FROM PERSONAL CONVERSIONS TO SOCIAL CHANGE

ROMA CHRISTIANS IN SOUTHEASTERN EUROPE

Resumo

ROMA GROUPS NUMBER AN ESTIMATED 10-12 MILLION IN EUROPE�€”EUROPE�€™S LARGEST MINORITY. ALTHOUGH THE ROMA ARE SPREAD OVER EVERY SECTOR OF SOCIETY AND OCCUPATION, THE MAJORITY FACE GREATER LEVELS OF POVERTY THAN THE MAJORITY POPULATION AS WELL AS SOCIAL MARGINALIZATION AND DISCRIMINATION.�  AT THE SAME TIME, CHRISTIANITY, LARGELY IN PENTECOSTAL AND EVANGELICAL FORMS, CONTINUES TO EXPAND IN ROMA COMMUNITIES THROUGHOUT EUROPE. THIS ARTICLE EXPLORES THE QUESTION: IS THE GROWTH OF PENTECOSTALISM AMONG THE ROMA SEQUESTERED IN THE PRIVATE DOMAINS OF HOME AND CHURCH, OR HAS THIS PHENOMENON IMPACTED THEIR COMMUNITIES AND THE WIDER SOCIETY? AFTER OFFERING HISTORICAL CONTEXT AND DISCUSSING INTERSECTING ISSUES AROUND BOTH THE ROMA IN EUROPE AND PENTECOSTALISM, THE ARTICLE EXPLORES THE QUESTION ACROSS SELECTED CONTEXTS AND CHRISTIAN INITIATIVES.