Soul by Soul

Dear Reader,

One of the most astonishing and underappreciated developments of the twentieth century was the growth of Pentecostal religion, from almost nothing to 300 million followers worldwide. Pentecostals rose rapidly in the United States, with large effects on our overall national politics and culture, but they have been even more successful in Latin America, especially Brazil, which has gone from being 95 per cent Catholic to less than 50 per cent, mainly because of conversions to Pentecostal Protestantism. As American missionaries have become less welcome around the world, Brazilians have taken their place among the leading proselytizers for the global expansion of Pentecostalism.

Adriana Carranca is a veteran Brazilian journalist who has closely followed the rise of Pentecostalism for years. She learned that the Pentecostal movement, never lacking in confidence, now regards the Middle East and South Asia as a target of opportunity, and hopes that it can eventually convert Muslims as successfully as it has converted Catholics in Brazil. In Soul by Soul she gives a sweeping overview of the global Pentecostal story, and then zooms in for an intimate look at the lives of two missionaries, a married couple named S.P. Luiz and Gis. She has spent a great deal of time with them, first in Afghanistan and then in other countries, and in so doing has been able to create a penetrating account of this grandly ambitious and usually inaccessible Evangelical project. It is too early to know if the project will succeed, but if it does, it could transform the Middle East and South Asia as completely as it has transformed the Western Hemisphere. Soul by Soul is an unforgettable close-up look at this grand gamble.

Best,

Nicholas Lemann
Director, Columbia Global Reports