From an Encounter with God to a Life with God: Typology of Conversion in Russian Pentecostal Churches

Abstract

This article suggests a typology of conversion to Pentecostalism in Russia, based on research among believers in the Russian Khanty-Mansi Autonomous District, Yugra, West Siberia. The typology of religious conversion is based on the analysis of the motives and causes that led the believers to God. The authors identify four types of conversion: socially induced, induced by a religious crisis, induced by a life crisis, and induced by an existential crisis. The socially induced conversion includes a family sub-type, while a rehabilitation sub-type is identified within the conversion induced by a life crisis. The results obtained demonstrate that the reasons for religious conversion in contemporary Russia are, to some extent, rooted in such social problems as addiction to drugs and alcohol, which people seek to abandon in a church. In addition, the authors give a brief overview of the history of the Pentecostal communities in the region under consideration and of their social and demographic characteristics.