Spiritual exceptionalism? An ethnographic survey of transnational pentecostal communities in Boston’s inner core

Abstract

Though some headway has been made in research into the transnational nature of immigrant Pentecostal communities, most of this research has taken place within a European and African context. A synthesis of this research produces four ‘tensions’ that are typical in approaching these transnational communities: global versus local identities; reverse-mission rhetoric versus asylum reality; ascetic versus prosperity ethics; and integrative aims versus marginal locations. This ethnographic study of five immigrant Pentecostal communities in the inner core of Boston identifies that these four tensions are useful for understanding these communities in the context of the United States, albeit with some modification. Additionally, the article concludes by offering an additional tension that should be considered in the study of transnational Pentecostal communities.