Untitled - Memorial University of Newfoundland

Iy, the early movement in Los Angeles, c hic ago, New York ,
Canada, Oslo and two German c i t i es was drawn from the l ess
prosperous a nd the least e du c ate d . fU Th e soc!(J; '}Jical str uc­
ture that e merges is a movement con f i ned l argely to i.owec
socioeconomic classes. s ecu s f u n c t ion 500 10109 10 a l11 to
overcome the feeling o f depri vati o n , sta t us c o ntra d ict i on ,
lonelines s , poverty , sicknes s , r ac i al d i scri minati on , s peech
and language dif f iculties a nd h a nd i c a p s of c haract e r. 63 T:-.e
movement' s belief-system, with a n emphasis on t he hereafter,
f unct i one d a s a dist racting mecha nism f r om present woe s .
Phenomena such a s speaking in tongue s established a n alternate
status system to the one e xisting in s ociety at l a r ge.64 The
de spised sought acceptanc e , whic h was ofte n j e opardized by a
marginal status in s oc i et y. By restoring the power of
expression to those without s ocia l identity, mar ginalized
groups were relieved o f their s ocioe conomic disadvantage. 65
27
Liston Pope probed t he church ' s r ol e in social a f fairs
and its frequent s ur r e nder t o econo mic leaders , thereby
providing the springboard for his understanding of the
emergence of ne wer sects, inclUding the Pentecostal movement.
A number of theories ha ve be en advanced : the mobility of a
family, ignorance and lack o f ed ucat ion , f ailu re o f the
traditional churches , economi cally we ak sectio ns of the
population, and psych olog ical categor ies . The l ast fa ctor is
most useful, Pope claimed. "Freneti c r e l igious services, II he
wrote, " r ep r e s e nt release f r om ps ycholog ical repression, • . .