Thesis Statement

The Impact of Holiness Preaching as Taught by John Wesley and the Outpouring of the Holy Ghost on Racism by Reve' M. Pete.

Racism is a program or practice that discriminates or segregates on the basis of race. Such a program or practice is based on the beliefs that 1) one race is superior to another 2) a particular race has the right to dominate other races. It includes “a political or social system that is founded upon race”. In the history of the United States of America, evidences of racism included the institution of slavery and racial segregation within Christian churches.

Holiness preaching as taught by John Wesley impacted racism in the United States by producing the abolition of slavery movement as a by-product. The outpouring of the Holy Ghost at Azusa Street Mission in Los Angeles, California impacted racism by temporarily “washing away the color line in the blood”. It also fostered interracial worship and fellowship that is a legacy in modern Wesleyan-Pentecostal ministries.

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