The Pentecostalization of Latin American and U.S. Latino Christianity

Pneuma

Volumn 26, Issue 2, 2004, Pages 262-292

  Espinosa, Gastón ^a  

^a NONE

Author keywords

[No Author keywords available]

Indexed keywords

EID: 34250778593     PISSN: 02720965     EISSN: 15700747     Source Type: Journal    
DOI: 10.1163/157007404776111063     Document Type: Article

References (134)

1. Stoll wrote, "Owing to their reliance on conservative missionaries from the United States, they [Evangelicals and Pentecostals] are often criticized for finding their promised land north of the Rio Grande." David Stoll, Is Latin American Turning Protestant? The Politics of Evangelical Growth (Berkeley and Los Angeles: University of California Press, 1990);
2. see the book jacket, passim. David Martin, Tongues of Fire: The Explosion of Protestantism in Latin America (Oxford: Blackwell Publishers, 1993).
3. I include Brazil in my conceptualization and analysis of Latin America. Martin, Tongues of Fire;
4. Stoll, Is Latin American Turning Protestant?
5. Christian Lalive d'Epinay, Haven of the Masses: A Study of the Pentecostal Movement in Chile (London: Lutterworth, 1969);
6. Elizabeth Brusco, "The Reformation of Machismo: Asceticism and Masculinity among Colombian Evangelicals," in Rethinking Protestantism in Latin America, ed. Virginia Garrard-Burnett and David Stoll (Philadelphia: Temple University Press, 1993);
7. John Burdick, Looking for God in Brazil (Berkeley and Los Angeles: University of California Press, 1993);
8. R. Andrew Chestnut, Born-Again in Brazil (New Brunswick, NJ: Rutgers University Press, 1997);
9. Edward L. Clearly, O.P, and Hannah Stewart-Gambino, eds., Conflict and Competition: The Latin American Church in a Changing Environment (Boulder, CO: Lynne Rienner, 1992);
10. Phillip Berryman, Stubborn Hope: Religion, Politics, and Revolution in Central America (Maryknoll, NY: Orbis Books, 1994);
11. Phillip Berryman, Religion in the Megacity: Catholic and Protestant Portraits from Latin America (Maryknoll, NY: Orbis Books, 1996);
12. Walter Altmann, "Religious Pluralism in Latin America," Latinamerica Press 28, no. 42 (14 November 1996);
13. T. E. Evans, "Religious Conversion in Quetzaltenango, Guatemala," Ph.D. diss., University of Pittsburgh, 1990;
14. Kurt Bowen, Evangelism and Apostasy: The Evolution and Impact of Evangelicals in Modern Mexico (Buffalo, NY: McGill-Queen's University Press, 1996);
15. Anne Motley Hallum, Beyond Missionaries: Toward an Understanding of the Protestant Movement in Central America (New York: Rowan & Littlefield Publishers, 1996);
16. Paul E. Sigmund, ed., Religious Freedom and Evangelization in Latin America: The Challenge of Religious Pluralism (Maryknoll, NY: Orbis Books, 1999);
17. Brian H. Smith, Religious Politics in Latin America: Pentecostal vs. Catholic (Notre Dame, IN: University of Notre Dame Press, 1998);
18. Paul Freston, Evangelicals and Politics in Asia, Africa and Latin America (Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press, 2001).
19. For an analysis of the demographic shifts taking place today among U.S. Latinos, see Gastón Espinosa, "Demographic Shifts in Latino Religions in the United States" (English translation of the French title), Social Compass (Fall 2004).
20. Andrew Greeley, →AQ "Defections among Hispanics," America, 30 July 1988, 61-62;
21. Andrew Greeley, "Defection Among Hispanics" (Updated), America, 27 September 1997, 12-13.
22. David Martin writes that Catholic Pentecostalism is a "much less massive phenomenon" than Protestant Pentecostalism and that "the Catholic charismatic movement is not on anything like the same scale as evangelical Protestantism." Martin, Tongues of Fire, 2, 290.
23. For a more in-depth examination of the methodology and strengths and weaknesses of the Hispanic Churches in American Public Life national survey see Espinosa et al., Hispanic Churches in American Public Life;
24. and Espinosa, "Demographic Shifts."
25. Unless otherwise indicated, all statistics will be rounded to the nearest 100,000 for imputed numbers over one million and to the nearest 10,000 for imputed numbers over 100,000. Hallum, Beyond Missionaries, 84, 87-89;
26. Barrett et al., World Christian Encyclopedia, 14;
27. Espinosa et al., Hispanic Churches in American Public Life, 16.
28. In discussing the role of the Catholic Charismatic movement in the Church and in Central America, Anne Motley Hallum writes, "The pope sought more control over the charismatic movement by moving the World Catholic Charismatic Headquarters from Belgium to the Vatican. He also appointed 'shepherd' coordinators for different countries to direct the local movement. The charismatic meetings and crusades were instructed not to allow Protestant speakers and to demonstrate loyalty to Catholic doctrines by singing songs to Mary and the saints. Ironically the Vatican's response to the charismatic groups is similar to its response to Christian base communities - initial support, developing ambivalence, and attempts to reassert control." Hallum, Beyond Missionaries, 89-90.
29. Also see Smith, Religious Politics in Latin America, 2-3, 64, 74-75;
30. Bowen, Evangelism and Apostasy, 10;
31. Sigmund, Religious Freedom and Evangelization in Latin America, 2;
32. Pedro C. Moreno, "Evangelical Churches,"
33. as cited in Sigmund, Religious Freedom and Evangelization in Latin America, 50.
34. Bowen, Evangelism and Apostasy, 7, 48, 63-65, 70-75, 225;
35. Barrett et al., World Christian Encyclopedia, 495, 497, 499.
36. For the 15 percent figure see: R. Stephen Warner, "The De-Europeanization of American Christianity," in Stephen Prothero, ed., A Nation of Religions: The Politics of Pluralism in the United States (book forthcoming);
37. Guillermina Jasso, Douglas Massey, Mark R. Rosenzweig, and James P. Smith, "Family, Schooling, Religiosity, and Mobility among New Legal Immigrants to the U.S.: Evidence from the New Immigrant Survey Pilot," in Lydio F. Tomasi and Mary G. Powers, eds., Immigration Today: Pastoral and Research Challenges (Staten Island, NY: Center for Migration Studies, 2000), 52-81;
38. Guillermina Jasso, Douglas Massey, Mark R. Rosenzweig, and James P. Smith, "Exploring the Religious Preferences of Recent Immigrants to the United States: Evidence from the New Immigration Survey Pilot," in Ivan Yazbeck Haddad, Jane I. Smith, and John L. Esposito, eds., Religion and Immigration: Christian, Jewish, and Muslim Experiences in the United States (Lanham, MD: Alta Mira Press, 2003), 217-53.
39. For the other figures, see Espinosa et al., Hispanic Churches in American Public Life, 15-16;
40. Espinosa, "Demographic Shifts."
41. I do not classify Jehovah's Witnesses and Mormons as Protestant because most do not self-identify with the Protestant Reformation or historic Protestantism. Smith, Religious Politics in Latin America, 2;
42. Barrett et al., World Christian Encyclopedia, 131, 134, 186, 256, 327, 356, 612.
43. Bowen, Evangelism and Apostasy, 5;
44. Smith, Religious Politics in Latin America, 2, 42, 86;
45. Espinosa et al., Hispanic Churches in American Public Life, 16, 27.
46. For a good set of essays on U.S. Latino mainline Protestantism, see David Maldonado, ed., Protestantes/Protestants: Hispanic Christianity within Mainline Traditions (Nashville: Abingdon Press, 1999).
47. The national survey questions about being born-again and Pentecostal, Charismatic or spirit-filled read: Q# 24 - "Do you consider yourself a Pentecostal Christian, Charismatic Christian, or spirit-filled Catholic?" Q# 36 - "Do you consider yourself a born-again Christian, that is, have you personally had a conversion experience related to Jesus Christ?" I did not count any Catholics as Charismatic unless they also reported that they were born-again, one of the distinctives of traditional Pentecostal Christians and most Catholic Charismatic Christians. Edwin I. Hernández and Patricia Rodríguez, "Religious Switching among Latino Religious Leaders" (unpublished paper, 2003).
48. For an excellent recent essay on the Latin American Catholic Charismatic movement, see R. Andrew Chestnut, "A Preferential Option for the Spirit: The Catholic Charismatic Renewal in Latin America's New Religious Economy," Latin American Politics and Society 45, no. 1 (Spring 2003).
49. Unfortunately, I came across this article after completing the semifinal draft of this essay. For other discussions of the Catholic Charismatic movement, see Berryman, Stubborn Hope, 168, 210-21;
50. Bowen, Evangelism and Apostasy, 58-59;
51. Sigmund, Religious Freedom and Evangelization in Latin America, 217-18;
52. Hallum, Beyond Missionaries, 71, 76, 82, 84, 87-89, 94;
53. Martin, Tongues of Fire, 27, 29-30, 30, 37, 40, 50, 290, 291;
54. Berryman, Religion in the Megacity, 13, 79-87, 122-24, 161-62.
55. Barrett et al., World Christian Encyclopedia, 131, 135-38;
56. Barrett et al., World Christian Trends, 276-77. These findings and all other statistics on Latin America in this essay are based on statistical analyses performed by Todd M. Johnson and Peter Crossing at the Center for the Study of World Christianity in the summer of 2003. They are more up-to-date than those found in the WCE.
57. These figures are based on the number of "baptized" Catholics as reported by the Roman Catholic Church. They do not take into account Catholics that were baptized but later left the Catholic Church for another religious tradition. Gastón Espinosa, "'Let the Spirit Fly': Marilynn Kramar and the Origins of the Latino Catholic Charismatic Movement in the United States" (unpublished paper, 2000), 1-30.
58. Gastón Espinosa, "Charisma in Missions," "Marilynn Kramar," in The New International Dictionary of Pentecostal and Charismatic Movements, ed. Stanley M. Burgess (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2002), 472-73, 825-26;
59. Sigmund, Religious Freedom and Evangelization in Latin America, 2.
60. F. A. Sullivan, "Catholic Charismatic Renewal," in Stanley M. Burgess and Gary B. McGee, eds., Dictionary of Pentecostal and Charismatic Movements (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 1992), 111-12;
61. Vinson Synan, The Twentieth-Century Pentecostal Explosion: The Exciting Growth of Pentecostal Churches and Charismatic Renewal Movements (Altamonte Springs, FL: Creation House, 1980), 39-53.
62. Sullivan, "Catholic Charismatic Renewal," 111-12.
63. Edward D. O'Connor, C.S.C., The Pentecostal Movement in the Catholic Church (Notre Dame, IN: Ave Maria Press, 1971), 39-107.
64. Espinosa, "'Let the Spirit Fly,'" 1-30.
65. These findings and all other statistics on Latin America in this essay are based on statistical analyses performed by Todd M. Johnson and Peter Crossing at the Center for the Study of World Christianity in the summer of 2003. They are more up-to-date than those found in the WCE. Also see Barrett et al., World Christian Trends, 276-77.
66. Chestnut, "A Preferential Option for the Spirit."
67. Espinosa, "'Let the Spirit Fly,'" 1-30;
68. Barrett et al., World Christian Encyclopedia, 495, 612;
69. Barrett et al., World Christian Trends;
70. Espinosa et al., Hispanic Churches in American Public Life, 14, 27;
71. Chestnut, "A Preferential Option for the Spirit."
72. Barrett et al., World Christian Encyclopedia, 131;
73. Barrett et al., World Christian Trends.
74. Phillip Berryman wrote, "The Catholic Charismatic movement renewal, Trigo, and SINE have a number of Evangelical-like features in common. All emphasize the Bible⋯. They see their primary role as evangelizing Catholics to the point where they accept Jesus as their personal Savior, and they propound a morality centered on the individual and family. Yet their devotion to the Virgin Mary and respect for the Pope mark them as distinctly and conservatively Roman Catholic." As cited in Smith, Religious Politics in Latin America, 69-70;
75. Hallum, Beyond Missionaries, 88-90;
76. Espinosa, "'Let the Spirit Fly,'" 1-30.
77. Anonymous, "C. Juárez, Mexico," El Mensajero Cristiano (January 1927): 24;
78. anonymous, "Notas del Campo," El Mensajero Cristian, (January 1938): 10;
79. Bowen, Evangelism and Apostasy, 149-57;
80. anonymous, "Notas del Campo," El Mensajero Cristiano (September 1938): 6-7, 10-11;
81. anonymous, "Décima Convención," El Mensajero Cristiano (November 1938): 4-7;
82. Hallum, Beyond Missionaries, 30, 50-51;
83. Gastón Espinosa, "Borderland Religion: Los Angeles and the Origins of the Latino Pentecostal Movement in the U.S., Mexico and Puerto Rico, 1900-1945," Ph.D. diss., University of California, Santa Barbara, 1999, 117-35, 155-71, 226-27, 252, 255-68;
84. Gastón Espinosa, "El Azteca: Francisco Olazábal and Latino Pentecostal Charisma, Power, and Faith Healing in the Borderlands," Journal of the American Academy of Religion 67, no. 3 (September 1999): 597-616.
85. Espinosa, "Borderland Religion," esp. 252, 141-60, 170-71, 279-80, 286-87;
86. Espinosa, "El Azteca";
87. Barrett et al., World Christian Encyclopedia, 495-97.
88. Espinosa, "Borderland Religion," 184-245;
89. Barrett et al., World Christian Encyclopedia, 612-15.
90. David Ramos Torres, Historia de la Iglesia de Dios Pentecostal, M.I. (Rio Piedras, Puerto Rico: Editorial Pentecostal, 1992).
91. Barrett et al., World Christian Encyclopedia, 135-38.
92. Gastón Espinosa, "Universal Church of the Kingdom of God," in Burgess, ed., The New International Dictionary of Pentecostal and Charismatic Movements, 1165-66.
93. Espinosa, "Borderland Religion," 141-60.
94. Espinosa, "Apostolic Assembly of the Faith in Christ Jesus," "Hispanic Districts of the Assemblies of God," "Victory Outreach International," as cited in Burgess, ed., The New International Dictionary of Pentecostal and Charismatic Movements, 320-21, 829-30, 1175
95. James A. Beverley stated that John Arnott, the leader of the now famous Toronto Blessing Revival in Toronto, Canada, was influenced and "anointed" by the Argentine Pentecostal evangelist Claudio Friedzon. This revival has had a very important impact on other Pentecostal revivals in the United States, such as the Brownsville and Pensacola Revivals in Florida. James A. Beverley, Holy Laughter and The Toronto Blessing (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 1995), 14.
96. Ed Silvoso, "When God Came to Argentina: Special Report," Charisma (April 1998): 90-92, 110, 112;
97. Billy Bruce, "Pensacola Revival Marks Third Year," Charisma (August 1998): 16-17;
98. Cindy Jacobs, "Breaking the Spirit of Death in Argentina," Charisma (May 1999): 58-60;
99. Stephen Strang, "Spreading Argentina's Fire," Charisma (August 1999): 106;
100. Andy Butcher, "Argentine Revival Leaders Spread Their Fervor at Charisma '99 Meetings," Charisma (February 2000): 18.
101. "Be at the Epicenter of Global Prayer," Charisma (May 1998): 23;
102. "Robertson Reaches 1 Million Brazilians," Charisma (August 1998): 13;
103. Mauricio Zagari, "Scandal Forces Prominent Brazilian Evangelist Caio Fabio to Resign," Charisma (December 1999): 36.
104. Jasso et al., "Exploring the Religious Preferences of Recent Immigrants to the United States," 52-81.
105. Smith, Religious Politics in Latin America, 4, 14-19, 62, 92-93;
106. Bowen, Evangelism and Apostasy, 60, 127-28;
107. Hallum, Beyond Missionaries, 86.
108. Smith writes, "Until this thorny constitutional issue of unequal treatment of denominations before the law is settled, there is little hope of any strategic alliance between Catholics and Pentecostal." Sigmund, Religious Freedom and Evangelization in Latin America, 23-24;
109. Smith, Religious Politics in Latin America, 14-19, 37, 39-41, 44-45, 57-60, 69-70, 85-99;
110. Hallum, Beyond Missionaries, 88-95;
111. Sigmund, Religious Freedom and Evangelization in Latin America, 40.
112. Espinosa et al., Hispanic Churches in American Public Life, 13.
113. Pedro C. Moreno, "Evangelical Churches," in Sigmund, Religious Freedom and Evangelization in Latin America, 57;
114. Barrett et al., World Christian Encyclopedia, 14.
115. For an excellent examination of evangelicals in Latin American politics, particularly Argentina, Mexico, Chile, Colombia, Peru, Nicaragua, and Guatemala, see Freston, Evangelicals and Politics in Asia, Africa and Latin America;
116. Barrett et al., World Christian Encyclopedia, 73-75, 133-34, 188, 204, 244, 257;
117. Smith, Religious Politics in Latin America, 60-62.
118. These findings and all other statistics on Latin America in this essay are based on statistical analyses performed by Todd M. Johnson and Peter Crossing at the Center for the Study of World Christianity in the summer of 2003. They are more up-to-date than those found in the WCE. For a discussion see Bowen, Evangelism and Apostasy, 4, 212-16;
119. Hallum, Beyond Missionaries, 106-12;
120. Freston, Evangelicals and Politics in Asia, Africa and Latin America, 11-60, 263-80;
121. Smith, Religious Politics in Latin America, 43-45.
122. Freston, Evangelicals and Politics in Asia, Africa and Latin America, 100-3;
123. Smith, Religious Politics in Latin America, 44-45, 52, 60-64, 80, 92, 94.
124. Smith, Religious Politics in Latin America, 4, 62, 92.
125. Kosmin, Myer, and Keysar claim that 76 percent of Americans maintain Christian allegiances. Barry A. Kosmin, Egon Myer, and Ariela Keysar, American Religious Identification Survey (New York: Graduate Center of the City University of New York, 2001).
126. Barrett, Kurian, and Johnson in the World Christian Encyclopedia report that the percentage of "professing Christians" is 84.7 percent. Barrett et al., World Christian Encyclopedia, 14, 772.
127. U.S. Census Bureau, "Facts for Features Press Release: Hispanic Heritage Month 2002," http://www.census.gov/Press-Release/www/2002/ cb02ff15.htm.
128. Diana Eck, The New Religious America: How a "Christian Country" Has Become the World's Most Religiously Diverse Nation (San Francisco: HarperSanFrancisco, 2001);
129. Philip Jenkins, The Next Christendom: The Coming of Global Christianity (New York: Oxford University Press, 2002).
130. Espinosa et al., Hispanic Churches in American Public Life, 14-16.
131. Warner, "The De-Europeanization of American Christianity";
132. Espinosa et al., Hispanic Churches in American Public Life.
133. Espinosa et al., Hispanic Churches in American Public Life, 14-15.
134. Espinosa, "Demographic Shifts."