Many studies of the Pentecostal movement in Africa have identified a modernist liberal tendency as its major characteristic. Its spread is associated with positive social, economic, and political impact in the affected countries. A Pentecostal revolution has been identified in Nigeria as well, with recent literature claiming that it has significant political import that packs modernizing and liberalizing tendencies. This interpretive analysis draws on less-mainstream research to contribute to questioning the political aspect of such conclusions for Nigeria. It argues that the capacity of the country’s Pentecostal movement to effect positive democratizing political change is not clear cut and straightforward, but rather bears major contradictions and paradoxes. Pentecostalism in Nigeria does not achieve a clean break from the traditional past, and some of its modernizing claims are more partial and contradictory than has been recognized. The political impact it has does not translate effectively to tangible significant political power that is able to facilitate the democratic process.

中文翻译：

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评估尼日利亚五旬节派政治权力的局限性

许多对非洲五旬节运动的研究都将现代主义自由主义倾向确定为其主要特征。它的传播与受影响国家的积极社会、经济和政治影响有关。尼日利亚也发现了五旬节革命，最近的文献声称它具有重要的政治意义，包含现代化和自由化的趋势。这种解释性分析借鉴了不太主流的研究，有助于质疑尼日利亚此类结论的政治方面。它认为，该国五旬节运动实现积极民主化政治变革的能力并不明确和直截了当，而是带有重大矛盾和悖论。尼日利亚的五旬节派并没有与传统的过去彻底决裂，它的一些现代化主张比公认的更加片面和矛盾。它的政治影响并没有有效地转化为能够促进民主进程的有形的重要政治权力。