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Growth and Decline of Evangelicals, Fundamentalists, Pentecostals, and Charismatics in Switzerland 1970–2013

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Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion

Published online on

Abstract

--- - |2 Abstract This article describes and explains patterns of growth and decline undergone by evangelical, fundamentalist, and Pentecostal/Charismatic (EFPC) denominations in Switzerland from 1970 to 2013. We combine data from different censuses, membership registers of denominations, and a National Congregation Study (NCS) to establish and explain patterns of growth and decline. Our main results are that (1) the overall EFPC milieu has grown since the 1970s; (2) the growth is predominantly caused by a rather strong increase in membership of Pentecostal/Charismatic denominations. In contrast, evangelical denominations are overall rather stable, while fundamentalists seem to be in decline; (3) EFPC growth is not related to deprivation orientation, strictness, or socialization efforts, but to recruitment focus and spontaneity of ritual. We discuss these findings in the light of different theories. - 'Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion, Volume 58, Issue 3, Page 604-625, September 2019. '