Believers and Neighbors: “Huaycán Is One and No One Shall Divide It”
Believers and Neighbors: "Huaycdn Is One and No One Shall Divide It" Contrary to the argument that evangelical Christianity is inherently apolitical or conservative, evangelicals in a new pueblo on Lima's periphery extended political mobilization to negotiating with municipal authorities, Catholic neighbors, and even Sendero Luminoso to define political and ideological space in the new neighborhood. Yet differences within and among denominations kept them from permanently coordinating their political activism. This case highlights the nature of citizenship building and political participation for evangelicals in Peru.
Pentecostalism, Conversions, and Politics in Brazil
The stereotype of all Latin American Pentecostals as political conservatives or apolitical has long been abandoned by scholars. But how Pentecostalism figures in the lives of Pentecostals so that some are indeed akin to stereotype and others are active, critical citizens involved in radical politics, remains a matter for debate. This paper argues that variation in type of citizenship among Brazilian Pentecostals may be understood not only in terms of variations in religious culture but also in terms of different types of conversion. It is proposed that reference to types of conversion, as distinguished by some theologians, helps explain why Pentecostals who share elements of a common religious culture nevertheless differ in type of citizenship; and why some Pentecostals and Catholics of the ‘base communities’, though different in their religious cultures, nonetheless share a common quality of critical citizenship.
Religion and Poverty in Brazil: A Comparison of Catholic and Pentecostal Communities*
This article argues that the actual experiences of the members of Brazil's pentecostal churches and its base church communities (CEBs) are more alike than the sharply contrasting ideologies of these two movements might suggest. Both movements foster a sense of closeness to God, enhance self-esteem, provide support networks that are national in scope, develop leadership skills, promote literacy, and encourage a sober and ascetic style of life. The long-term consequences for the economic and political behavior of the members of these two movements may, therefore, be far less different from what most observers would predict.