Parham, McPherson and Branham

The strange relationship of Pentecostalism with the Ku Klux Klan

Abstract

This article aims to analyze the strange and complex relationship between white Pentecostal leaders and the Ku Klux Klan in the United States of America from the 1920s onwards. To illustrate, we will start with the trajectory and relationship with the Ku Klux Klan of Charles Fox Parham, considered by many as the father of Pentecostalism; Aimee Semple McPherson, considered the mother of the Foursquare Gospel Church and the Angelus Temple; and William Marrion Branham, considered “The Prophet” and father of the Branham Tabernacle. We seek to identify why these leaders approached the group of white supremacists, beyond the obvious issue of racism. The desires these characters had in relation to the American nation, such as the fear that it was becoming corrupted by modernism and surrendering to communism, will be addressed. This type of research contributes to a broader analysis of white Pentecostalism in the United States of America and how it differed from those led by William Seymour and his Azusa Street Mission.