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The Jesus People Movement: A Generational Interpretation
Author(s) -
Balswick Jack
Publication year - 1974
Publication title -
journal of social issues
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.618
H-Index - 122
eISSN - 1540-4560
pISSN - 0022-4537
DOI - 10.1111/j.1540-4560.1974.tb00726.x
Subject(s) - counterculture , christianity , sociology , interpretation (philosophy) , mysticism , religious studies , context (archaeology) , lesbian , aesthetics , gender studies , social psychology , psychology , philosophy , theology , history , law , political science , linguistics , archaeology
The Jesus People, as members of a distinctive age stratum, exhibit many attributes common to the counterculture: subjectivism, informality, spontaneity, new forms and media of communication. As members of a distinctive religious orientation, they exhibit attributes common to fundamentalist and Pentacostal Christianity: the inerrancy of scripture, emphasis on the Holy Spirit, and a commitment to “one way” to God. This phenomenological study of the Jesus People suggests that the movement can best be seen as the result of a youthful cohort's “fresh contact” (using Mannheim's concept) with the fundamentalist tradition in Christianity, set within the context of structural conditions in American society in the 1960s and in organized American religion, plus the distinctive life style and orientations of the broader youth counterculture movement. It is suggested that this unique generational movement represents a potential for change in American religious institutions.