Pentecostal Public Theology in the United Kingdom

Early Pentecostal public theology is usually implicit rather than explicit, expressed in action rather than public pronouncements. Early Pentecostals concentrated on mission and evangelism in view of what they believed to be the limited time available before the return of Christ. After Pentecostal denominations had been formed and consolidated, they began to express opinions on matters of national importance like the abdication of the king in 1936 or the opposing positions of military service and pacifism in the 1939–1945 war. In the post-war period Pentecostals perennially critiqued the theory of evolution but only in the 1960s did they begin to drop their isolationist tendencies and take part in campaigns to improve public morality in mainstream media and schools. The later priority given to environmentalism and social justice did not appear until after the twenty-first century had dawned. Instead, humanitarian activities like care for the elderly or children predominated. The black Pentecostal churches, however, took a more activist position and urged social justice policies in their own manifestos and aligned themselves with some aspects of progressive politics.