Pentecostalism and Politics

KPBS | By KPBS Public Broadcasting

Published September 18, 2008 at 10:33 AM PDT

This story was published more than 15 years ago.

Although most of the media speak about vice-presidential candidate Sarah Palin as an evangelical, she actually belongs to a Pentecostal church. What is the difference? What do Pentecostals believe,

Tom Fudge : The ability of Sarah Palin to seize an enduring spotlight in this year's race for president has placed new interest in the political power of fundamentalist Christians. Palin is called an Evangelical Christian by some. In fact, for many years she was the a member of a Pentecostal Church in Alaska. In her case, it was an Assembly of God church.

Pentecostals fall into a general catagory of fundamentalist Christians: people who take the gospel literally and who tend to be politically conservative on a handful of hot-button issues. But there are some meaningful differences between Pentecostals and other Evangelicals.

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Guests

Edward Blum , professor of history at San Diego State University.
Matthew Avery Sutton , professor of history at Washington State University, and author of "Aimee Semple McPherson and the Resurrection of Christian America."