Towards a Typification of Motivations in Pentecostal Ecstasy

Abstract

This article sketches out a typification of the motivations that lead Pentecostal Christians to seek experiences of religious ecstasy. To this end, it draws on the insights of interpretive sociology, particularly the construction of ideal types. To interpret the information, we draw on the categories set forward in Max Weber’s sociology of religion. The article proposes four pure types of motivation for ecstatic experience: ecstasy as a method of producing a miracle; ecstasy as a method of confirming the Pentecostal path of salvation; ecstasy as a method of sanctification directed towards the earthly realm; and ecstasy as a means of sanctification that allows escape from the earthly realm.