Religious Engagement, Civic Skills, and Political Participation in Latin America

Abstract

To what extent has the growth of Evangelicalism in Latin America contributed to political participation across the region? A number of scholars of religion and politics in the United States have suggested that Evangelicalism promotes the development of civic skills necessary for political engagement, while the Catholic Church, due to its hierarchical structure, provides fewer opportunities for skill acquisition. In this paper, we apply this debate to Latin America to test whether civic skills developed in Catholic and Protestant church activities lead to differential participation rates in 18 countries. We utilize the 2014 Pew Religion in Latin America survey to test these effects, and find that Protestant churches do indeed promote skill‐developing activities at higher rates, but that Catholics, when involved, are more likely to translate this religious participation into political action. We conclude that political scientists must better understand the organizational role of religion in promoting political engagement worldwide.

Increasing Youth Political Engagement with Efficacy Not Obligation: Evidence from a Workshop-Based Experiment in Zambia

“…1 In this paper we investigate one possibility: exposure to religious messages that emphasize the potential to make change through faithful action. This power of faith message is characteristic of preaching in Pentecostal and Charismatic Christian communities (Gifford, 2009 ; Marshall, 2009 ; McClendon & Riedl, 2019 ), which are increasingly popular, attracting large numbers of young people, particularly in developing countries with disproportionately large youth populations, termed youth bulges (Freston, 2004 ; Parsitau & Mwaura, 2010 ; Lindhardt, 2012 ; Kalu, 2008 ; Sperber and Hern 2018 ; Audette et al., 2020 ). The power of faith message suggests that those who act—and persist—in strong Christian faith will achieve personal, social and political change, even if such change might seem impossible ex ante.…”

“… 8 For a review of this literature in US and Latin American contexts, see Audette et al. ( 2020 ). Also see Djupe and Gilbert ( 2008 ) on the importance of small group participation in the U.S. and Smith ( 2017 ) on political information sharing in Brazilian churches.…”

“… 9 Observational studies find that Pentecostal and Charismatic Christians in sub-Saharan Africa and Latin America tend to participate at higher rates than other Christians (Sperber & Hern, 2018 ; Audette et al., 2020 ). Our study examines the extent to which a message associated with these traditions affects this pattern, particularly among youth.…”

Studying Religiosity and Spirituality: A Review of Macro, Micro, and Meso-Level Approaches

“…Of the meso-level publications, 10 are articles published in these journals: Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion (4), Annual Review of Sociology (1), International Journal of Practical Theology (1), Journal of Daoist Studies (1), Journal of International and Global Studies (1), Latin America Politics and Society (1), and Latin American Research Review (1). In the meso-level studies, the included countries are: Nicaragua ( 5), Argentina (4), El Salvador (4), Brazil (2), Costa Rica (2), Guatemala (2), Honduras (2), Peru (2), Bolivia (1), Chile (1), Colombia (1), Cuba (1), Dominican Republic (1), Ecuador (1), Mexico (1), Panama (1), Paraguay (1), Puerto Rico (1), Uruguay (1), Venezuela (1): (Brenneman 2011;Lindhardt 2016;Morello 2015;Offutt 2015;Prien 2013;Reynolds 2017;Schwaller 2011;De la Torre and Martín 2016;Adam 2018;Audette et al 2020;Offutt 2011;Probasco 2016;Reed and Pitcher 2015;Costa 2019;Occhipinti 2015;Somma et al 2017;Reynolds 2012;Latzel and Wegner 2017).…”

“…Within meso-level studies, Audette et al (2020) compared Catholics with Protestants in Latin America by political participation. Looking at 18 countries in Latin America, those who participated in church activities, beyond simply attending services, were overall significantly more likely to engage in political activities, such as working with others to solve community problems, participating in a protest, and contacting elected officials.…”