Pentecostal Glossolalia toward a Functional Interpretation

Abstract

Theories which explain glossolalia as indicative of psychological pathology, suggestibility, or hypnosis, or as a result of social disorganization and deprivation are reviewed and found inadequate to explain recent data on the Pentecostal movement. Concepts of glossolalia as learned behavior and as part of a process of personality reorganization are found more useful. Data are presented to support a functional interpretation of glossolalia as one component in the process of commitment to a movementwith important implications for both personal and social cshange.