AS CITIZENS OF HEAVEN: PEACE, WAR, AND PATRIOTISM AMONG PENTECOSTALS IN THE UNITED STATES DURING WORLD WAR I

Abstract

Within a decade of the 1906 Los Angeles Azusa Street revival, Pentecostals in the United States voiced contrasting perspectives on pacifism and patriotism. The war in Europe during the early twentieth century challenged Pentecostal perspectives on peace, patriotism, and war. As Americans took up arms, most leaders within emerging Pentecostalism called upon the government to recognize the Pentecostal commitment to peace and to validate their constituents’ right to claim conscientious objector status. American Pentecostals were not consistent, however, in their objections. Many advocated pacifism; some did not.