An extraordinary degree of exaltation: Durkheim, effervescence and pentecostalism's defeat of secularization

Jennings, M. (2013) An extraordinary degree of exaltation: Durkheim, effervescence and pentecostalism's defeat of secularization. In: TASA Conference 2013, 25 - 28 November 2013, Monash University, Melbourne.

Abstract

Pentecostalism has 'bucked the trend' predicted by Emile Durkheim and others that religion would disappear in the modern age. This paper outlines Durkheim's thought on the phenomenon that sparks religious life - effervescence - and prediction that future societies would make use of this to create instances of "secular sacralisation." Tracing the early development of Pentecostalism, I argue that in fact this religious movement has harnessed effervescence to grow explosively in the "secular" era. Pentecostalism has appropriated the role that Durkheim believed society itself would have to fill, reinforcing the link between effervescent experience and an existing religious tradition.

Item Type:	Conference Item
Murdoch Affiliation(s):	School of Arts
Conference Website:	http://www.tasa.org.au/tasa-conference/past-tasa-c...
URI:	http://researchrepository.murdoch.edu.au/id/eprint/24007

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