The expansion of Pentecostalism in Africa

Abstract

The article attempts to give a comprehensive description of the spatial dynamics of Pentecostalism in Africa based on extensive religious data that covers 1906-2015 period on country level. The uneven contribution of African countries to the growth of Pentecostals in the macroregion was estimated in accordance with the compound annual growth rate of this faith-group. This indicator was also used to quantify the impact of demographic, migration and most importantly conversion gain/loss on the change in the number of Pentecostals; the latest is represented in the form of maps. It is established that Pentecostalism has undergone a large-scale spatial expansion, ensured primarily through conversion, the scale of which was much higher than that of Christianity and Protestantism in general in almost all countries of Africa. The peak values of the indicators characterizing the spatial dynamics of Pentecostalism transformation occurred in the 1960-1980s (Charismatic Wave), especially during the era of decolonization in the 1960s. Since 1980s (Neo-Charismatic Wave), contrary to popular belief, the dynamics of the Pentecostalism slowed down. This fact can be interpreted as the first sign of the stabilization of the expansion of Pentecostalism, yet it is typical only for few countries in Africa. However, among them we can see Nigeria which has the largest Pentecostal population in Africa. The ongoing expansion of Pentecostalism may lead to further reconfiguration of its territorial structure, but we expect minor changes.