The Role of Knowledge in the Evolution of the Religious Phenomenon
The Role of Knowledge in the Evolution of the Religious Phenomenon

Author(s): Lucian Ionel Mercea
Subject(s): History
Published by: Scientia Moralitas Research Institute
Keywords: knowledge; neo–Protestant, Baptist; Adventists; Brethren; Pentecostals; orthodox
Summary/Abstract: In the development of the religious phenomenon, knowledge bears an essential role. The present study analyses the factors that have contributed to the emergence and the spreading of Neo–Protestant denominations (Baptist, Adventists,Brethren and Pentecostals) within the borders of Romania in the second half of the 19th and the beginning of the 20th century. Four different perspectives are presented: the orthodox, communist, neo–Protestant and sociological points of view. With this paper we will observe the way knowledge played an important role in the appearance and development of neo–Protestant confessionsin Romania. That mainstream churches in Romanian (Orthodox,Catholic), preoccupied more with the ritualistic aspects of their liturgical services, didn’t fulfill the needs of believers in search fora deeper spiritual experience. For this to occur, believers belonging to these ecclesiastical traditions have turned towards what has been labeled neo–Protestantism in Romania.

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