Religious Studies in Latin America

Abstract

This article critically reviews recent contributions to religious research in Latin America. Social scientists have long considered religion to be a structuring feature of culture and local society. Owing to the centrality of Catholicism in Latin America, early studies privileged the political influences of the Catholic Church with respect to the state and society at large. The “otherness” of native folk religions received less attention, with scholars undervaluing the presence of indigenous and African religiosities. In Latin America, religions are currently experiencing a diversification and reconfiguration, owing in part to the growing influence of different Christian denominations, particularly Evangelical and Pentecostal churches. Religious change is also occurring at the margins of institutional churches through New Age, neo-pagan, neo-Indian, neo-esoteric, and self-styled religiosities, as well as through popular religious syncretisms, indicating new experiments with what is considered sacred. This dynamism poses theoretical and conceptual challenges to scholars analyzing religious diversity and the renewed role that religions play in contemporary societies with respect to secularization, syncretism, and hybridization as well as the emergence of alternative identities (gender, sexual, ideological and political).

An enchanted modernity: Making sense of Latin America’s religious landscape

“…Aforementioned in relation to the popular religion paradigm, communal religious settings shape the spiritual experience of Latin Americans. Even if the Latin American religious landscape is less institutionalized than before (De la Torre and Martín, 2016), it is not individualized. Religious institutions play an important role in the daily life of Latin American people (Levine, 1992; Romero, 2000, 2009; Semán, 1997).…”

“…Switching from being a Baptist to being a non-denominational Christian in Kentucky is not like converting from Catholicism to Pentecostalism in Lima. Yet, among Latin Americans, practices from other traditions often are incorporated without signifying a change in affiliation (De la Torre and Martín, 2016; Lecaros, 2016; Negrão, 2008).…”

“…For them, popular religiosity names the beliefs, practices, and concerns of uneducated people—a sort of “practical magic” rather than “ethical, rational religion” in the Weberian sense (Fernandes, 2009; Parker Gumucio, 2006). Labeling popular religion “syncretic” implies it does not comply with orthodox standards of religion (De la Torre and Martín, 2016).…”

“…However, “popular religion” does encounter limitations in attempting to make sense of Latin America’s religious landscape. In Latin American scholarship, “popular” is usually an adjective for the noun “Catholicism” (De la Torre and Martín, 2016). Therefore, this conceptualization has left aside Pentecostals, other religious minorities, and the unaffiliated (Da Costa, 2011).…”

Evangelical indigenous radio stations in Colombia: Between the promotion of social change and religious indoctrination

“…Like other areas of Latin American religious studies (de la Torre and Martín, 2016), a ‘Catholic bias’ has influenced the small body of scholarship available on Latin American evangelical media. Pioneer researchers denounced Latin American evangelical radio stations and televangelists as US-based conservative and for-profit religious indoctrinators who pushed popular sectors away from collective forms of mobilization promoted by the progressive sectors of the Catholic church, toward actions that pursue individualistic and material empowerment (Assmann, 1987; Silleta, 1988).…”