The expansion of the Universal Church of the Kingdom of God in the United States

Abstract

The Universal Church of the Kingdom of God is a Brazilian-based pentecostal denomination whose centralized institutional structure facilitates its global expansion. This aspect of the organization, in the context of religious transnationalism, means that the growth of the denomination beyond Brazil depends to a greater degree on the church as a transnational agent than on the forces of transnational migration. In the United States, the Universal Church stands out as a Brazilian church that has successfully translated its services, rituals and discourse for a varied hispanic population. Based on the analysis of census and spatially referenced data, this article discusses the Universal Church's strategy of church implantation in the US. The analysis indicates a strong tendency to locate churches in urban areas with large hispanic populations and in locations with high concentrations of hispanics. Mapping the expansion of the Universal Church, the article demonstrates a highly significant relation between church locations and the spatial distribution of hispanics. Keywords: Universal Church of Kingdom of God, religious transnationalism, spatially referenced data