Language in Resocialization

Abstract

One important aspect of every religious movement is its particular form of speech. In the case of the neo-Pentecostalist movement, glossolalia (tongues-speaking) has its uses in the defense of the doctrines of the movement, but its most important role is to validate the spiritual experience of the convert and to help him to “belong” to his new group. The appendix illustrates an imaginative but simple use of a questionnaire to elicit information in a potentially touchy area of investigation.