Is Latin America Turning Protestant?

Stoll, David

doi:10.1525/9780520911956

Cited by 396 publications

(34 citation statements)

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“…While the decline of religion in Europe led some to begin speaking of a 'Postchristian' world, Latin America -the home to 42% of all Catholics worldwide -had become the bulwark of Catholicism at the end of the twentieth century (Stefanini, 1993). Yet, this region is also experiencing a gradual shift from Catholicism to religious diversity (Berryman, 1995), specifically toward Protestantism (Stoll, 1990) and its third wave, Pentecostalism (Martin, 1990).…”

Section: From Secularization To Reconfiguration: Previous Studies In mentioning

confidence: 99%

Religious reconfiguration in Mexico: Beliefs and Practices National Survey, 2016

2020

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Although Mexico is one of the countries with the most number of Catholics, it is experiencing a rapid and intense religious diversification. The religious field in Mexico now comprises a myriad of denominations that are transforming the supposed socioreligious homogeneity of Mexicans. Among the Catholics, novel practices often associated with new spiritualities, including neopagan and indigenous rituals, are another feature of this diversity, along with a trend toward religious deinstitutionalization. Findings from the ENCREER, a national survey on religious practices and beliefs, allow for a comparative analysis of the main religious identifications (Catholics, Protestants and Evangelicals, Seventh Day Adventists/Jehovah’s Witnesses/Latter Day Saints, and unaffiliated). With an eye to facilitating international comparisons, this article describes the survey design and the principal findings of the analysis of the contemporary religious diversity in Mexico.

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Section: From Secularization To Reconfiguration: Previous Studies In mentioning

confidence: 99%

Religious reconfiguration in Mexico: Beliefs and Practices National Survey, 2016

2020

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“…From the beginning, the studies presented different visions and prognoses. While some have suggested that the growth of Evangelicalism could have positive effects on the region's democracies (Willems 1967;Stoll 1990;Martin 1990;Mariz 1992;Smith 1994;Dodson 1997), others have highlighted the possible negative effects (Epinay 1970;Bastian 1994;Chesnut 1997;Gaskill 1997). In this view, Pentecostal churches would enter politics by promoting clientelistic and harmful practices to democracy.…”

Section: Pentecostals and Electionsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Assessing the Strength of Pentecostal Churches’ Electoral Support: Evidence from Brazil

Lacerda

2018

Journal of Politics in Latin America

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Since the 1980s, the number of Pentecostal candidates elected to the Brazilian legislatures has grown remarkably. Literature has argued that the phenomenon is related to Pentecostal churches' support for particular candidates. To date, however, this claim has been based only on ethnographies or studies relying on a few cases of elected candidates. Drawing from a new data set of Evangelical (Protestant) candidates for the Federal Chamber of Deputies and state legislative assemblies, I try to answer the following questions: Do Pentecostal candidates raise fewer campaign resources than other candidates? What is the effect of being a Pentecostal candidate on the vote in Brazilian legislative elections? Is the structure of the church relevant to this effect? Using OLS regression models, I show that being a Pentecostal has a negative, though not significant effect on campaign spending. Additionally, there is a positive statistical relationship between being a Pentecostal and receiving votes, and between having the support of more centralized churches and receiving votes. Qualitative evidence of six Pentecostal politicians who lost their churches' support at some point between elections, attempted reelection, and performed considerably worse than before reinforces the importance of having the support of a Pentecostal church. the JPLA anonymous reviewers for their helpful comments. Any remaining errors are mine alone. Some of the material presented here was delivered at seminars at the University of São Paulo and at the 41st Annual Meeting of ANPOCS in Caxambu, Brazil. The data set and replication materials are available from the author upon request.

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“…These accusations were fueled by well-documented links between missionary organizations, rightwing evangelicals in the United States, and the U.S. government. 10 Reducing conversion to an entirely external imposition, however, ignores the popular and indigenous nature of the movement, denies the agency of individual converts, and questions the validity of individuals' religious experiences. Today most Protestant and charismatic Catholic congregations in Latin America are run by Latin Americans, lending further evidence to the critiques of early reductionist accounts of evangelical conversion.…”

Section: There May Be a Correlation Between Upward Social Mobility And Conversion In Latin America But The Question Of Directionality Remmentioning

confidence: 99%

Religious Conversion in the Americas: Meanings, Measures, and Methods

Steigenga¹

2010

International Bulletin of Missionary Research

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R eligious pluralism has fundamentally altered the social and religious landscape of Latin America and the Caribbean. From Mexico to Chile, millions of Latin Americans have abandoned their traditional Catholic upbringing to embrace new and different religious beliefs and practices. Evangelical Protestants represent approximately 15 percent of the population in the region today. Indigenous and Afro-diasporan religions have also experienced rapid growth. At the same time, significant changes within traditional religious categories have accelerated. Large numbers of Catholics have joined charismatic congregations, while sectors of classic Pentecostal and mainstream Protestant congregations have converted to "health and wealth" neo-Pentecostalism.Religious conversion is the primary motor driving this larger process of religious change. While the macro-level factors that set the context for religious conversion (changes within the Catholic Church, increased Protestant missionary activity, and changes in state policies on religious freedom) have been studied considerably, far less attention has been paid to questions of exactly which people convert and under what circumstances, how social scientists understand and interpret conversion, and Religious Conversion in the Americas: Meanings, Measures, and Methods Timothy J. Steigenga(1) religious conversion must be understood as a process and continuum rather than a single discrete event, (2) conversion is a multiply-determined phenomenon that demands a complex theoretical model and a multifaceted research methodology, and (3) researchers would be well served by reevaluating the categories and concepts we utilize for measuring the political and social effects of religious conversion.

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Is Latin America Turning Protestant?

Cited by 396 publications

References 0 publications

Religious reconfiguration in Mexico: Beliefs and Practices National Survey, 2016

Religious reconfiguration in Mexico: Beliefs and Practices National Survey, 2016

Assessing the Strength of Pentecostal Churches’ Electoral Support: Evidence from Brazil

Religious Conversion in the Americas: Meanings, Measures, and Methods

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