I went with long hair and a ring in my ear. .. but something stronger than myself touched my hear... more I went with long hair and a ring in my ear. .. but something stronger than myself touched my heart, it lifted me up and I walked to the platform. .. I threw myself down on the floor and I started to cry. I started to see my life one by one, step by step, everything that was my earlier life.
Henri Gooren, Catholic and Protestant Culture Politics in Nicaragua ______________________ the 19... more Henri Gooren, Catholic and Protestant Culture Politics in Nicaragua ______________________ the 1972 earthquake and stood close to the Sandinistas politically. In reaction to that, the Assemblies of God and other, mostly Pentecostal, churches started the politically more conservative Consejo de Pastores Evangélicos de Nicaragua (CNPEN) in 1981. 1 The most non-politicized body was the Alianza Evangélica, headed by pastor Roberto Rojas, which was not functioning efficiently. On April 7, 2002, pastor Miguel Rivero of the Iglesia Centro Familiar Cristiano founded the Hermandad de Iglesias Fundamentales del Nuevo Milenio. Rivero said that 18 churches were interested in joining this non-politicized body that would, also be involved in social development projects. Nothing more was heard of this organization afterwards, but it illustrated the divisions with the numerous Protestant churches in Nicaragua. My main sources for analyzing Catholic and Protestant culture politics are scholarly literature, the extensive internet website of the Nicaraguan Bishop's Conference, and articles in the Managua newspapers El Nuevo Diario and La Prensa, in combination with statements by bishops and Protestant leaders. 2 The year 2002, the last full calendar year at the time of writing, will be used as the random year of reference here. The Catholic Church has remained a strong actor in Nicaraguan society, although it ceased to be the official religion in 1894. The Nicaraguan state, however, maintained a privileged position for the Catholic Church, which is exempted from taxes and receives many financial benefits. The grounds on which the new Managua cathedral was built, for instance, were donated by the Chamorro-government (1990-96). Various Protestant organizations have challenged these direct forms of state support for the Catholic Church, but so far without result. In this polarized religious climate, ecumenical cooperation between Catholics and Protestants hardly exists at all. 3 Indeed, the situation is better characterized as one of fierce religious competition between Catholics and Protestants (see Gooren 2003b and below). The structure of this article is as follows. A first section describes the involvement of the Catholic Church in Nicaraguan politics. This presents the context for a subsequent section on public expressions of a Catholic culture politics, as propagated by the national Bishops' Conference. I then give a short history of Protestantism in Nicaragua. Next I will look at the culture politics of Protestant leaders, which provide a clear contrast with the Catholic bishops. A final section of summary and discussion puts my findings into perspective.
T he LDS Church is currently gaining many new members in Asia, Africa, and especially Latin Ameri... more T he LDS Church is currently gaining many new members in Asia, Africa, and especially Latin America. Nowadays more than 35 percent of the worldwide membership is concentrated in Latin America, compared to about 45 percent in the United States and Canada. By 2020, the majority of Mormons in the world will be Latin Americans, if the current growth rates continue. 1 Judging from current LDS growth rates, the future Mormon heartland will be the Andes and Central America, instead of the Wasatch Front. Rodney Stark is exaggerating, however, when he labels Mormonism the next world religion, 2 since he ignores a drop-out rate for converts that generally exceeds 50 percent. 3 One year after joining the LDS Church, only about half of the new converts remain active, meaning that they attend Church services at least once a month. Latin America contains more than one-third of the worldwide LDS membership, but the members are not equally divided among the nineteen countries. (See Table 1). Numerically, the Mormon Church in Latin America is currently strongest in Chile, Uruguay, Bolivia, Honduras (and Central America as a whole), Peru, Ecuador, and the Dominican Republic. In all of these countries, between 1 and 3 percent of the population have been baptized into the LDS Church. Active Mormons, who go to Church at least once a month, make up at best about half of the baptized members. Core members, those who pay their tithing and follow the LDS code of conduct, usually form about half of the active members. 4
Paraguay is a landlocked country in the heart of South America, with a 2017 population of 7 milli... more Paraguay is a landlocked country in the heart of South America, with a 2017 population of 7 million (CIA 2018) and a land area of 406,752 square kilometers: a bit smaller than Sweden or the state of California. The Catholic Church entered as part of Spanish colonialism, but the Catholic population percentage has gone down from 98.1% in 1970 to 86.0% in 2009. Protestant, Mormon, and Jehovah's Witness membership growth was high since the 1980s.
Dit is een studie naar de relaties tussen kerk, kleinbedrijf en huishouding bij kleine ondernemer... more Dit is een studie naar de relaties tussen kerk, kleinbedrijf en huishouding bij kleine ondernemers in een arme wijk van Guatemala-stad, waar ik veldwerk verrichte in 1993 en 1994-95. Kerken vormen een belangrijke basis voor sociale organisatie in Guatemala. In ...
Bautizados en fuego: Protestantes, discursos de conversion y politica en Guatemala (1989-1993). M... more Bautizados en fuego: Protestantes, discursos de conversion y politica en Guatemala (1989-1993). Manuela Cantdn Delgado.
Henri Gooren Pentecostal Conversion Careers in Latin America Jenkins shows that the center of Chr... more Henri Gooren Pentecostal Conversion Careers in Latin America Jenkins shows that the center of Christianity is shifting from north to south. Pentecostal churches constitute the fastest growing group of churches in Christianity today, already representing a quarter of all Christians ...
PoLAR: Political and Legal Anthropology Review, 2019
Hunted opens with the story of a hunted man, moving fast through a market, high on crack, seeking... more Hunted opens with the story of a hunted man, moving fast through a market, high on crack, seeking a place to hide. Fast behind him were the hunters: a group of addicts themselves who had been pressed into service by a Pentecostal pastor who ran a drug rehabilitation facility in Guatemala City. If-when-the hunters captured the man, he would be taken back into captivity and forcibly incarcerated in the pastor's facility, a locked building where men waited for a miracle that would set them free from addiction. Soon enough, though, the captive man would become one of the hunters, sent outside to roam the streets looking for addicts whose families had paid to have them incarcerated. Inevitably, even having achieved the status of hunter, the captive would escape and go on the run, only to be hunted again himself.
The central question of this article — why people may change their religious affiliation or becom... more The central question of this article — why people may change their religious affiliation or become disaffiliated — is relevant from both an academic and a practical point of view. The article makes first an inventory of existing literature on religious conversion. Next I sketch the contours of the new conversion careers approach I am currently working on. I make some comparisons with a region that is not usually mentioned in the literature on conversion: Latin America. These comparisons are based on my earlier fieldwork on Roman Catholicism, Pentecostalism, and Mormonism in Costa Rica and Guatemala (H. Gooren, Rich among the Poor: Church, Firm, and Household among Small-scale Entrepreneurs in Guatemala City, Amsterdam: Thela Thesis 1999).
T. M. Luhrmann sets out to explore a crucial theme in contemporary evangelical Protestantism: the... more T. M. Luhrmann sets out to explore a crucial theme in contemporary evangelical Protestantism: the process by which members of the so-called “new paradigm” churches not only learn how to pray to God but also how to engage God in entire conversations. Luhrmann analyzes how prayer, visions, therapeutic practices, and spirituality play a part in this process. Beautifully written and compellingly told, When God Talks Back deserves the widest possible audience.
I went with long hair and a ring in my ear. .. but something stronger than myself touched my hear... more I went with long hair and a ring in my ear. .. but something stronger than myself touched my heart, it lifted me up and I walked to the platform. .. I threw myself down on the floor and I started to cry. I started to see my life one by one, step by step, everything that was my earlier life.
Henri Gooren, Catholic and Protestant Culture Politics in Nicaragua ______________________ the 19... more Henri Gooren, Catholic and Protestant Culture Politics in Nicaragua ______________________ the 1972 earthquake and stood close to the Sandinistas politically. In reaction to that, the Assemblies of God and other, mostly Pentecostal, churches started the politically more conservative Consejo de Pastores Evangélicos de Nicaragua (CNPEN) in 1981. 1 The most non-politicized body was the Alianza Evangélica, headed by pastor Roberto Rojas, which was not functioning efficiently. On April 7, 2002, pastor Miguel Rivero of the Iglesia Centro Familiar Cristiano founded the Hermandad de Iglesias Fundamentales del Nuevo Milenio. Rivero said that 18 churches were interested in joining this non-politicized body that would, also be involved in social development projects. Nothing more was heard of this organization afterwards, but it illustrated the divisions with the numerous Protestant churches in Nicaragua. My main sources for analyzing Catholic and Protestant culture politics are scholarly literature, the extensive internet website of the Nicaraguan Bishop's Conference, and articles in the Managua newspapers El Nuevo Diario and La Prensa, in combination with statements by bishops and Protestant leaders. 2 The year 2002, the last full calendar year at the time of writing, will be used as the random year of reference here. The Catholic Church has remained a strong actor in Nicaraguan society, although it ceased to be the official religion in 1894. The Nicaraguan state, however, maintained a privileged position for the Catholic Church, which is exempted from taxes and receives many financial benefits. The grounds on which the new Managua cathedral was built, for instance, were donated by the Chamorro-government (1990-96). Various Protestant organizations have challenged these direct forms of state support for the Catholic Church, but so far without result. In this polarized religious climate, ecumenical cooperation between Catholics and Protestants hardly exists at all. 3 Indeed, the situation is better characterized as one of fierce religious competition between Catholics and Protestants (see Gooren 2003b and below). The structure of this article is as follows. A first section describes the involvement of the Catholic Church in Nicaraguan politics. This presents the context for a subsequent section on public expressions of a Catholic culture politics, as propagated by the national Bishops' Conference. I then give a short history of Protestantism in Nicaragua. Next I will look at the culture politics of Protestant leaders, which provide a clear contrast with the Catholic bishops. A final section of summary and discussion puts my findings into perspective.
T he LDS Church is currently gaining many new members in Asia, Africa, and especially Latin Ameri... more T he LDS Church is currently gaining many new members in Asia, Africa, and especially Latin America. Nowadays more than 35 percent of the worldwide membership is concentrated in Latin America, compared to about 45 percent in the United States and Canada. By 2020, the majority of Mormons in the world will be Latin Americans, if the current growth rates continue. 1 Judging from current LDS growth rates, the future Mormon heartland will be the Andes and Central America, instead of the Wasatch Front. Rodney Stark is exaggerating, however, when he labels Mormonism the next world religion, 2 since he ignores a drop-out rate for converts that generally exceeds 50 percent. 3 One year after joining the LDS Church, only about half of the new converts remain active, meaning that they attend Church services at least once a month. Latin America contains more than one-third of the worldwide LDS membership, but the members are not equally divided among the nineteen countries. (See Table 1). Numerically, the Mormon Church in Latin America is currently strongest in Chile, Uruguay, Bolivia, Honduras (and Central America as a whole), Peru, Ecuador, and the Dominican Republic. In all of these countries, between 1 and 3 percent of the population have been baptized into the LDS Church. Active Mormons, who go to Church at least once a month, make up at best about half of the baptized members. Core members, those who pay their tithing and follow the LDS code of conduct, usually form about half of the active members. 4
Paraguay is a landlocked country in the heart of South America, with a 2017 population of 7 milli... more Paraguay is a landlocked country in the heart of South America, with a 2017 population of 7 million (CIA 2018) and a land area of 406,752 square kilometers: a bit smaller than Sweden or the state of California. The Catholic Church entered as part of Spanish colonialism, but the Catholic population percentage has gone down from 98.1% in 1970 to 86.0% in 2009. Protestant, Mormon, and Jehovah's Witness membership growth was high since the 1980s.
Dit is een studie naar de relaties tussen kerk, kleinbedrijf en huishouding bij kleine ondernemer... more Dit is een studie naar de relaties tussen kerk, kleinbedrijf en huishouding bij kleine ondernemers in een arme wijk van Guatemala-stad, waar ik veldwerk verrichte in 1993 en 1994-95. Kerken vormen een belangrijke basis voor sociale organisatie in Guatemala. In ...
Bautizados en fuego: Protestantes, discursos de conversion y politica en Guatemala (1989-1993). M... more Bautizados en fuego: Protestantes, discursos de conversion y politica en Guatemala (1989-1993). Manuela Cantdn Delgado.
Henri Gooren Pentecostal Conversion Careers in Latin America Jenkins shows that the center of Chr... more Henri Gooren Pentecostal Conversion Careers in Latin America Jenkins shows that the center of Christianity is shifting from north to south. Pentecostal churches constitute the fastest growing group of churches in Christianity today, already representing a quarter of all Christians ...
PoLAR: Political and Legal Anthropology Review, 2019
Hunted opens with the story of a hunted man, moving fast through a market, high on crack, seeking... more Hunted opens with the story of a hunted man, moving fast through a market, high on crack, seeking a place to hide. Fast behind him were the hunters: a group of addicts themselves who had been pressed into service by a Pentecostal pastor who ran a drug rehabilitation facility in Guatemala City. If-when-the hunters captured the man, he would be taken back into captivity and forcibly incarcerated in the pastor's facility, a locked building where men waited for a miracle that would set them free from addiction. Soon enough, though, the captive man would become one of the hunters, sent outside to roam the streets looking for addicts whose families had paid to have them incarcerated. Inevitably, even having achieved the status of hunter, the captive would escape and go on the run, only to be hunted again himself.
The central question of this article — why people may change their religious affiliation or becom... more The central question of this article — why people may change their religious affiliation or become disaffiliated — is relevant from both an academic and a practical point of view. The article makes first an inventory of existing literature on religious conversion. Next I sketch the contours of the new conversion careers approach I am currently working on. I make some comparisons with a region that is not usually mentioned in the literature on conversion: Latin America. These comparisons are based on my earlier fieldwork on Roman Catholicism, Pentecostalism, and Mormonism in Costa Rica and Guatemala (H. Gooren, Rich among the Poor: Church, Firm, and Household among Small-scale Entrepreneurs in Guatemala City, Amsterdam: Thela Thesis 1999).
T. M. Luhrmann sets out to explore a crucial theme in contemporary evangelical Protestantism: the... more T. M. Luhrmann sets out to explore a crucial theme in contemporary evangelical Protestantism: the process by which members of the so-called “new paradigm” churches not only learn how to pray to God but also how to engage God in entire conversations. Luhrmann analyzes how prayer, visions, therapeutic practices, and spirituality play a part in this process. Beautifully written and compellingly told, When God Talks Back deserves the widest possible audience.
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