Flickering flames: the early pentecostal movement in Denmark, 1907-1924

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Christensen, Nikolaj (2017). Flickering flames: the early pentecostal movement in Denmark, 1907-1924. University of Birmingham. Ph.D.

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Abstract

This study is the most extensive treatment of Danish Pentecostal history to date. It is also the first case study of early European Pentecostalism focused on describing the hindrances to Pentecostal growth in this part of the world and the ways the movement responded to these.

The otherwise successful Anglo-Norwegian preacher T.B. Barratt attempted but failed to make Copenhagen a hub of the fledgling Pentecostal movement from 1907, though the movement managed to penetrate a wide range of socio-economic strata there. The movement was hampered by a relative lack of existing minority denominations, along with rejection by Evangelical and Holiness leaders within the state church.

Many Danish Pentecostals themselves undermined the movement's survival, by resisting any departure from its original, ecumenical, spontaneous state. They often pursued interdenominational, itinerant strategies- or travelled abroad as missionaries - rather than forming Pentecostal congregations as in contexts where the movement was more successful. When the inevitable institutionalisation happened, it was accompanied by a few years of dynamic growth, but ended in a debilitating schism.

The difficulties imposed by the combination of aggressive secularisation and a monopolistic state church should not be underestimated. These may also help us understand contemporary religious minorities.

Type of Work:

Thesis (Doctorates > Ph.D.)

Award Type:

Doctorates > Ph.D.

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