s white Protestant congregations are Pentecostal, compared to 65 percent of the Protestant churches dominated by African-Americans.
The compensation of each group’s senior pastors differs some with non-charismatic church pastors receiving an average total compensation package ($47,000) annually greater than charismatic pastors ($42,000).
With regard to education, a large majority of the senior pastors of non-charismatic churches (70%) have graduated from a seminary, while not quite half of the charismatic pastors (49%) have a seminary degree.
