THE TRANSFORMATION OF FEMALE AUTHORITY INPENTECOSTALISM:FROM AZUSA TO THE ASSEMBLIES OF GOD

Abstract

This  study  examines  women’s  participation  in  the  transnational  formation  of  Pentecostalism, challenging narratives that prioritize male trajectories and institutional origins in the development of Brazilian Pentecostalism. Using a historical and documentary approach, it analyzes the role of women in  the  Azusa  Street  Revival  and  in  the  North  American  Pentecostal  networks  that  preceded  and accompanied the movement’s arrival in Brazil, with a focus on the Assemblies of God. The study interweaves gender, race, and corporeality to examine how women’s practices of preaching, prayer, testimony,  music,  and  leadership  constituted  forms  of  religious  authority  and  were  subsequently regulated or marginalized in the process of institutionalization. Drawing on the work of Anthea Butler, Angela  Davis,  and  Lelia  Gonzalez,  the  study  argues  that  institutionalization  not  only  reorganized religious hierarchies but also gave rise to disputes over which bodies and forms of authority. could be recognized  as  legitimate.  Thus,  this  study  aims  to  understand  the  development  of  Brazilian Pentecostalism through the lens of women’s networks, which its institutional memory often obscures.