Religious Movements Shaping Society

Paddy Musana

• Publisher: Makerere University Press
• Year: 2026
• eBook ISBN:
  9789913603881
• Topic: Social Sciences
• Index: Social Sciences

We see, hear and live with them. They cannot define themselves definitively; neither can we. Their enthusiasm is magnetic, bordering on inconvenience. Their roots are not well known or documented, yet their fruit is evident in their presence and activities. They defy categorisation as sect, cult, and denomination. They detest being identified as 'religion' but manifest all its attributes. They have been known by names such as 'Mungu Mwema, 'Balokole', Pentecostals, Charismatics, Neo-Pentecostals, Born Again, Evangelical. Their meeting places may be a Fellowship, Church, Palace, Cathedral, Healing Centre, Celebration Centre, or a Community. While in the past it was majorly the middle aged and old with little or no education who dominated membership, now it is both the elite youth and professionals who lead the pack. While in the past they were other-worldly, today we cannot miss them in the political pursuits and economic engagements. They claim Divine Mandates to rule over the earth in all spheres of life. Since Pentecostals view historic religious institutions as hinderances to spiritual growth, will their movement itself, with the passing of time, become a monument? Can the Movement navigate the social, cutural, economic, political and technological influences without conformity? Will the different groups in the Movement ever unite? This book seeks to initiate a discussion on the teachings (doctrines) and practices of the Pentecostal Movement in Uganda. By documenting an overview of the Movement through Church History, it seeks to situate it in the Ugandan society.

Table of contents

• Front cover
• Title page
• Copyright
• Contents
• Preface
• 1 | Background to Pentecostalism in Uganda
• 2 | The Biblical Basis of the Origins of Pentecostalism
• 3 | The Worldwide Historical Origins of the Pentecostal Movement
• 4 | The Introduction of Pentecostalism in Uganda
• 5 | Pentecostalism in Institutional or Mainline Churches (Neo-Pentecostalism)
• 6 | Pentecostalism and Social Involvement
• 7 | Assessment of Pentecostalism
• References
• Index
• Back cover