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Monday, October 09, 2006

 

Los Angeles Event Examines Pentecostals’ Role in U.S., Global South

Templeton-funded symposium kicks off at the University of Southern California as Foundation announces plans for $2 million initiative to study rapidly growing faith

**For Immediate Release, Friday, October 6, 2006**
Contact: Jenny Park (jpark@fenton.com), (415) 867-1166

LOS ANGELES — On the heels of the Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life’s release of a major poll on Pentecostals, the University of Southern California’s Center for Religion and Civic Culture kicked off “Spirit in the World,” an international symposium on Pentecostalism funded by The John Templeton Foundation. The symposium marks the first public presentation of the survey’s initial findings and brings together the most prominent international scholars who track the social, political and economic impact of Pentecostals around the world.

Recognizing the social, religious and political potential of Pentecostals and charismatic Christians — two large and fast-growing religious groups — the Templeton Foundation, which partly funded the Pew Forum survey, announced a $2 million research initiative to study these renewalist religions’ impact around the world.

"The John Templeton Foundation supports research on the often overlooked significance of factors such as love, prayer, spirit, and worship to change people and cultures,” said Kimon Sargeant, Vice President of Human Sciences at the Templeton Foundation. “Pentecostalism is a perfect case study of a movement of spirit, which is why the Foundation is pleased to support this research that tracks the impact Pentecostals are having across the globe."

The Templeton Foundation’s initiative reflects a growing interest among secular organizations and academic researchers to study Pentecostals and charismatics, which account for at least a quarter of the 2 billion Christians around the world.

“Despite the rapid growth of Pentecostals over the past few decades, relatively little is known about the religious, political and civic views of this faith,” said Donald E. Miller, who is presenting a session titled “Transforming the World: The New Face of Global Pentecostalism” at the USC symposium later today. Miller is the Director of USC’s School of Religion and Executive Director of the Center for Religion and Civic Culture. “By bringing together all the major scholars who have been tracking this movement, this symposium acts as a catalyst to start understanding Pentecostals’ role in the world,” he said.

A complete list of researchers, conference schedule and summaries of presentations are available online at http://www.usc.edu/schools/college/crcc/pentecostalism/.

About the John Templeton Foundation
Established in 1987 by renowned international money manager Sir John Templeton, the John Templeton Foundation's mission is to serve as a philanthropic catalyst for discovery in areas engaging the "really big questions" in science and philosophy. Ranging from questions about the laws of nature to the nature of creativity and freedom, the Foundation's philanthropic vision is derived from John Templeton's resolute commitment to rigorous scientific research and related cutting-edge scholarship. The Foundation's motto "how little we know, how eager to learn" exemplifies our support for open-minded inquiry and the hope for advancing human progress through breakthrough discoveries. www.templeton.org

About the Center for Religion and Civic Culture
The Center for Religion and Civic Culture is a research unit of the University of Southern California’s College of Letters, Arts & Sciences. The center investigates the civic role of religion and collaborates with scholars, funders, congregations, and faith-based organizations. CRCC is a catalyst for interdisciplinary research and innovative partnerships in the community and at USC. www.usc.edu/crcc

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About Religion Press Release Services
Religion Press Release Services distributes press releases, press advisories, photos and other stories on behalf of religious organizations, denominational offices, think tanks, watchdog groups, advocacy groups, coalitions, foundations, colleges, universities, seminaries, publishers and others. The organizations and/or individuals who submit materials for distribution by Religion Press Release Services are solely responsible for the facts in and accuracy of their materials. Religion Press Release Services will correct any errors brought to its attention.

Contact Us
To distribute press releases through Religion Press Release Services, contact Claudia Sans at csans@religionnews.com or 202-383-7870. For more information check out our PDF brochure.

Religion News Service, 1101 Connecticut Ave. NW, Washington, DC 20036 (202) 463-8777

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