A United Pentecostal Church International worldview

Abstract

This dissertation offers a description and analysis of the worldview of the United Pentecostal Church International (UPCI), a subset within the broader Pentecostal movement. Studies on Pentecostalism often speak of one larger Pentecostal movement and as such fail to make important distinctions within it. This work challenges that tendency by highlighting features of the UPCI’s view of life and way of life – its worldview. While a significant amount of research has been done on Pentecostalism itself, what has not been done is a description and analysis of a UPCI worldview. Employing an interdisciplinary worldview framework developed by John Valk, the study explores five core dimensions: personal/group identity, cultural dimensions, responses to ultimate/existential questions, ontological and epistemological beliefs, and universal/particular values. Drawing primarily on the Pentecostal Herald (1945–2017) as a source of institutional voice and self-representation, the research reveals multiple factors influencing a UPCI worldview and how UPCI members internalize and live that worldview. This study contributes to the growing body of scholarship on Oneness Pentecostalism by examining the UPCI not only as a theological tradition but as a sociocultural community with a distinctive worldview. The dissertation concludes that a UPCI worldview is shaped by a complex interplay of historical, theological, philosophical, social, and cultural forces.