[Unedited] Anthea Butler with Krista Tippett

A look back at the closest thing the early 20th century may have had to Oprah Winfrey. The flamboyant Pentecostal preacher Aimee Semple McPherson was a multimedia sensation and a powerful female religious leader long before most of Christianity considered such a thing. The contradictions and passions of her life are a window into the world of global Pentecostalism that touches as many as half a billion lives today. Anthea Butler is Associate Professor of Religious Studies and Graduate Chair of Religion at the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia, PA. Krista Tippett spoke with her on June 22, 2007 from the studios of APM in St. Paul, Minnesota. Ms. Butler was in a recording studio at public radio station WKNO in Memphis, TN. This interview is included in our show “Reviving Sister Aimee.” See more at onbeing.org/program/reviving-sister-aimee/166