According to a new study, while most American evangelicals do not identify as Pentecostal or charismatic, about a quarter say they have spoken in tongues.
The study, titled “The Renewalists: Pentecostal and Charismatic Evangelicals,” was released last week by Infinity Concepts and Gray Matter Research. It includes responses from more than 1,000 American evangelicals.
According The Christian Post, 60% of respondents who say they spoke in tongues do not identify as Pentecostal or Charismatic. Additionally, 53% of self-identifying Pentecostals or Charismatics said they do not attend a clearly Pentecostal or Charismatic church.
In order to fully understand the study, Mark Dreistadt, Founder and President of Infinity Concepts, emphasized the importance of understanding the term “Renewalist Evangelical”.
“Three main ways to define Renewalists are traditionally people who consider themselves Pentecostal or Charismatic, attend a Pentecostal or Charismatic church, or speak in tongues,” Dreistadt said in a statement. “The challenge is that there is relatively little overlap between these three definitions.”
According to the study, more than 3 in 10 American Evangelical Protestants (36%) fit at least one definition of a revival, while only 6% fit all three definitions.
The study does not offer a formal denominational definition for revivals, but according to The Christian Postbaptism and the power of the Holy Spirit are the central principles of the group.
The study also found that 45% of American evangelicals have never personally experienced speaking in tongues despite attending a Pentecostal church.
The study also found that Renewalists have a higher level of spiritual engagement than other evangelical groups, including higher levels of Bible reading, small group participation and church attendance.
Additionally, he determined that Renewalists tend to be younger than those in other evangelical groups, are more ethnically diverse, more likely to raise children, and more likely to live in areas of the states. states that are less traditionally Christian.
According to the study, at least 13% of evangelicals attend a clearly Pentecostal or charismatic church or denomination, which includes Apostolics, Assemblies of God, Church of God in Christ, Foursquare Gospel and Vineyard, as well as people who describe their church as “Pentecostal, Charismatic, Word or Full Gospel.”
At the same time, the researchers recognized differences between each movement.
“A challenge in examining revival beliefs and practices is that there is no real standard for what these beliefs and practices are or should be,” the study said. “A person’s experience in a Foursquare church will likely be very different from their experience in a United Pentecostal church.”
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Milton Quintanilla is a freelance writer. He is also the co-hosts of the For Your Soul podcast, which seeks to equip the church with biblical truth and sound doctrine. Visit his blog Blessed Are The Forgiven.
