Theology and Religious Studies Research Seminars 2023-24

Department of Theology and Religious Studies Research Seminars 2023-24 

Toward a Holistic Pentecost: Pentecostalism, Embodiment and Social Justice

Dr Selina Stone, University of Durham

Pentecostalism is often celebrated as a holistic or embodied spirituality which overcomes the dualisms inherent to modernity, which juxtapose the body and the spiritual. However, historically and in the present, pentecostals struggle to address the problems of inequity and oppression which impact upon certain bodies in the church and the world. This paper explores this tension in classical Pentecostalism with a focus on race, gender and 'speaking on tongues' at the Azusa Street revival in 1906. In the full paper I conduct a case study of a contemporary ‘progressive’ Pentecostal church in the UK. I demonstrate that even in contexts which prioritise social engagement, the realities of class, race and gender oppressions can continue to go unnamed and unchallenged.

This talk will be held in person and online. Click here for teams link.