New religious movements among Roma Gypsies and Travellers: placing Romani Pentecostalism in historical and social context

With the possible exception of some Sufi associations of the Ottoman empire, GRT participation in the 5 major religious systems of Europé of the last 500 years has been marked by marginalisation, discrimination, subordination, and a perception by both Europeans and Muslims that they were insincere and unreliable adherents of organised religion. In fact, however, the range of religious adaptations of GRT individuals covers the same range as most other human communities. A historical overview will be given of the development of autonomous GRT religious associations within Pentecostalism since the 1950s, which has facilitated an explosion of religious practice, which in turn has changed attitudes within Protestantism and Catholicism