African Pentecostalism: An Introduction

Christian Century, Oct 21, 2008 by Mark A. Noll

African Pentecostalism: An Introduction. By Ogbu Kalu. (Oxford University Press, 376 pp., $24.95 paperback.) Kalu's pathbreaking study challenges histories of Pentecostalism that bring Africa into the picture at a late stage. He painstakingly differentiates among a wide variety of Pentecostal and Pentecostal-like African movements while providing a great deal of wisdom about the social, economic and political contexts of these movements. The book strikes an especially nice balance between fine-grained local studies and the worldwide big picture.

Reviewed by Mark A. Noll, professor of history at the University of Notre Dame.