Honours Thesis

The Rise of Pentecostalism in Latin America:

A Study of Conversion, Politics, and the Dark Secrets within

Contemporary Bolivia

Patricia K. Robertson

745060

University of Calgary

Religious Studies 590

April 16, 2007

Supervisor: Dr. Douglas Shantz

1

Abstract The Rise of Pentecostalism in Latin America: A Study of Conversion, Politics, and the Dark Secrets within Contemporary Bolivia is a research study by Patricia Robertson at the University of Calgary to complete an Honours Degree in Religious Studies in April 2007. The rapid rise of Pentecostalism in the global south is a significant shift in Christianity largely ignored by the religious and secular worlds. Philip Jenkins, author of The Next Christendom: The Coming of Global Christianity predicts exponential growth for Pentecostalism in the global south for the next forty years with a decidedly conservative tendency and an aversion to radical politics (7-8). Contrary to Jenkins’ predictions, this study reveals the past controversial political participation of Pentecostals, the currently increasing political involvement, the political shift toward nationalistic socialism rather than conservatism, and the negative characteristics or dark secrets of the Pentecostal movement that will restrict the growth of Pentecostalism if they are not addressed. The first section of this study covers the relevant history of religion and politics in Bolivia from Catholicism to Pentecostal conversion, the second section evaluates the controversial role of Pentecostalism in politics during the past four decades and the political trends today, and the final section discusses the dark secrets of Pentecostalism. The movement must address these issues if it desires to grow rapidly in Bolivia without reaching a plateau similar to the situation in Mexico and Guatemala. This thesis reflects on Pentecostalism using a socio-political perspective with research obtained from a diverse cross-section of contemporary sources including scholarship by ex-Pentecostals and government election statistics.

2

Table of Contents

Abstract Page 1

Table of Contents Page 2

Introduction Page 3

I. Bolivian History from Catholicism to Pentecostal Conversion Page 6

Rise of Pentecostalism in Bolivia Page 15 “Nomadismo” Shopping Around for Religion Page 19

Pentecostal Conversion Page 21 II. Pentecostalism & Politics in Bolivia Page 24

Historical Pentecostal Involvement in Politics Page 25 Political Conservatism for Pentecostals is Not a Given Page 29 The Future of Pentecostal Involvement in Politics Page 35

III. The Dark Secrets of Pentecostalism Page 37 Anti-intellectualism Page 38

Conversion Page 40 Link to Globalization Page 45 Divisiveness Page 47 Other Dark Secrets Page 49

Conclusion Page 52 Endnotes Page 56 Works Cited Page 62

3

Introduction

When two noted anthropologists canvassed colonization projects in Bolivia’s lowlands, they reached the last house on the new dirt road. The owner heard them coming and ran out of the house yelling as they approached. “Soy católico. Nunca van a convertirme.” (I’m Catholic. You’re never going to convert me.) He was the last and only Catholic left in the project. (Cleary, Shopping 1)

Philip Jenkins, in his book The Next Christendom: The Coming of Global

Christianity suggests that the growth of Pentecostalism in the global south is likely “the

most successful social movement of the past century” and while there are only a few

hundred million Pentecostals in the world today, “Pentecostal believers should surpass the

one billion mark before 2050” (8). Jenkins adds that Pentecostals are “more interested in

personal salvation than in radical politics,” and in 2002, he declared that “on present

evidence, a Southernized Christian future should be distinctly conservative” (7-8). This

research study will prove that contrary to the predictions of Jenkins: 1) Pentecostal

involvement in politics is not a new phenomenon, as controversial political involvement has

spanned decades; 2) social conservatism may have been the past trend for Pentecostals but

social or political conservatism is not a given today, and in fact, religious belief is not

always a strong indicator of individual political direction; and 3) Pentecostalism will not

expand exponentially, without reaching a plateau, unless it addresses the internal

controversial features or dark secrets of the movement.

This thesis reflects on Pentecostalism using a socio-political perspective with most

of the research from contemporary sources covering a broad spectrum of disciplines that

include religious studies, theology, history, militarism, governmental statistics, sociology,

politics, anthropology, and economics. This thesis position contradicts the predictions of

Jenkins, but other scholars debating Pentecostalism such as Edward L. Cleary, Virginia

Garrard-Burnett, Daniel J. Chiquete, Otto Maduro, Pedro C. Moreno, Roger E. Olsen,

4

Huang Po Ho, Paul Freston, Allan Anderson and Jensen Michael Grant support my

arguments throughout this research study. The first section of this study is a discussion of

the broad noteworthy changes that have occurred within Latin American society with a

review of relevant political and religious historical events that provide the foundation for

Pentecostal growth. The demographics of the country are also significant to understanding

why there is such a large migrant population in Bolivia at the present, why such a lively

religious environment exists in Bolivia today, and why these migrants are attracted to

Pentecostalism. This discussion will take us from Spanish imposed Roman Catholicism to

all facets of Pentecostal conversion. The second section of this study evaluates the

controversial past political involvement of Pentecostalism in Latin America. This section

provides an assessment of the rising social movement of Bolivia’s indigenous peoples, the

country’s current political shift to the left, and the role of Pentecostals in these trends.

The third section is a thorough analysis of the lesser-known but critical dark secrets

of Pentecostalism. Beginning the focus on the most destructive dark secrets that affect the

long-term success of Pentecostalism, this study will then briefly address a list of additional

negative characteristics of the movement. The long-term viability of the movement will

depend on its transparency, willingness to confront its dark secrets, and its ability to shift

with social, economic, and political change. Research will demonstrate that while

Pentecostalism is growing rapidly and coming to the aid of the displaced migrants in

Bolivia, it will reach a growth plateau. This plateau will be similar in nature to that of

Mexico and Guatemala or worse yet, a drop in growth might occur similar to Chile. In order

to fully understand this dynamic, rapidly changing, religious phenomenon, it is imperative

to consider current societal shifts and tensions relating to Pentecostalism in Bolivia through

contemporary sources. The rise of evangelical Pentecostalism is arguably the most exciting

5

movement to hit the Bolivian religious scene in all of recent history. Throughout this study,

the response of the Roman Catholic Church to the Pentecostal assault will be monitored.

Understanding the positions taken by the Catholic Church as it struggles to reduce the theft

of its Latin American parishioners is relevant to the study of Pentecostalism.

By way of clarification, Pentecostalism, a form of evangelical religion, is the fastest

growing Protestant movement in the global south and its expansion within the country of

Bolivia is no exception. Pentecostalism in Bolivia follows a prophetic belief in the end of

the world where only those who have converted will receive salvation; it emphasizes a

direct personal experience of God, and there is a belief in biblical inerrancy, miracles,

ecstatic experience, baptism by the Holy Spirit after conversion, charismatic gifts for all

believers; and involves various forms of dancing and other body movement. “Pentecostals

and Charismatics form a distinctive group within Evangelicalism and its fundamentalist

wing” (Zeidan 24). However, Pentecostals are not to be confused with fundamentalists, who

are quick to separate themselves apart and consider evangelicals “heretics for their doctrinal

stand on charismatic gifts” such as glossolalia or speaking in tongues (Hood 84).

Evangelicalism, the broad category, includes a wide variety of Protestant groups that stress

conversion, active expression of the gospel, “a particular regard for the Bible”, and

emphasis on the “sacrifice of Christ on the cross” (Bebbington 2-17).1 Sandro Magister

maintains that Pentecostalism distinguishes itself from other evangelical movements as a

Christianity marked by “a deep personal faith, a demanding and puritanical morality,

doctrinal orthodoxy, community ties, [and] a strong spirit of mission, prophecy, healings,

and visions” (2). We will begin by briefly tracing the socio-economic and political-historical

context in Bolivia to better understand the dynamics that allowed the infiltration of

Pentecostalism into Roman Catholic Bolivia in the first place. An aggressive evangelical

6

religious marketplace has evolved in Bolivia; where once, nominal syncretic Roman

Catholicism ruled with little competition.

I. Bolivian History from Catholicism to Pentecostal Conversion

Otto Maduro points out that we cannot have a serious discussion about religion in

Latin America without discussing the “shaping forces of empires – Spaniard, British,

Portuguese, Dutch, French, etc. – upon the religious dynamics of this hemisphere” (4). In

1532, under the leadership of Francisco Pizarro, the Spaniards conquered the Incas forcing

the indigenous peoples and the imported Africans to work the land as slaves for the Spanish

overlords. Millions died in the silver mines. Until the late sixteenth century, billions of

dollars in silver were stripped from the rich Bolivian countryside and shipped to the king of

Spain (Augustin 128). When the Spaniards arrived in Bolivia, the conversion of the people

to Catholicism was an easy process, although often violent (Augustin 98). The concepts of

heaven, earth, and hell were not a stretch from the three-layered universe of the Aymara and

Quechua peoples. According to Diego Irarrázaval, the worldview of the indigenous peoples

of Latin America is a collective knowledge, using symbolic, mythical language that is

preferably ritualistic and religious (193). It expresses the profound meaning of life and

describes the understanding of the people in relation to the mysteries of the divine

(Irarrázaval 193). Their worldview involves a holistic understanding of the sacred nature of

the existence of the people (Irarrázaval 193).2 Through subjugation of their own spiritual

belief system during Spanish colonization, the indigenous peoples retained those parts of

their traditional beliefs that had significant meaning or ritual importance for their everyday

life. The new beliefs introduced by the invaders had “little meaning or influence in their

lives,” but they nevertheless “incorporated the new Catholic beliefs into their old religion”

7

(Augustin 98). This new syncretic form of Catholicism in no way resembled orthodox

Catholicism but that was of little concern to the indigenous peoples. However, it was

important that “their conversion satisfied the Spanish priests, and their own practice of

religion met their needs” (Augustin 99).

During the late eighteenth century and early nineteenth century, with the Napoleonic

Wars weakening the authority of the Spanish Crown in Europe, the French Revolution and

the U.S. Declaration of Independence were catalysts in the desire for Bolivian independence

(Augustin 48). In 1809, Bolivia proclaimed independence from Spain. Simon Bolivar led

the sixteen-year battle for independence for Venezuela, Colombia, Peru, Ecuador, and

Bolivia (Augustin 129). In August 1825, Bolivia became a republic and for a few short

months Bolivar became the first president, culminating in the approval of the first

constitution in January 1826. From this time forward until 1981, Bolivia had little political

stability and experienced one hundred and ninety-two coups d’etat or sudden changes in

government in a one hundred and fifty-six year period (Augustin 50). A change of

government occurred every ten months on average and the indigenous people had no

political, economic, or educational opportunities (Augustin 50). Bolivia defended its

territory against several neighbouring countries in wars during the late 1800s and early

1900s and lost vast expanses of land, large natural reserves of oil and gas, and its only

access to the Pacific Ocean. Located in west-central South America, Bolivia is now a

landlocked nation sharing its border with Paraguay, Brazil, Argentina, Chile, and Peru.

As early as the 1930s and throughout the Cold War, the United States feared that

Latin Americans were on the road to becoming communist, so U.S. interventions became

commonplace. Bolivians finally grew tired of their repressive situation; they became

nationalistic, and rose up against their oppressive and often tyrannical political and military

8

leadership. Their efforts were rewarded with significant reforms. Two decades later, in

1952, another revolution gave all adults the right to vote and this was the beginning of a

politically active peasantry in Bolivia (“Peasantry” 1). Prior to this time, the indigenous

peasants “had been subjected to a form of indentured service called pongaje (“Peasantry” 1).

In the 1950s, educational reforms were put in place to educate the poor rural peasants; the

government nationalized the tin mines, and in the process, they took the power away from

the tin barons and returned the Indian lands to their rightful owners (Augustin 53). However,

the families soon discovered that the traditional lands did not have the resources to sustain

extended family members, so people set off for the cities in search of employment. This

massive demographic shift of poor migrants moving from the rural areas to the cities set the

stage for Pentecostalism.

The next few decades were violent and oppressive with dictatorial leadership

creating instability in the economy, resulting in continuous worker strikes.3 Through the

1980s, labour unrest was continuous; foreign debt was accumulating at an unprecedented

rate, and inflation was skyrocketing. From 1985 to 1989, Victor Paz Estenssoro became the

first president to serve a full term in office and political stability was the result (“Bolivia

U.S.” 55). In 1997, with the election of Hugo Banzer and the backing of the U.S.

government, a campaign to restrict the growth of the coca plant began as a response to the

rising international drug trafficking problem (“Bolivia U.S.” 6). For centuries, the peasants

had been growing the indigenous crop for its medicinal purposes, long before its use for

illicit drug production. They rebelled against the restrictions placed upon them, leading to

the creation of a new social movement that protested with “strong anticapitalist bias and an

affinity for socialism, nationalism (as expressed in anti-U.S. and anti-Chilean sentiment) and

a deep-seated suspicion of foreign corporations involv[ing] Bolivian joint ventures and

9

privatizations” (“Bolivia U.S.” 6). Also, following the example of the Caracazo in

Venezuela where there was “an explosion of political rage by the underclass in Caracas

against a program of free-market reforms,” Bolivians successfully raged against the

privatization of water in 2000 (Gott 2-3).4 The indigenous peoples of Bolivia are

discovering their collective political voice to fight for their own human rights.

Religiously, the indigenous peoples of Bolivia are exercising their right to

experiment and stray from traditional Catholicism. To this day, fifty percent of Bolivians

still blend ancient traditional rites with Catholicism and the resulting belief system is usually

referred to as popular religion or folk-Catholicism (“Bolivia U.S.” 9; “Focus” 6). Catholic

syncretism actually aided the assault by Pentecostalism in Bolivia. The lack of adherence to

one traditional doctrinal practice opened the Bolivians to the exploration of other faith

structures. Pentecostalism in Bolivia arose out of the misery of poverty and oppression.

Approximately sixty-five percent of Bolivians live in poverty with that number rising to

eighty percent for rural populations (“Bolivia U.S.” 11). The population of Bolivia consists

of mixed race (Mestizo), Quechua, Aymara, and European inhabitants. The great migration

of people from rural areas to the cities has the urban populations rising at a rate of 3.6%

annually (“Bolivia U.S.” 9).

Broad societal changes in Latin America have been influential in the growth of

Pentecostalism. These changes are not, however, only impacting the growth of

Pentecostalism, but give rise to charismatic, evangelical religion in Catholicism, mainstream

Protestantism, and traditional indigenous religion. Short-lived societal changes or fads do

not significantly affect culture but the changes to recognize are the long-term trends that

shape culture and society (Cleary, Conclusion 1). The long-term changes that are occurring

in the external social, political, economical, and religious environment of Latin America

10

include: 1) the migration of millions of people from rural to urban areas because land

holdings for food production no longer support the extended family; 2) new economic

diversity shifting from agriculture to commercial, industrial, and marketing; 3) increased

literacy rates, and a final but greatly significant factor, 4) the spread of technological

advances such as radio, telephone, television, the Internet, and travel (Cleary, Conclusion 1).

Displacement from traditional rural settings to urban centres is an economic reality that

isolates individuals from close traditional ties to family, religion, and culture. Richard Gott

maintains that “the disastrous displacement of indigenous peoples from the countryside,

driven out by oil prospectors, logging companies, and coca eradication programs has

produced immense new indigenous cities often invisible to the white middle class” (1).

Edward L. Cleary declares this is where innovative religious change finds an audience

(Conclusion 2). The need to replace traditional structures in their lives renders the

indigenous migrants open to religious innovation and change. Furthermore, when traditional

religious beliefs no longer work for them, individuals seek a spiritual replacement. It is from

this Bolivian historical and religious context that we initiate an evaluation of the rise and fall

of liberation theology and the rise of Pentecostalism.

An excellent example of radical religious change that sought a home in Latin

America in the 1960s and 70s was liberation theology. It developed within Roman

Catholicism as religious innovation that was “existentialist, christocentric, communitarian,

participatory, and egalitarian” in opposition to traditional conservative Latin American

Catholicism (Cleary, Conclusion 2). Understanding the origin of Pentecostalism in Bolivia

requires knowledge of liberation theology and the response of the global Roman Catholic

Church to the liberation theology movement. It is essential to understand why the Church

viewed liberation theology as a threat that required suppression. Initially, the liberation

11

theology movement appears to be the seed that gave birth to Pentecostalism in Latin

America; however, a lively, ongoing debate continues over the relationship between the

two. Howard Wiarda supports the argument that liberation theology, “th[e] more radical,

quasi-Marxian position that some elements within the Church adopted a couple decades

ago” was a “partial response” to the Protestant Evangelical Movement (5). He believes it

was a way for the Catholic Church to move with change and not against it, or a way to keep

from feeling overwhelmed by the change (Wiarda 5). Contrarily, Jorge A. Aquino supports

the argument that liberation theology was “displaced by Pentecostal faith” (1).5 Virginia

Garrard-Burnett adds two more possibilities to the debate proposing that Pentecostalism

either rose up from the violence of the 1960s and 70s or was the response to the suppression

of liberation theology by the Roman Catholic Church (4).

Both movements take an interest in the plight of the poor; however, it must be

remembered that liberation theology was the brainchild of progressive Roman Catholic

theologians and pastoral leaders seeking alternatives for those living in poverty (Cleary,

Conclusion 3). Liberation theology developed as a grassroots movement working for social

reform and fighting for human rights by establishing base Christian communities (Cleary,

Conclusion 3). The groundwork for liberation theology was the result of decades of

reflection throughout the twentieth century on a theology of progress by Christians such as

Jacques Maritain, Teilhard de Chardin, Henri de Lubac, Karl Rahner and Yves Congar (Boff

67). Feeling the need for change in the Catholic Church on many fronts, Pope John XXIII

opened Vatican II in 1962, pushing for an increase in Church focus on those who were

marginalized and living in poverty (“Liberation” 2). When Pope Paul VI closed Vatican II

in 1965, the Catholic Church emerged with an atmosphere of theological freedom and

creativity (Boff 69). Through a group called the Church and Society in Latin America

12

(ISAL), numerous Catholic and Protestant thinkers sought answers to the problems of

underdevelopment within their countries (Boff 69). Catholic theologians such as Gustavo

Gutiérrez, Segundo Galilea, Juan Luis Segundo, Lucio Gera and Protestants such as Emilio

Castro, Julio de Santa Ana, Rubem Alves, and José Míguez Bonino participated in meetings

in Rio de Janeiro, Havana, Bogotá, and Cuernavaca beginning in 1964 and continuing

through 1965 (Boff 69). These thinkers discussed the line of thought attributed to Gutiérrez

about “theology as critical reflection on praxis” (Boff 69). In 1967, Gutiérrez gave a lecture

in Montreal followed by lectures in Chimbote, Peru and Cartigny, Switzerland in 1969, to

evaluate the challenges posed by “the development of a pastoral strategy of liberation”

(“Liberation” 3). It was at the meeting in Switzerland that the liberation theologians put

forward “Toward a Theology of Liberation,” a critical piece of work for the movement

(“Liberation” 4). Shortly thereafter, the first Catholic congresses were held in Bogotá in

1970 and 1971 (Boff 69). During the same two years, the Protestants assembled through

ISAL in Buenos Aires (Boff 69). What followed was a flurry of publications giving the

liberation approach a doctrinal content on topics including spirituality, Christology and

ecclesiology (Boff 71). Latin Americans such as Enrique Dussel from Argentina, Leonardo

Boff from Brazil, Ronaldo Muñoz, Pedro Trigo and Otto Maduro all from Venezuela, and

Luis Patiño and Cecilio de Llora from Colombia wrote and contributed numerous works

(Boff 71). The next phase of liberation theology brought theologians, many of whom had

become pastors, and other intellectuals together as militant agents for the Catholic Church at

the grassroots level (Boff 71). Liberation theologians at this stage included António da Silva

and Clodovis Boff from Brazil; Elsa Tamez and Victorio Araya from Costa Rica; Diego

Irarrázaval and Carmen Lima from Peru; and Victor Codina, a Spanish Jesuit, from Bolivia

(Boff 71). Aiding the spread of liberation theology were meetings held at El Escorial, Spain

13

in 1972 discussing the topic “Christian faith and the transformation of society in Latin

America.” The first meeting of Latin American theologians in Mexico City in 1975; the

creation of the Ecumenical Association of Third World Theologians (EATWOT) in 1976,

and the congresses held in Dar es Salaam in 1976, Accra in 1977, Sri Lanka in 1979, São

Paulo in 1980, Geneva in 1983, and Oaxtepec, Mexico in 1986 all contributed (Boff 73,

“Liberation” 5-8).

In response to the rapid spread of liberation theology in the Catholic Church in Latin

America, Pope John Paul II became openly hostile to the movement while traveling in

Mexico in 1979 (Allen 4-5).

John Paul spoke up for the rights of the poor, the unemployed and the oppressed. But those bishops imbued with a Marxist outlook who had been encouraging the new doctrine of liberation theology – derived from a mixture of postwar German political theology and American –inspired democratic aspirations – were rebuked. Their duty lay as pastors, not politicians, the Pope warned. (“Pope John” 5)

He immediately countered with a Roman Catholic doctrine of “spiritual liberation from

personal sin, poverty of spirit, [and] apolitical stances from the rank and file” (Cleary,

Conclusion 3). This doctrine promoted “educational programs of the elite unsympathetic to

social reform” and parishes were strengthened without the formation of grassroots

communities (Cleary, Conclusion 3). Liberation theology may not have been the direct

catalyst for the rise of Pentecostalism but it certainly opened up an avenue for change. It

changed the way the indigenous people of Latin American viewed religion, from

“resignation to one’s fate and a glorification of poverty,” to hope for alternative solutions to

the oppression in their lives (Moreno, Reformation 1). It pushed many Bolivians toward

active religious participation (Moreno, Reformation 1). Liberation theology raised a

religious fervour fed by societal and political dissatisfaction and it did play a role in the rise

14

of Pentecostalism, but not a direct role.

Hannah Stewart-Gambino alleges there were three constraints limiting the

effectiveness of liberation theology (1). First, there was pressure from the Vatican on the

Latin American Churches “to rein in particularly their more progressive elements” who

were pushing for an emphasis on social justice within the Church (Stewart-Gambino 1).

With Rome feeling the threat of liberation theology on the status quo, the Church changed

its direction in the 1980s and 90s. The actions of the Catholic Church became strongly

conservative, and the new bishops, whether they were progressive thinkers or conservative,

gave no support for grassroots community actions (Klaiber 1). The “powerful weight of

Rome” pushed moderate bishops to the conservative side (Klaiber 1). Second, in order to

maintain national religious status in the country, the Catholic Church in Bolivia had to be

careful not to push too far into human rights work (Stewart-Gambino 1).6 Governments that

felt pressured to implement social reform also undermined the human rights work of

liberation theologians. The authorities definitely preferred citizens who were passive and

noncontroversial. In agreement with Stewart-Gambino, Ana de Garcia states:

The hate is not directed to the church as such. Indeed, churches that stay at the “religious” level are praised; they have no problem. It is the church that enters into defence of human life, that takes seriously that defence at all costs, that enters into conflict with these authorities. (10) 7 Fending off the assault of the rising Pentecostal movement was the third constraint

that limited the effectiveness of liberation theology (Stewart-Gambino 1). Time, energy, and

resources of the Catholic Church were required to minimize the loss of membership to the

Pentecostals. With the rise in evangelical religion, the Catholic Church encouraged the

growth of its own charismatic movement to breathe new life into the Church. Consequently

the Catholic Church is witnessing the growth of non-political charismatic groups within its

15

ranks. These groups seem to be the product of two ongoing, long-term trends: 1) the

repression of the radical church or liberation theologians by Central American governments

in the 1970s and 1980s, and 2) a rightward push from the Vatican, beginning with Pope

John Paul II and likely continuing with Pope Benedict XVI (Garrard-Burnett 1).8 A strong

understanding of Bolivian political and religious history and knowledge about the rise and

fall of liberation theology in Latin America provides the context for evaluating the rise of

Pentecostalism in Bolivia.

Rise of Pentecostalism in Bolivia

It was not long after William J. Seymour began preaching at the Apostolic Faith

Mission on Azusa Street, Los Angeles in 1906, setting Pentecostalism in motion, that

evangelical religion made its way to Bolivia. In order to bring evangelicalism to the

Quechua and Aymara peoples, the Bolivian Indian Mission (BIM) was formed in 1907

when New Zealander George Allan arrived in Bolivia (Johnstone 1; “Focus” 6). A half-

century later, the Evangelical Christian Union (UCE) was created as a merger of the Gospel

Missionary Union and the BIM (“Focus” 6). In 1960, about one percent of the Bolivian

population was listed as evangelical Christians (“Protestant” 1). At this time, “evangelicals

began an intense effort to evangelize Bolivia” (“Protestant” 1). “Corruption and

complacency had weakened the Catholic Church and evangelicals, especially Pentecostals,

offered vibrant worship and a personal faith” (“Protestant” 1). In Bolivia, the evangelical

movement grew out of healing campaigns in La Paz that spread across the country and into

all urban and rural areas (“Protestant” 1).

Tens of thousands responded at revival meetings held by Bolivian evangelist Julio Ruibal in the 1970s. Ruibal was so popular that the president allowed him to use his personal airplane to travel to his meetings. Thousands responded at evangelistic rallies led by evangelists Luis Palau and Hermano Pablo, and many churches were born from the revivals. (“Protestant” 1)

16

The growth of Pentecostalism in Bolivia and the rest of Latin America cannot be

considered anything but phenomenal after its diminutive start on Azusa Street. Evangelicals

in Latin America have increased followers from fifty thousand in 1900 to around sixty-four

million in 1997, with three-quarters of those Pentecostal or charismatic (“Pope” 1).

Pentecostal participants believe the movement has been so successful because:

its truth is complete, absolute, and unqualified, its polemic is directed against modernism, liberalism, biblical criticism, Marxism, liberation theologies, ecumenism, humanism and any other ‘corruptions.’ (Nielsen 26)

Does Pentecostalism have the ability to sustain this growth or to survive a counter-attack

from the Roman Catholic Church if it were to change its strategy? The Catholic Church

would have a greater chance of stopping the growth of Pentecostalism if it were to analyze

and understand the strategies and strengths of the Pentecostal movement.

Pentecostalism is pushing against the dominant Catholic presence in Bolivia with a

strength that has been largely ignored by the religious and secular world. It should not be a

surprise that Pentecostalism is having a strong impact in Bolivia. The Catholic Church has

good reason to be concerned for its dwindling membership; figures in 1988 declared that

four hundred Catholics an hour were converting to “evangelical, Pentecostal or other

Fundamentalist churches” (Lernoux 1). “Not since the mass baptisms of Latin American

Indians by the conquering Spanish in the 16th century has Latin America witnessed a

religious conversion of such magnitude” (Lernoux 1). In 1992, Pope John Paul II accused

the Latin American evangelicals of being “ravenous wolves” stealing his flock. The reality

of the situation was a shortage of sheepdogs guarding the flock. Two key problems have

plagued the Catholic Church in Latin America: a lack of significant involvement for women

and a great shortage of priests. In the archdiocese of Sucre in 1986, there were only sixty-

17

two priests providing sacraments to five hundred and thirty-two thousand Catholics in an

area of Bolivia that was fifty thousand square kilometers in size (“Religion” 2). Penny

Lernoux points out that the “traditional Catholic churches serve vast numbers of people who

have little or nothing in common, and they are often impersonal ‘supermarkets for the

sacraments’ ” (4). For this reason, the feeling of neglect is inevitable for the indigenous

peoples (“Religion” 2).

The Pentecostals have a major advantage over the Catholic Church because their

pastors do not require long years of theological training, in fact needing no training at all.

Pentecostal pastors are usually from the region and understand the needs of the people.

Using local pastors and creating congregations using local people to evangelize significantly

contribute to the Pentecostal success story. For instance, a comparison can be drawn using

the Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, a denomination headquartered in the United States that

utilizes foreign missionaries to promote their belief system around the world. By

association, the Latter-day Saints’ entrance to Bolivia has been fraught with suspicion and

violence due to the past negative U.S. political involvement in most Latin American

countries (Knowlton 2).9 Detachment from North American leadership and personnel is

critical to Latin American success. Besides the shortage of local priests, another weakness

of the Catholic Church in Latin America is its inflexible, institutional parish lines (Cleary,

Conclusion 10-11). In comparison, evangelicals have no boundaries and congregations can

double up in one area with pastors selecting any location they want (Cleary, Conclusion 10-

11). The Roman Catholic Church has become the church of “distance,” distance between the

priest and the parishioner and distance between the parishioner and God. The Pentecostal

movement has moved in to fill the needs of the isolated urban newcomer offering much

support and a personal relationship to God.

18

This study will now evaluate the statistical data of Bolivia to determine just how

successfully Pentecostalism has filled this niche. As one of only three countries in Latin

America that still maintains Roman Catholicism as the national religion, the official

statistical reporting on religion in Bolivia tends to be fairly monotonous. Most reports

identify ninety-five percent of the population as Roman Catholic and five percent as

Protestant, mainly Evangelical Methodist (“Bolivia U.S.” 1; “Bolivia HRW” 1). Roman

Catholicism is still the default religion for statistical purposes; however, more accurate

assessments are beginning to appear. In 1998, the Nazarene World Mission Society reported

that 9.5% of the Bolivian population was Protestant (Johnstone 1). 10 We know the

demographics are changing but by how much is difficult to determine. A growing

proportion of Bolivians belong to a number of other non-Christian religions and Christian

Protestant denominations. Pedro Moreno suggests that in 1999, only twelve percent of

Bolivians were Roman Catholics committed to attending church regularly and seventy-five

percent were nominal believers (“Protestant” 1). An Agnosticism/Atheism report from 1999

placed the Catholics in Bolivia between sixty and seventy percent of the population (Cline

1). They reported that four hundred predominantly Protestant religious groups other than

Catholicism were active in the country (Cline 1). It was in 1999, that the Catholic Church

finally changed its long held views about Pentecostals and recognized them as a religious

group rather than a “cult” (“Protestant” 2). We can summarize from these reports that

Roman Catholicism no longer has a religious monopoly in Bolivia and that Bolivians are

searching for religious alternatives. Decades of unrest have created an environment of

instability, socially and politically, with migration fostering a spiritual upheaval that opens

the door for religious experimentation.

When compiling a head count of Pentecostals, it is very difficult to separate them

19

from evangelicals of other denominations because there is a tendency for Latin Americans

to call themselves Evangélicos rather than Pentecostals (Cleary, Shopping 2). 11 Almost all

Protestant converts in Bolivia are thought to be evangelical and the vast majority of these

are Pentecostal (“Protestants” 955).12 Statistics from the department of Pando, one of the

Andean nation’s most depressed regions, declared in 1995 that more than 14.5% of the

population had converted to evangelical Protestantism (“Protestants” 955). Zacarias Salas,

president of the United Protestant Churches in La Paz, declared, “By the year 2000 we will

number 1 million,” or about ten percent of the population (“Protestants” 955). Paul Freston,

in a Pew Forum lecture in 2006, stated that by the year 2000, twelve percent of Latin

America was Protestant ranging from five to twenty percent in the different countries (2).13

The statistics reveal an obvious increase in the number of religious denominations

participating in Bolivia today and demonstrate a significant rise in evangelical Protestantism

over the last decade; however, they are not detailed enough to break out information on

Pentecostals specifically.

Nomadismo “Shopping Around for Religion”14

It is valuable to establish why the religious marketplace in Bolivia is so vibrant today

and why Pentecostalism plays such a vital role. “Many peasants and slum inhabitants need

religion as a refuge in a society in permanent and progressive disintegration in order to deal

with fear, threats, repression, hunger and death” (Lernoux 2). However, Penny Lernoux

charges that the Catholic Church has ignored this information due to lack of creativity,

money, and clergy (2). For other Pentecostal participants, “Pentecostalism is an important

part of a powerful counterattack against modern secularism and the liberal theology which

downplayed the importance of the supernatural in the Christian religion” (“Pentecostalism”

11). The diverse religious marketplace in Bolivia and rapidly rising evangelical religion

20

have produced a situation where Latin Americans no longer base their identity solely on

Catholicism. This change is highly significant to Bolivian society and culture.

Jenkins asserts there is an element of “anti-Catholicism” within the Pentecostal

movement since the claim is being made that “millions of new believers [are] being rescued

from this supposedly non-biblical and non-Christian faith” (62). Wiarda maintains that when

individuals search “for a new set of values to replace those in the historic Catholic Church

of Latin America, which they see as not useful, not helpful and not relevant […] to their

lives,” conversion to Pentecostalism becomes a way of clinging to traditional familial and

religious values that are threatened by Catholicism (4).15 Bolivians that choose to replace

Catholicism in their life have a need to fill that varies as widely as the differences in the

people themselves. Pentecostalism displays a distinct element of diversity witnessed from

church to church. This is not a new Protestant characteristic. Protestantism has always

splintered off into different denominations based on revelation and the leader’s

interpretation of the Bible. The variance from one Pentecostal church to another in Latin

America can be expected because pastoral training is not required or standardized. In

Bolivia, street front stores in large urban centres are converted into Pentecostal churches and

small churches are being built at the end of every rural road. People are shopping around for

the church that best meets their needs and they choose the one that treats them with the most

human dignity. Bolivians are often accused of “shopping” around for religion because

conversion is often a short-term event and they leave the Pentecostal church in such high

numbers. Numerous lively religious options exist in Latin America today and people

“choose more freely than ever the religion with the emphasis closest to their own

preferences” (Cleary, Conclusion 10). Bolivians select the religious group that best meets

their unfulfilled spiritual, cultural and societal needs.

21

It is a relatively straightforward exercise discovering which individuals in Bolivia

are the principal targets for Pentecostal evangelism. There are great opportunities to convert

the large demographic group of nominal Catholics or “Catholics by culture” who are

considered “religiously inert” by the Pentecostals (Cleary, Conclusion 9). Additionally, a

large group exists of “formerly active Catholics disillusioned by the changes in the church”

(Cleary, Conclusion 9). Kenneth MacHarg discloses that while most Latin American

mainline Protestants represent the middle-class, Pentecostals derive their support mainly

from the poor (26). In Bolivia, the poor are primarily the indigenous peoples and they tend

to merge their religious beliefs without regard for pure denominational adherence. There is

evidence that the poor, rural indigenous peoples are blending their traditional indigenous

beliefs, Catholicism, and now Pentecostalism into one belief system that satisfies all their

needs (“Bolivia U.S.” 9).16 For many individuals in Bolivia today, overwhelming religious

choices make selecting a church difficult. Individuals are faced with the situation where

each acquaintance or relative pulls them toward a different church. Pentecostal leaders have

carefully studied the changing social migration of Bolivians, creating a highly attractive

spiritual and structural package designed to assist the displaced, successfully filling a niche

in the religious marketplace.

Pentecostal Conversion

When examining the rise of Pentecostalism, it is necessary to discuss the meaning of

Pentecostal conversion and evaluate the characteristics of Pentecostalism that attract so

many converts to the movement. Pentecostal conversion is a controversial topic as the

definition differs greatly from the usage in traditional mainstream religious groups. In

Pentecostalism, conversion is a transitional term indicating that a significant change has

occurred in one’s life. Conversion does not necessarily entail a lifelong commitment nor

22

does it mean one is bound to a definite set of doctrinal beliefs. Bolivians convert from one

faith group, either Roman Catholicism or mainstream Protestantism, to Pentecostalism;

however, commitment to the movement is often difficult to sustain. If an indigenous

person’s relationship with the Pentecostals ends, they are very creative in blending together

religious doctrines from a multitude of faith groups. Syncretism has always existed in the

worldview of the indigenous peoples and facets of Pentecostalism are just stirred into the

pot with all the other ingredients.

Daniel H. Levine and David Stoll provide a list of five attributes that draw Latin

Americans from the Catholic Church to the evangelical Protestant movement and these

include: 1) “social change and mobility,” 2) “the allure of modernity,” 3) “the small size of

churches located on the urban periphery,” 4) “the intense informal social networks”, and

5) “the evangelical component in the message” (68). Levine and Stoll contend these

characteristics satisfy an underlying desire for progress and advancement in society (68).

Trying to assess these five attributes as to priority or importance to converts is a difficult

task. The indigenous peoples of Bolivia have been living in poverty for so many centuries

that the Pentecostal offer of movement up the social ladder must be one of the most

significant reasons to convert. That explains the rapid acceptance of the “prosperity gospel”

in the Pentecostal movement. Cleary argues that converts adopt and remain in

Pentecostalism primarily because of networks of friends, job acquaintances, and neighbours

who bring them into the church and help them remain faithful (Shopping 1). This study

agrees with his contention that for migrants who have lost their traditional societal

structures, the offer of an instant social network is high on the priority list. Attributes such

as the size of the church are not likely a major concern to the migrants when massive

Pentecostal mega churches are beginning to spring up all over Latin America. However, the

23

location of the churches on the periphery of the large urban centres where the migrants

dwell is a valuable feature. The evangelical message is more attractive for some people than

for others, since the indigenous peoples have lived with a syncretic worldview for hundreds

of years and it would not be traumatic to add a few new touches about salvation and a

personal relationship to God to their belief system. The least important feature of the five is

the “allure of modernity.” Being forced into modernity is a key explanation for the rise of

religious fundamentalism around the world in all religions. Tradition is often preferred, as

modernity is seen as carrying many undesirable qualities, especially when it comes to the

actions, behaviour, and dress of women in society.

Besides the five attributes listed above, Pentecostalism arrives with many more

positive characteristics that have been overlooked. If democracy is a goal, Freston adds that

the “democratizing potential” of Pentecostalism is viewed as a means of escape from

poverty in Latin America (3). Pentecostalism forces a change to the traditional role of men

in the Latin American community from machismo to “responsibility to the family,” and this

is a huge bonus in the daily lives of women in Bolivian society. Pentecostal commitment

means the vices of alcohol, tobacco, and drugs must go, domestic violence and adulterous

relationships have to end, and in most cases, full time employment is expected.

Pentecostal communities offer many positive experiences for the poor of Bolivia.

When one converts, there is an overwhelming sense of having all one’s problems lifted from

one’s shoulders. The whole Pentecostal community wraps itself around the struggling

individual, providing support and solutions to every problem. The warmth of the community

is difficult to resist and new friendships are immediate. Healing is important in all

Pentecostal communities and it is often the feature that renders “these communities so rich

and attractive” (Chiquete 479). Healing can be emotional, physical, spiritual or any

24

combination of the three. Common areas of importance in most Latin American Pentecostal

churches are conversion, prosperity gospel, and healing. Most conversions are attached to

miraculous healing of oneself or a loved one, through prayer that provides “proof of God’s

love and acceptance, includes the forgiveness of sins and a new life filled with the presence

of the Holy Spirit” (Chiquete 480).17 In addition, literal Bible interpretation is an attractive

feature for Pentecostals in Bolivia. The reality expressed in the biblical scriptures is not a

stretch from the daily Latin American reality of health issues and life struggles and it is

viewed as a believable part of church practice. Since the time of the early healing revivals in

Bolivia, healing is one of the characteristics of Pentecostalism that draws a large percentage

of converts to the movement. Since 1532, when Roman Catholicism first made advances in

Bolivia, spiritual development has never experienced anything like the rapid rise of

conversion to Pentecostalism. Pentecostal conversion may be controversial to other faith

groups and Christian denominations; however, Pentecostal conversion has significant

meaning in the lives of its converts. It is essential to remember that the reasons for

conversion are as plentiful as the number of new converts themselves.

II. Pentecostalism & Politics in Bolivia

This portion of the research study explains the past and present involvement of

Pentecostals in the politics of Bolivia and Latin America. The following three sections

include: 1) an account of the historical Pentecostal involvement in politics; 2) a description

of why political conservatism for Pentecostals is not a given, and 3) a discussion of the

Bolivian presidential push to end Roman Catholic national status and the affect it will have

on the future participation of Pentecostals in the political arena. This section will illustrate

that, contrary to the statements made by Philip Jenkins, Pentecostals have been involved in

25

politics for decades, and the assumption of political conservatism for Pentecostals based on

past social conservatism is a flawed prediction (8). Recent trends in Latin American politics

demonstrate that numerous other factors beyond religious affiliation influence political

decision-making. While studying the political involvement of Pentecostals today, it is

critical to bear in mind the Bolivian history outlined in the first section of this research study

that revealed the centuries-long oppressive past history of the indigenous peoples of Bolivia.

Pentecostals are slowly gaining respect within Bolivian political circles as evidenced

by the June 2006 President’s Prayer Meeting between Evo Morales and Alberto Salcedo, the

leader of the mega church Ekklesia in La Paz (Direccion 2,6).18 The key point of this

meeting was the discussion of separation of church and state for Bolivia (Direccion 2,6).

This event marked the official acceptance of Pentecostalism as a religion in Bolivia and the

acceptance of Pentecostalism into the Bolivian political arena.

Historical Pentecostal Involvement in Politics

Until recently Latin American evangelicals considered politics as something ‘belonging to the devil,’ something ‘evil and dirty,’ with which Christians should have nothing to do. (Moreno, Latin 4) In reality, Pentecostalism as a movement has been involved in politics for decades.

Since the 1980s, Protestant involvement in Bolivian politics has risen exponentially and this

is most evident in the Pentecostal denominations (Freston 2). These are the same

Pentecostals who declared politics was the work of the devil. Protestant political parties

have not been hugely successful to date because of their ultra conservative platform and

their tendency to exaggerate the size and importance of their denominations (Freston 2).

Protestant politics in Latin America has been called a process “of democratization” but not a

process “for democratization” (Freston 2). One positive trend of Protestant involvement in

politics is the advancement of the political voice of both Bolivian women and indigenous

26

people. Bolivia’s neighbouring countries are all experiencing a rise in evangelical political

influence, and by association, the same trend is likely to be evolving in Bolivia. Bolivian

evangelical churches are being influenced when they meet at regular intervals with

evangelical churches from all over Latin American.

Two key points from Bolivia’s recent political history are relevant to the

understanding of Pentecostalism’s controversial past. First, the past political leadership of

Bolivia suppressed all attempts by indigenous people to enter politics. Bolivian politics has

been dominated by “generally corrupt rightist political parties” that violently suppressed all

political opposition (McCarter 1). Second, as a means of controlling the masses, past

political leadership also restricted the involvement of any religious institution that tried to

improve the situation of the poor. As mentioned in the first section of this study, the

Catholic Church has national status in Bolivia, but its power is limited. For centuries,

crossing the line from religion into politics was forbidden for the Catholic Church. In the

1970s and 80s, the Catholic Church was able to maintain its national status as long as it

avoided human rights activity or carried it out in a subversive manner. Unlike the Catholic

Church, Pentecostals in the 1970s and 80s were able to cross into politics without

repercussion. They backed and financed U.S. military intervention in the fight against leftist

political groups and were complicit in the installment of corrupt, conservative, dictatorial

military regimes (Moreno, Evangelical 59). Their goal was to suppress the justice work of

the liberation theology movement and Catholic human rights workers (Moreno, Evangelical

59). Magister, in reference to a speech to the Italian Senate on May 13, 2004 by Joseph

Cardinal Ratzinger, now officially known as Pope Benedict the XVI, blatantly points a

finger at “the Protestant establishment in the United States that is fomenting and financing

these sects, in the interest of political domination” (3).19 Ratzinger comments, “Perhaps we

27

should also remark that the United States is actively promoting the spread of Protestantism

in Latin America, and consequently the decline of the Catholic Church as a result of inroads

made by free churches,” a frequent term used for evangelical churches (Ratzinger 8).20

Although Bolivia had three U.S. interventions between the 1960s and 80s, with

Operation Blast Furnace, U.S. assassination operations against “Che” Guevara, and

Operation Condor, a more blatant example of Pentecostal involvement comes out of Chile,

Bolivia’s neighbour (“Small” 5). Evangelicals were implicated in violent conflicts during

the regime of General Augusto Pinochet, who took power in 1973 in a U.S. backed military

coup. Pinochet favoured Protestants over Catholics because he was annoyed at Catholic

Church involvement in human rights activities (Cleary, Conclusion 9). This implies that

evangelicals were concerned for their own salvation and the rights of their own membership,

but had little regard for the human rights of the general population. Pinochet’s regime had

the support of U.S. evangelicals such as Jimmy Swaggart, Pat Robertson and Jerry Falwell,

all having ties to the administration of President Ronald Reagan (Lernoux 2). Religious

groups that supported conservatism and “passive acceptance of authority” were favoured by

the Pinochet regime (Lernoux 2). In order to move forward with rapid growth, Pentecostals

will have to own up to their part in this controversial political history of Latin America. The

past involvement of Pentecostals in politics helped limit the success of the liberation

theology movement in the 1970s and human rights abuses continued unchecked.

When studying political shifts influencing democracy and religion in Latin America,

it is important to understand the tragic impact of U.S. imperial political and religious policy

on Latin Americans (Maduro 1). It is critical to look at the involvement of religion in

expressing and reinforcing “imperial views, relations and policies toward the least among

us” (Maduro 1).21 Pentecostalism is tied to imperialism through its past backing of U.S. led

28

interventions and support of military regimes. In their complicity, Pentecostals have

participated in the systematic oppression of the people of Latin America, exacerbating the

massive gap between the rich and the poor. Pentecostalism found its niche, ministering to

the poor migrants that were displaced by the empire they helped create. Bolivia is one of the

nations that experienced U.S. interventions firsthand and these historic episodes provide the

context for the discussion of Bolivian religion and politics. The type of intervention being

discussed includes “the encouragement, financing, recognition, and active economic and

military support of most right-wing military coups and dictatorships terrorizing their own

peoples in the twentieth century,” and each intervention had its religious agenda (Maduro 3-

4). Almost every democratic government elected for the first time in Latin America since

1940, was rapidly overturned by a “military, proactive conspiracy” of what Maduro calls

“the four usual suspects”:

(i) the U.S. Government in cahoots with U.S. corporations investing in the country at stake; (ii) the local large landowners; (iii) the local military and police; and, last but not least, but with significant dissidence through the 70s and 80s, (iv) the Christian churches. (5)

Thousands of Bolivians died at the hands of U.S. sponsored military groups and this

destruction was both political and economic in nature. In one intervention after another, in

countries including Guatemala, Nicaragua, Ecuador, Honduras, and Mexico, U.S.

government and evangelical support for terrorist activities was used to undermine the work

of leftist human rights groups (Lernoux 2). Violent disruptions have not only created

“political turmoil, social conflicts, demographic movements, religious changes and cultural

innovations,” including the rise of liberation theologies and base Christian communities, but

also the “growth and spread of Pentecostalisms” (Maduro 6). Evangelical churches assisted

the U.S. backed interventions to overturn leftist political rivals, leading to the further growth

29

of Pentecostalism. When discussing the negative impact of past politics on the poor

indigenous peoples of Bolivia, Pentecostalism has undeniably been part of the problem.

Moving forward two decades, evangelical Protestant involvement in politics has

been on the rise in Bolivia since the first representative was elected to the Bolivian Congress

in 1993. David Martin points out a noticeable trend occurring within Bolivian politics; “the

way many Protestants reproduce the pattern of relationships based on authority and

patronage” (259). Sean S. O’Neil concurs with Martin stating that “Pentecostalism [bears]

an uncanny resemblance to the traditional patron-client relationship ubiquitous throughout

Latin American history” (41). This historical social structure of Latin America has definitely

set the tone for political involvement of Pentecostals and at the same time has satisfied the

void in the social structure created by migration. There is a definite political trend of bloc

support for an individual with the reciprocal relationship of advocacy and protection at play.

Moving from the historical roles of Pentecostals in Bolivian politics to the more

contemporary trends has emphasized the level of involvement of Pentecostals in politics.

Not only have Pentecostals been involved for decades, but much of their participation has

been quite controversial.

Political Conservatism For Pentecostals is Not a Given

Understanding the modern political trends in Latin America is a necessity for

deciding whether the voting patterns of Pentecostals in Bolivia follow the conservative

prediction of Philip Jenkins or not (8). Social conservatism may be the past trend for

Pentecostals but conservatism cannot be assumed in Bolivia and there is evidence to prove

that religious belief plays only a minor role in current political voting. Throughout this

discussion, it is important to follow the ever-shifting definitions used in the political arena

today to understand political right from left, and liberal from conservative thought. There

30

are two rapidly growing movements changing the socio-political face of Bolivia at the

present time and these include the rapid rise in evangelical Pentecostalism among the poor

and the aggressive participation of the indigenous peoples of Bolivia in a strong, effective

social movement in the political arena that separates itself from church affiliation. Studying

the interaction between the rising Pentecostal movement and the rising social movement is

crucial, including the identification of the participants of each, and how they relate to the

liberation theology movement in the 1960s and 70s.

Where once liberation theology was the “left” in Latin America, the new “left” is

socialism and a resistance to global capitalism (Aquino 1). It is a movement to resist the

involvement of the United States on “free trade, debt, investment, and geopolitical strategy”

(Aquino 1). This social movement is the hope of millions of Latin Americans who suffer

great poverty, unemployment and forced migration, all resulting from empire and the rapid

rise of “globalization” (Aquino 1). Liberation theology spurred the social justice movement

in the 1960s and 70s and played a critical role in the wars of liberation in Central America in

the 1970s and 80s. Gott attributes the rising social movement to resistance “against the free-

market system”, “globalization”, and “privatization” (4). The defeat of the political left by

U.S. backed military regimes in the 1980s and 90s in Latin America, and the suppression of

the radical church movement by the Catholic Church, led to the decline of the liberation

theology movement as a political and social entity. The interpretation of the relationship

between the rise in Pentecostalism and the gradual dwindling of the liberation theology

movement may differ from scholar to scholar; however, it can be demonstrated that the

liberation theology movement definitely played a role in the shift in Latin America toward

democracy.

31

According to Samuel Huntington, democracy was the greatest contribution of the

Catholic Church to Latin America in the 1980s (35). However, little credit has gone to the

Catholic Church for its “long tortuous process in learning how to deal with repressive

military governments” and the courage of the Catholic Church workers in “denouncing

episodic and structural injustices” (Cleary, Conclusion 4). Most of the credit is going to the

“democratizing influence of Protestantism or Pentecostalism in Latin America” (Cleary,

Conclusion 4). According to Cleary, the Roman Catholic Church: 1) “helped to delegitimize

the arbitrarily assumed and prolonged military governments and helped to force a transition

to democracy”; 2) “fostered and protected democratic structures growing at the grassroots in

society,” for example NGOs, new social movements, and base Christian communities;

3) “offered safe space to groups in the community and a place for political groups to

communicate their policy”, and 4) “acted as mediators and moderators to form an alliance of

political parties” (Cleary, Conclusion 4). There is no denying the importance of the work of

the Roman Catholic Church in the spread of democracy across Latin America, and to its

own detriment, the resulting proliferation of other religious groups.

In the midst of rapidly rising Pentecostalism, numerous countries in Latin America,

including Bolivia, have recently elected leftist populist governments. 22 Besides Bolivia,

Chile, Brazil, Argentina, Uruguay, Ecuador, Venezuela, and Peru have all gone this route

creating a uniform leftist front across most of South America. Pentecostal political

participation has increased at the grassroots level as community activities provide

individuals with the confidence and skills to tackle the public and political arenas. In

Bolivia, Pentecostals are traditionally thought to be conservative and grassroots Catholics

are seen to be involved in conservative, charismatic movements. Additionally, there is

overwhelming conservatism in the Latin American leadership of the Roman Catholic

32

Church, with most Cardinals actively involved in Opus Dei, the Institute for Religion and

Democracy, and the Legion of Mary (Cleary, Conclusion 3). So who was responsible for

electing Evo Morales and his leftist party to power? That is the key question to be

investigated in this section of the study. Did the “conservative” indigenous Pentecostals play

some part in this political outcome?

With the election of Evo Morales, Bolivia, and the rest of Latin America for that

matter, elected their first wholly, indigenous president. The critical question here is how the

indigenous Pentecostals voted. On one hand, we have the indigenous peoples of Bolivia

empowered to raise their political voices with a continual increase of nationalistic political

involvement. They groomed a new presidential candidate from their ranks with a strong

socialist agenda. On the other hand, we have the rapid rise of Pentecostalism within the

poor, migrant indigenous communities. It is important to determine if the indigenous

Pentecostal sector joined the remaining indigenous peoples of Bolivia, regardless of their

religious affiliation, to vote for a leftist political party.

The rising participation of religious groups, including evangelical Protestants, in

Bolivian politics is evident in the results of the last presidential election. Research

demonstrates that there is an anti-American movement sweeping Latin America. In

December 2005, listening to the acceptance speech of Evo Morales, he proclaimed to his

supporters that he was the United States’ “worst nightmare” (Dunkerley 134; Bergin 3). He

joins a growing number of anti-American leftist governments in Latin America fighting to

overcome the corruptive political atmosphere of the past three and a half decades. Most

Bolivians did not benefit from an open market in the 1980s and 90s and their selection of an

anti-capitalist for president speaks to their frustration and disappointment from past decades

and the immediate need for radical political change.23

33

Evo Morales received a 53.7 % majority in the 2005 election and it can be assumed

that a large percentage of the indigenous peoples supported him; but, did indigenous

Pentecostals support him? In Bolivia, where voting is mandatory, the population is thirty

percent Quechua and twenty-eight percent Aymara giving an indigenous total of fifty-eight

percent (“Bolivia U.S.” 9). With a 4.3% margin, the close proximity of these two

percentages cannot be ignored. Some statistics from the Bolivian election show one political

party in Bolivia known as Concertación Nacional (CN) has a “strong presence of

evangelical Christian groups” representing all departments of Bolivia except Pando (“Final”

6).24 It is not evident whether CN is supported by Pentecostals or just by other evangelical

groups such as the Methodists. Traditionally, the evangelical Methodists consist of middle-

class participants rather than poor indigenous membership, and this group is about five

percent of the Bolivian population (MacHarg 26). CN gained 3.58% of the electoral vote,

giving it five seats or 1.96% of the Constituent Assembly (“Final” 31). Even if some

Pentecostals supported CN, it can be assumed that Pentecostals voted for other political

groups, as they constitute approximately ten to fifteen percent of the population. Jenkins’

prediction of conservatism triggered this evaluation of Pentecostal voting patterns. The

question of whether Bolivian Pentecostals are socially conservative or not, and if they are,

whether they can maintain social conservatism while voting for leftist socialism? If this

pattern can be established, it would certainly run counter to the great conservative wave

predicted by Jenkins (8). This inconsistent voting pattern for Pentecostals is highly

significant and it illustrates that Pentecostals are not voting conservatively or in large

unified blocs.

In this analysis, it is important to decide if religious affiliation plays a key role in the

selection of a political leader. Lacking crucial religious details on Bolivia’s 2005 election,

34

research studies relating to Venezuela’s 1998 election reveal pertinent information for

Bolivia’s situation. A study by Jensen Michael Grant on the correlation between Pentecostal

belief and the 1998 election of leftist Venezuelan presidential leader Hugo Chávez, indicates

that religion “has little to no efficacy as a predictor of voting patterns” (33). In the study, the

strongest reason for voting for Chávez was the need to have a political change and to punish

corrupt politicians (Grant 34). Grant’s study uncovered many interesting statistics on

Venezuelan belief systems and the most striking point made was that Venezuelan society

was largely Pentecostalized and this movement was very strong among practicing Catholics

belonging to the Charismatic Catholic Movement (5, 37). In 1999, fully 92.4% of

Venezuelans self-identified as Catholics and almost all of them held significant Pentecostal

beliefs about biblical inerrancy, signs of the end of time approaching, and experiencing the

Holy Spirit (Grant 5). If sixty-five percent of practicing Catholics, 74.5% of non-practicing

Catholics and sixty-three percent of evangelicals voted for Chávez, there must have been a

significant group of Pentecostal believers that voted left (Grant 18). As expected, within the

election results, there was an overall negative correlation between evangelical belief and

votes for Hugo Chávez but there were still many Pentecostals who voted for him (Grant 20).

Combining these results from Venezuela and following the general leftist direction of Latin

American politics, we begin to understand the context that brought Evo Morales to power in

Bolivia.

While the religious demographics in Bolivia are somewhat different than those in

Venezuela, Bolivia still voted left. We can also safely assume that many Pentecostals voted

left. According to Walter Mignolo, it was not so much a political turn to the left as a “social

movement that emerged from Aymara and Quechua people, activists, and intellectuals”

wanting political change after centuries of oppression and poverty (1).25 While many

35

indigenous Pentecostals likely voted against Morales, many more likely voted for him.

Either that, or the elite ruling class supported Morales too, but that trend seems less likely.

When discussing political trends in Bolivia, it must be remembered that historically, the

country has changed political leadership an average of every ten months for the last one

hundred and fifty-six years. It would be premature at this point to suggest long-term

political stability has been reached in Bolivia. However, Jenkins predicted a conservative

wave for Pentecostalism in the near future and this does not seem likely (8). Pentecostals

appear willing to join the rest of the indigenous peoples in Bolivia, regardless of their

religious affiliation, in a leftist vote to achieve social and political change. This may even

indicate that leftist politics is the long-term trend for Pentecostals in Bolivia. Unless this is

only a short-term political trend, Jenkins’ assumption for Pentecostal conservatism will need

to be revised (8).

The Future of Pentecostal Involvement in Politics

One immediate goal of Morales’ government is to end the Roman Catholic Church’s

monopoly on religious power in Bolivia and this should have a significant impact on future

Pentecostal involvement in politics and political direction (“Bolivian” 1).26 If Morales

supports the ideology of his mentor, Jesuit Mauricio Bacardit, then Bolivia will likely

become a secular state opening the doors to all religions in a more egalitarian manner and

the focus will be placed on the reduction of poverty (Glaister 3).27 No “one” religion will

have a power advantage in politics. For Pentecostalism, this change in the Bolivian political

arena will be highly beneficial and timely. If the Pentecostal movement grows, Bolivia is

surrounded by countries with strong evangelical religious involvement in government such

as Chile and Brazil so the examples are everywhere to lead the Bolivian Pentecostals in a

similar direction.

36

Strong political involvement will give the Pentecostals a greater influence in

Bolivian society and the strength to maintain a rigid break from U.S. evangelicals. Although

U.S. televangelists have had a strong influence in the growth of Pentecostalism in Latin

America, they acted as catalysts until the movement could support its own people and fill its

own leadership roles. Bolivian Pentecostalism emphasizes native-born clergy, and according

to Wiarda, speaking at a Pew Forum, “native-born evangelical clergy are more associated

with national social and political movements” than earlier religious movements (4). A

geopolitical split between Latin American and U.S. evangelicals is demonstrated by the

response of each to the Iraq War. Latin American evangelicals were against the war while

U.S. evangelicals supported it (Lernoux 3). The Latin American evangelicals have been

against the whole “war on terror” military action from the beginning (Lernoux 3). For this

reason, Latin American evangelicals are considered to be closer to U.S. mainline religious

denominations than U.S. evangelical positions (Lernoux 3).

The political direction of Bolivian Pentecostals might be influenced by: 1) the

closeness of their connections with mainline U.S. religious groups, 2) the strength of their

nationalistic indigenous ties, and 3) the strength of their human rights movement. Bolivians

are demonstrating the ability to consolidate large masses of people to fight injustice. Their

ability to fight empire and overturn the privatization of water in the country was

phenomenal. It can be assumed that Pentecostals were involved in the social movement to

overturn these adverse political decisions, as their vote would be needed to attain a majority

against the elite parties in power. Understanding the political direction of Bolivian

Pentecostals will require the observation of more than one presidential election. There is

little doubt that a highly controversial political situation is playing out in Latin America.

The hugely successful social movement of indigenous peoples in Bolivia has overturned the

37

elitist ruling parties in a statement of solidarity supporting their leftist, populist leader. Two

key points about Pentecostal political involvement must be emphasized: 1) Pentecostal

involvement in politics is not a new phenomenon, as research demonstrates that the

movement has been involved in politics for decades and 2) this study has proven that

Bolivian Pentecostals may have been socially conservative in the past; however, this does

not indicate either social or political conservatism for the future. The results of the 2005

Bolivian election suggest that the past controversial participation of Pentecostals in the

political forum, as defined by complicity in U.S. imperial intervention, is influencing the

direction of current politics with a strong stance against U.S. backed political parties. The

Pentecostal influence mentioned here is a broad statement against past U.S. intervention,

and although the Pentecostals are voting against American influence, it is an indigenous

vote more than it is a Pentecostal vote. This does not change the thesis statement that

religious belief in Bolivia is not always a strong indicator of individual political direction.

Current Bolivian politics is a wave of nationalistic socialism with the goal of lifting up the

issues of the indigenous majority, neglected for far too long. Pentecostals will need to

decide whether they plan to address the involvement in past controversial politics and to

what degree of political transparency the movement plans to adopt.

III. The Dark Secrets of Pentecostalism

Now it is time to examine the more destructive features of Pentecostalism, or the

dark secrets of the movement, in greater detail. This research study includes a

comprehensive discussion on anti-intellectualism within the movement, Pentecostalism’s

damaging link to globalization, divisiveness of the movement, and Pentecostal conversion

and the resulting mass drop out rate, four of the most damaging negative characteristics of

38

Pentecostalism. This will be followed by a succinct analysis of several other dark secrets of

the Pentecostal movement. A central player in the debate on Pentecostalism is Roger E.

Olsen who states:

Some non-Pentecostal religious scholars, such as Harvey Cox (Fire from Heaven) 28 and Philip Jenkins (The Next Christendom) have succumbed to ‘Pentecostal chic’ – a kind of romantic view of Pentecostalism as a much-needed spiritual movement of the poor and oppressed that fills the Western world’s ‘ecstasy deficit.’ Missing in some of these accounts is an awareness of the movement’s dark side. (1) While this study agrees with many of Olsen’s arguments about Pentecostalism,

contemporary scholarship on Pentecostalism in Bolivia and the wider Latin American

landscape reveals that Olsen’s assessment is not quite accurate. Cox does qualify his rosy

picture of Pentecostalism somewhat, albeit in a small section of his last chapter, giving a

brief account of the dark side of the Pentecostal movement (310-311). It should be noted

that prior to publication, it was largely Pentecostals who reviewed Fire from Heaven for

Cox, and this might explain the emphasis on the positive aspects (ix-x). The scholarship of

Jenkins and Cox almost has the feel of “political correctness.” Pentecostalism is lifted up as

a beacon of rapid growth and hope for the continuity of Christianity in the global south,

followed by growth in the global north through immigration, with an emphasis on the

positive characteristics. Little mention is made of the dark side of Pentecostalism, including

the substantial drop out rate that is witnessed in most regions of Latin America, or the

reasons for this mass exodus. This study will now assess the key dark secrets individually.

Anti-intellectualism

Anti-intellectualism has the potential of being very destructive for Pentecostalism.

This ‘phobia’ goes beyond just avoidance to a fear of speaking about “reason,

intellectualism, doctrines, [and] ideologies” (Moreno, Latin 2). This conflict between

emotion and reason is pushed to an extreme level in Pentecostalism with total reliance on

39

“emotionalism and feelings” (Moreno, Latin 2). Moreno refers to a Biblical passage often

misquoted by the Pentecostals to back their anti-intellectualism: “Do not be conformed to

this world, but be transformed by the [removing] of your minds, so that you may discern

what is the will of God – what is good and acceptable and perfect” (Romans 12:2).

Changing the word “renewing” to “removing” has tampered with this biblical passage. The

anti-intellectual aspect of Pentecostalism is quite complex and extensive and it ranges from

deep suspicion of all scholars and educators, “especially biblical scholars and theologians,”

to shunning its own scholars, rejecting rational thought, and deep resentment of those

participants who have the nerve to question doctrine (Olsen 1). Those insiders who dare to

question the church are often shamed or treated to spiritual abuse (Olsen 1). Youth who

attend Pentecostal seminaries today are often rejected when they try to return to their home

communities (Olsen 1). Anti-intellectualism extends to the lack of educational requirements

for pastors, with charismatic character emphasized over education. The study of rationalism

and theological church history are usually abandoned in most Pentecostal communities

because of the mindset that “if there is no future, then why worry about the past?” (Moreno,

Latin 2). The importance of the Holy Spirit far outweighs the importance of the Bible.

Moreno states, “there is a knee-jerk rejection of the ‘secular’ or ‘natural’ in favor of a purist

‘spiritual’ or ‘religious’ position,” however, the negative side to this position is very

destructive (Latin 2). For instance, Moreno reports that in 1993 a large number of

charismatic-Pentecostal leaders in Bolivia decided not to celebrate Christmas since many

pagan festivals used to be held at the same time of year (Latin 2). This disassociation with

intellectualism or rationality has many scholars such as Daniel J. Chiquete directing pointed

questions at the Pentecostals:

40

1) “Does minimizing the need for education and study create a society unable to compete in the modern world?” 2) “Does the policy of no pastor-training requirement lend to a greater propensity for corruption and less control in the denomination?” 3) “Does the focus on healing without theological and medical knowledge lead to misinterpretations and other shortcomings in the way both the ministry of healing and mission are carried out?” (482)

Using these questions for self-analysis would create a great opportunity to strengthen the

Pentecostal movement. Although anti-intellectualism is strong in Bolivian Pentecostalism,

there is a slow shift toward understanding the need to educate children so they can compete

in the global market.

Conversion

It is now time to discuss conversion and the high drop out rate for Pentecostals, the

most controversial aspect of Pentecostalism and the characteristic most critiqued by other

Christian Churches.

However transforming they may appear at the time, moreover, conversions are not always a permanent and life-changing event: Latin America has plenty of ex-evangelicals, as well as ex-Catholics. (Jenkins 62)

Statistics are beginning to appear for Pentecostalism that run counter to the exponential

growth predicted by Jenkins and present a very different picture than the one created by

Cox, who stated, “there are not many “nominal” or “nonobservant” Pentecostals” (168).

Speaking about Pentecostal growth without adequate discussion given to the high drop out

rates is a delusional process. The dropouts from Pentecostalism are no different than any

other religion; however, the treatment of the dropouts by the community is significant.

Furthermore, the reasons for the dropout phenomenon are a great problem for

Pentecostalism, and the gathering of statistics is different from other Protestant

denominations or Catholicism.

41

The treatment of the less committed members of Pentecostalism differs from the

practice and doctrine of mainline Protestant Churches and the Catholic Church. These more

mature Christian denominations consider conversion a long-term phenomenon that travels

through families for generations. Pentecostals shun the less committed. Cleary explains that

by marginalizing the less committed:

[…] those more committed might continue unimpeded in the pursuit of their high goals. Less committed would pull the committed down to a common denominator of laxer practice. The churches keep the luster of their religion bright precisely by shedding the nonobservant and the unrepentant. (Shopping 4)

The problem with this method of keeping commitment high is lack of generational

continuity and it creates rifts between family members. People are drifting away from their

churches in huge numbers and the treatment of these people by their faith community

requires examination.

To set up a comparison, when family members leave the Catholic Church it creates a

great division in the family, and so it would seem, that conversion to Protestantism of any

form would only be taken with serious commitment. It appears that Latin Americans who

convert to Pentecostalism are committed in their conversion process; however, it is a

commitment to a set of rules created by someone else and this can often lead to

disillusionment. Pentecostalism arrives with the promise of social and economic gain

through commitment to the faith group and anyone living for generations in poverty would

naturally be attracted. Evidence would suggest that lifelong commitment to Pentecostalism

is extremely stressing and often not attainable.

The problem begins with the perfectionist moral behaviour expected from the

devoted (Cleary, Shopping 3). People free themselves from their vices and lead exemplary

lives devoted to their church but it is very hard to maintain this level of perfection forever.

42

As well, the promise of economic prosperity is a great motivator for many people, but

sometimes the gains do not counter the great sacrifices endured. The converts begin to

realize that the Pentecostals only care about those that convert and commit fully to the life

of the movement. It is not forgiving if you are not a strongly committed member.

Pentecostalism is not traditionally a movement seeking social justice for all people. It tends

to assist only those that convert and support the church financially, although recent voting

trends may contradict this statement. People are expected to attend their church a minimum

of once a week. Attendance several times per week shows you are truly committed and

people who fail to attend are obviously not serious about their commitment. These are the

“dropouts.”

The reasons for dropping out of Pentecostalism are many. Randall Balmer suggests,

“What can be harder than passing on religious verve and vitality from one generation to the

next, especially within a tradition that defines itself by the conversion process […]?” (93).

One problem with Pentecostalism or any other type of evangelical religion is the second or

third generation do not get the same dramatic conversion as their parents, who were likely

saved from the worst worldly vices. Balmer wonders if the children of Pentecostals can

actually claim to be saved if they were raised within a lifestyle of devote commitment (94).

Growing up within a converted family must mean that you are already living the converted

life without vices, so how do you attain conversion in a meaningful way? It would appear

that the importance of Pentecostal conversion is one of the more serious “dark secrets.”

Conversion is so profound for the first generation convert; however, it could lead to self-

destruction of the movement if the critical importance of conversion for future generations

is not addressed.

43

Relating to the gathering of statistics, Pentecostals are accused of “institutional

aggrandizement” as they frequently overstate their own statistics and refrain from

mentioning drop out rates (Freston 2). Pentecostals expect commitment, and their numbers,

when honestly collected, tend to more accurately identify true believers. Certainly, the

growth of Pentecostalism has been phenomenal, but unlike the statistics found in other Latin

American countries, drop out rates from Pentecostalism in Bolivia do not seem to exist, at

least, not in the statistics. In Chile, for example, public records show less than half of

Chile’s Pentecostals attend church once a week and more than one third do not attend at all

(Cleary, Shopping 3).29 In Mexico, the statistics are very similar with forty-eight percent

attending weekly and no attendance from the other fifty-two percent (Cleary, Shopping 3).

Moreover, in Mexico, children who were raised Pentecostal are leaving the church as adults

and sixty-eight percent of individuals baptized Protestant in the 1980s had left the church by

the 90s (Cleary, Shopping 3).

In order to continue the assault on Roman Catholicism in Bolivia, it is evident that

self-examination and studies need to be conducted by Pentecostals to understand this

growing demographic called “the drop out”. Churches should be required to declare

participation statistics by baptism and then be required to alter the statistics when half the

people drop out of the denomination. However, loose statistical gathering has historically

been the norm in countries like England and Germany where nominal or cultural

participation in a religious faith group is counted as membership, even with no active church

attendance. It is really no different than reporting that ninety-five percent of Bolivians are

Roman Catholics. However, Freston would “suggest that the religious future of Latin

America is much more pluralist” where one of two individuals leaving the Catholic Church

become Protestant and the other gives up on religion altogether or chooses another faith

44

group (2). Comparative studies in countries such as Guatemala and Mexico, where

Pentecostals have been around in greater numbers for much longer, demonstrate that

participation tends to plateau at around twenty-five percent of the population (Cleary,

Shopping 3). Unless Pentecostals in Bolivia introduce some major changes to the

movement, the drop out rate will continue to be high.

Where syncretism worked well with nominal Catholicism, it fails with

Pentecostalism because you are either in or out of the movement. There is no sitting on the

fence, you are committed or you are not committed. As a result, if the indigenous people

find it impossible to stay on the high perfectionist road of Pentecostalism, they drop out.

However, they don’t seem to see conversion as an all or nothing experience. When people

drop out, it probably does not mean they reject all aspects of Pentecostalism, but once again

they will select those that work for them, such as speaking in tongues or prophecy, and

reject the rest as superfluous or unwieldy to practise. Pentecostalism will likely plateau in

the same pattern as other Latin American Pentecostal communities if the more controversial

features of conversion such as the perfectionist moral requirement and conversion for future

generations are not given considerable attention. When a religion’s structures run counter to

the cultural norms, it becomes a test for the converts to see how long they are able to last.

Where apostasy was rare in traditional Catholicism, there is little stigma attached to

dropping out of Pentecostalism. It may be Latin America’s stepping stone to dropping out of

religion altogether into a more secular model. Through neglect, traditional Latin American

Catholicism was too lenient on the moral soul and Pentecostalism is often too strict.

45

Link to Globalization

Another potentially fatal quality of Bolivian Pentecostalism is its link to the

destructive forces of globalization. The forces of globalization can be liberative or

destructive depending on the situation.

Globalization is not only an economic matter but it continues to further the racial divide creating global “apartheid” … resulting in increasing violence and political instability, increasing migration and displacement, xenophobic backlash represented in new and tougher immigration policies, and the sanctioned oppression of all who can be placed in the role of ‘the other, by virtue of gender, race/ethnicity/indigenous status, age and /or sexual orientation. (“Gospel” 6-7)

The connection between globalization and Pentecostalism is so subtle that participants of

Pentecostalism do not even realize they are affected. What has all this discussion about

globalization have to do with Pentecostalism? “To many churches in the third world, the

term “globalization” has been confused with the concept of ecumenism” (Po Ho 107).

Huang Po Ho discusses the deceptive nature of globalization in the following passage:

Globalization is sort of false ecumenism that has received much support and blessing from a good number of churches even in third world countries. Many Christians in these countries enjoy the superficial economic benefits brought about by industrialization under the umbrella of globalization but are not able to see the evil nature of globalization’s effect upon the poor and displaced people; neither are they aware that they themselves have been affected unconsciously in their value concepts and lifestyles by the ideology of consumerism and competition. The unawareness of Christians of the evil nature of the existing system, and the inability of the churches to deal with it have brought about distortion of the gospel message in these regions. (107)30

“[M]onopolization becomes the dominant ideology of a society” impacting all areas of life,

“even religious life” (Po Ho 107). Pentecostalism fills a niche in the religious marketplace

creating support systems for the poor, migrant populations of all Latin American countries.

The “prosperity gospel” has given the poor an alternative to an otherwise bleak future;

however, the converts have been forced to buy into consumerism and globalization. This is

how the success and rapid growth of Pentecostalism has played out in the global south.

46

Pentecostalism is implicated in this destructive process and this may in some way account

for the massive drop out rate in Pentecostalism, as the convert recognizes this new

oppressive force and gains an understanding or at least a sense of this process.

Over time, individuals internalize globalization and realize the paradoxes and

contradictions ruling their lives are not always positive or healthy. There is an urge to break

free of this new insidious form of oppression and power that overwhelms them. If

Pentecostalism decides to truly help the people of Latin America, it will resist the negative,

exclusive aspects of globalization and promote the many positive qualities created by the

effective use of high technology for transparency in communication, sharing of information,

and the ability to rally the poor and oppressed to fight for change. As the poor and oppressed

fight to overturn the negative aspects of globalization, they will need assistance with items

such as funding. This is where the door opens and the opportunity for change in

Pentecostalism occurs. If Pentecostals become inclusive within society instead of exclusive,

they could help fund the fight for all the poor, not just for participants, and this action could

assist the poor to rise above their poverty. If Pentecostals really want to make a difference in

the lives of the people of Latin America, their ability to generate wealth to assist the poor

and their ability to gather people into congregations to implement societal change can be

extremely effective. These are decisions the Pentecostal movement will have to consider,

unless it chooses to remain an entity in and of itself that is only seeking conversion and

salvation above all else, with little regard for the masses. If Pentecostals in Bolivia want to

halt the constant exodus from the movement related to its self-interested social justice, it is

important to recognize the Pentecostal link to globalization and direct its activities toward a

shift in social justice to benefit all Bolivians.

47

Divisiveness

Evangelicals are capable of banding together against opponents but they can be their own worst enemy when it comes to promoting their own denomination. (Moreno, Evangelical 64) Latin American Pentecostals practise many types of divisive behaviour, both

politically and socially. The political past of Pentecostalism is definitely one of the dark

secrets of the movement. The past has come back to haunt evangelical Pentecostals because

of their support for U.S. backed conservative, dictatorial military regimes in the 1970s and

80s. These regimes in turn oppressed the indigenous peoples fostering a wide gap between

the rich and the poor. Political participation should be a positive feature of Pentecostalism as

long as it is not used against its own people or other citizens of the country. Confessional

parties are often not successful in politics because of the tension between the “sectarian

nature of religion” and the “pluralistic society of a democratic regime” (Moreno,

Evangelical 61). Politically speaking, success occurs when a party can demonstrate its broad

based appeal and the Pentecostal movement fails in this regard. Political divisiveness in the

1990s was illustrated when one evangelical political party in Bolivia split into three small

branches, reducing the political effectiveness of the evangelical voice held by the single

voting bloc (Moreno, Evangelical 61).31 Rather than building solidarity, this splintering

increased the risk of intra-faith divisions (Moreno, Evangelical 61). However, with only one

Protestant political party in Bolivia at the present time, perhaps Pentecostals have studied

the current trends in countries such as Brazil and decided to focus the vote on one good

candidate. Focusing their attention would combat the inclination to split the vote and

undermine their collective power. Gott states that Latin American “Pentecostal churches

endlessly divide and quarrel, and the indigenous movements do the same” so an emphasis

on unity rather than divisiveness would be of value (4).

48

Social divisiveness is not only common in Pentecostalism but it flows from the

greater Bolivian society through racism. 32 Class structure has historically been a part of

Bolivian society and it continues to thrive today both inside and out of Pentecostalism.

Reflective of this practice is the Pentecostal tendency to set up a “class system within the

Kingdom of God due to the emphasis on being called to ministry and the promotion of

evangelizing over other occupations” (Moreno, Latin 3). Individuals not in ministry are

considered second-class in the Pentecostal community. This class system is creating a

“generation of frustrated and mediocre students and professionals,” held back by the

ecclesiastical hierarchy that is “unconsciously acting as a dominant class and is crippling the

people of God from realizing the full abilities and the breadth of their ministry” (Moreno,

Latin 3).

Pentecostal divisiveness or exclusivism is also exemplified by evangelization that

leads to a focus on salvation over social justice work. Pentecostals place their emphasis on

those individuals who convert and fall within their own ranks, and this exclusionist attitude

does not demonstrate a desire to see all of society experience social justice. According to

Allan Anderson, Pentecostalism needs to expand its ministry to accept people who have

terminal illnesses, HIV/AIDS, permanent disabilities, and those who cannot attend church

(496). 33 He comments further that these marginalized individuals are “often neglected in

Pentecostal circles where the tendency has been to proclaim healing and victory over these

‘enemies’ ” (Anderson 496). There is too much emphasis on healing as a means of

evangelization rather than “something motivated by compassion” (Anderson 496).

Pentecostal healing is heavily dependent on miracles. Through prayer, the healing of

community members is proclaimed miraculous. As people begin to rely on miracles, rather

than on natural phenomena for healing, there is a tendency to experience great

49

disappointment when the miracles are not forthcoming. In addition, when miracles do not

occur, participants tend to lose faith if someone is not cured (Anderson 496). According to

Moreno, it is only when “faith” fails that Pentecostals “resort to preventative medicine, good

health habits, hard work and excellence in studies” (Moreno, Latin 2).

A huge amount of emphasis is placed on the “religious” over the “secular” in

Pentecostalism and this division can be quite destructive (Moreno, Latin 2). When you are

told that only the things you do in the church are religious, it creates an inner turmoil that

cannot be settled. The music you play at church is religious; however, the same music can

be played at school or in the home and it will not be considered religious. The work you do

in or for the church is religious, but the work you do at home, at your place of employment,

or in the community is not religious. Only the money you give to the church is considered

“for God”; whereas, money for your children or their education is “not for God.” The

message delivered to Pentecostal converts forces them to “despise their studies, professions,

or work in order to exalt church activities” and their Christian life beyond the church walls

suffers “ecclesiastical atrophy” (Moreno, Latin 2). This creates a severe restriction on

happiness in the family and broader community without living with hypocrisy. It becomes

an impossible situation over the long-term when some members of the family are

Pentecostal and others are not.

Other Dark Secrets

Harvey Cox stresses the potentially damaging tendencies of Pentecostals to “stoke

the fires of xenophobia and hostility”, to clash with fundamentalists, to avoid ecumenism in

many congregations, to divide racially within the denomination, to stray from the original

meaning of the church through health-and-wealth theology, and to blur the meaning of

“experience” (310-317). Having evaluated some of the more damaging destructive features

50

of Pentecostalism, this research study will now briefly mention some other negative

characteristics of the movement that may just require self-identification and transparency.

For decades, self-criticism was non-existent within the Pentecostal community but

slowly this is beginning to change. Although the movement has matured since Olsen turned

in his Pentecostal credentials, it has a ways to go before it becomes a fully healthy and

health-giving part of the Christian community (1). Olsen, who grew up a “Pentecostal

Preacher-boy,” began to question church doctrine and practices as a teen, but did not receive

satisfactory answers to his questions (1). At the age of twenty-six he made the decision to

leave the movement (Olsen 1). Increasingly, ex-Pentecostals are coming forward with

critiques of the movement, and in most cases, these reports are provided in a manner still

sympathetic to the religious movement, admitting that they still love the vitality and basic

tenets of Pentecostalism. While giving their assessment of Pentecostalism, ex-Pentecostals

usually add constructive suggestions for ways to improve the movement to allow it to fully

compete with other more “mature religions” (Olsen 1).

Paradox is another dark secret within Pentecostalism in Latin America, similar to the

situation in the wider community. An example would be the treatment of women within the

movement. Pentecostal participation is one of the only avenues in Bolivian society for

women to find their public and political voice; however, they are not readily invited to the

leadership levels of the movement. Unlike Bolivia, next door in Brazil, women are making

inroads as pastors in the church. An address listing of evangelical/Pentecostal churches in

La Paz, Bolivia lists only one female pastor in thirty churches and it is a mission church

working with children and youth (“Direcciones” 1-6). One Pentecostal church lists four

pastors, but all are male (“Direcciones” 2).

51

Additionally, there is an overemphasis on demonization and in many cases it is the

demonization of women (Moreno, Latin 2). This is a very disturbing trend that runs counter

to traditional indigenous gender complementarity and it complicates the already paradoxical

role of women (“Bolivia - Religion” 7). Demons are unfairly attached to sin, sickness or

other problems (Moreno, Latin 2). Men frequently accuse women of having demons and

emphasize the need for prayer for healing and “deliverance” (Moreno, Latin 2). This seems

to be a setback to counter the gains women are experiencing within Pentecostalism.

There are several areas of leadership needing to be examined. Corruption and

scandals are commonplace in the movement for a number of reasons: 1) Pentecostals place

charismatic leaders on pedestals and accept that “right behaviour” is the result of being

spirit-filled; 2) they exclude ethics courses in colleges; 3) they sweep dark secrets under the

carpet, and 4) they accept all leadership without question (Olsen 2). Inappropriate sexual

behaviour and the mismanagement of funds are common scandals rocking Pentecostal

churches.

Latin American Pentecostalism frequently uses the transformative work of the Holy

Spirit as an excuse to avoid taking responsibility for personal behaviour or actions.

Whenever a person fails to complete a task or engages in inappropriate behaviour, the

common phase heard is “the Holy Spirit was moving in me.” It is simple to understand how

this mindset could cause dissention among family members and/or co-workers.

Another problematic area is the emphasis placed on the “Rapture” occurring at any

time in the near future and this leads to a very short-term perspective on life. What is the

point of spending years studying politics, engineering, law, psychology, economics or

philosophy if the world is going to end at any moment? (Moreno, Evangelical 66). This

overemphasis on the end of the world creates a society without a future vision. The short-

52

term focus of Pentecostals and the avoidance of intellectualism are failing to prepare

Pentecostal youth for the challenges of the modern world. It is imperative that the

Pentecostal movement address

this long list of negative characteristics.

Conclusion

This paper argues that Bolivian Pentecostalism, in its present form, will not be

capable of growing at the exponential rate predicted by Philip Jenkins in The Next

Christendom, without first reaching a plateau or losing momentum (8). This prediction

ignores changes in the surrounding religious environment and overlooks the long list of

negative controversial characteristics within Pentecostalism pertaining to anti-

intellectualism, conversion and the high drop out rate, the link to globalization, divisiveness

of the movement, and numerous other dark secrets. Pentecostalism does not operate in a

vacuum, and the response of the Roman Catholic Church and the mainline Protestant

churches socially, politically, and religiously, will have a significant impact on the future of

Pentecostalism. The Roman Catholic Church is certainly not going to sit by and watch its

flock become totally evangelical Protestant. The Catholic Church may be slow out of the

starting block in this situation, but it has not survived two thousand years of church history

without building a great deal of resistance to adversity. It is important to note that Catholic

Church membership is on the rise at the same time as Pentecostalism. It is likely that Latin

American Catholics will strengthen their charismatic movement into a strong, unified body

to combat Pentecostal growth similar to El Shaddai in the Philippines. El Shaddai has

spread to dozens of countries around the world and a wave of resistance to Pentecostal

growth will likely rise in Latin America as well.

53

This study has been important for understanding the less savory characteristics of

Pentecostalism as it evolves in Bolivia in the face of a developing social movement that is

awesome in its potential. As the many poor indigenous peoples convert to Pentecostalism,

their lives irrevocably change. This shift invites political involvement, a means to reform the

way Bolivia is governed, and a possible end to the oppression that has kept the indigenous

peoples impoverished for centuries. This rising social movement in Bolivia is driven by

grassroots political activists encouraging the people to stand up for themselves and lay claim

to their right to the basic necessities in life, economic advancement, and human dignity. In

Bolivia today, with the election of Evo Morales, we are witnessing this shift at work.

Evidence proves that some portion of the indigenous Pentecostal converts is participating in

this leftist shift in politics. The assumption that political involvement by Bolivian

Pentecostals will be conservative is false. If Latin America is any indication, politics in the

global south will take on a nationalistic socialist face rather than be influenced by religious

conservatism. There could even be a permanent trend toward the political left for

Pentecostals, as evidenced by the severing of ties between the Pentecostal churches of the

global south and those of the global north, especially the churches of the United States.

Pentecostal churches planning to have an impact on the social and political landscape of

Latin America will be forced to meet head-on the numerous negative facets of the

movement and the churches that respond most fluidly will have the greatest impact.

Pentecostals should hold their movement to the same high standards they expect of

themselves. Churches that choose to retain the status quo will pay a severe price, reflected in

their numbers and have little opportunity for growth. It would be truly self-destructive for

the movement to ignore its negative traits. If the movement self-destructs, it will only be to

54

the detriment of the impoverished indigenous people of Bolivia, who currently embrace the

Pentecostal religious experience.

If Pentecostals choose to confront the dark secrets of their movement the effect on

participants will be enormous. This could go one of two ways: 1) the participants will

welcome the opportunity to confront the past and the church will emerge stronger, or

2) mass apostasy will occur hindering all continuation of the movement. If facing its dark

secrets is the option selected, a “born again” conversion moment could occur for

Pentecostalism, as it confesses its sins and starts anew. The success of such confrontation

will either make or break the faith movement.

Contemplating the future direction of Pentecostal involvement in politics raises

many questions. Will Pentecostals support political actions that promote social justice for all

or move Bolivian society toward democracy? Can Pentecostalism survive without

capitalism? It must be remembered that Pentecostalism thrives when there is a capitalist

system in place as each individual is indoctrinated with the “prosperity gospel.” How will

Pentecostalism adapt to non-militaristic government when it supports authoritarian rule both

in the family and in society? Latin Americans have voted for socialism as the next era of

political leadership. It will be interesting to observe the ability of Pentecostals to adapt to

these changing political and social movements. If Pentecostalism is going to succeed in

taking a greater share of the religious pie as predicted by Philip Jenkins, and have societal

impact in countries such as Bolivia over the next few decades, it will need to look critically

at itself. Pentecostal growth can rely on population growth and migration to gain its converts

for only so long, before word spreads that Pentecostalism is not what it seems.

There is a long list of controversial dark secrets surrounding the Pentecostal

movement that need to be addressed. Moreno is adamant that none of these problems are

55

irreversible, and with concerted effort, Pentecostalism will have a positive long-term impact

on Latin America (Latin 1). However, change must occur if Pentecostals intend to have

significant religious, economic, and social influence in any part of Latin America, including

Bolivia. According to Cox, one of the best prospects he is beginning to see for

Pentecostalism is what he refers to as “[P]entecostal liberation theology,” a more leftist

version of Pentecostalism working for social justice (319). He explains that the dividing line

between Catholic base communities and these Pentecostal liberation theology communities

is rapidly disappearing and the resulting Pentecostal derivation may be extremely “potent”

(Cox 319). Pentecostals are great at attracting new converts in the short term and this works

well while the focus is on the Rapture. Developing a long-term focus will serve

Pentecostalism well and generate momentum to deal with the many negative characteristics

that threaten to derail its progress.

56

Endnotes

1 David W. Bebbington, a British historian, is professor of history at the University of Stirling in Scotland and a Fellow of the Royal Historical Society. His main research interests are in the history of politics, religion and society in Britain from the eighteenth to the twentieth century, and in the history of the global evangelical movement. David W. Bebbington, Evangelicalism in Modern Britain: A History from the 1730s to the1980s (London: Unwin Hyman, 1989) 2-17. Along with others like Mark Noll, Bebbington should get credit for his efforts to place evangelicalism within religious history. For more information on evangelicalism refer to Mark A. Noll, The Rise of Evangelicalism: The Age of Edwards, Whitefield, and the Wesleys (Downers Grove. IL: Intervarsity P, 2003) 19.

2 Diego Irarrázaval is a Peruvian anthropological investigator at the Instituto de Estudios Aymara at Puno, Perú. Irarrázaval presents the characteristics of indigenous theology as follows: “a) una teología sumamente concreta, que contempla la vida, la saborea y se baña en sus misterios, que acompaña proyectos de vida de nuestros pueblos. b) una comprensión holística de la existencia del pueblo y de lo sagrado. c) un lenguaje mítico – simbólico que expresa el sentido profundo de la vida (y no un arcaísmo pre-moderno), es decir, una preferencia por el lenguaje religioso y ritual. d) el sujeto de la teología es el pueblo que elabora su pensamiento de forma colectiva, es decir, sabias y sabios en las comunidades y pueblos indígenas” Diego Irarrázaval, “Nuevas Rutas de la Teología Latinoamericana,” Revista Latinoamericana de Teologia 38 Mayo – Agosto 1996 Año XIII (Centro de Reflexión Teológica, Universidad Centroamericana José Simeón Cañas. San Salvador, El Salvador) 193. Unedited version originally presented at a meeting of la Comisión Teológica de ASETT (New York, June 1994).

3 A left-wing guerrilla uprising in 1966 led by Ernesto “Che” Guevara pressed for social and political change; however, Guevara was captured and killed for his leftist efforts in 1967. Guevara had been significant in the Cuban revolution that brought Fidel Castro to power. Byron Augustin, Bolivia (New York, Toronto, London: Children’s P, 2001) 53. In the 70s, “Bolivia’s military regime came under pressure from the United States and Europe to liberalize and restore civilian democratic rule”. “Bolivia,” Library of Congress – Federal Research Division: Country Profile, Jan. 2006: 5 <http://countrystudies.us/>. In 1980, General Luis Garcia Mesa took power in a ruthless and violent coup. He hired Klaus Barbie, former Nazi and Gestapo chief, as his internal security advisor. The “butcher of Leon” had killed thousands of Jews during WWII and he started a paramilitary group called Los Novios de la Muerte (The Newlyweds of Death). Using Garcia Meza’s backing and money from cocaine traffickers, a devastating reign of terror began in Bolivia. All opposition to the dictator and his actions was repressed and “political opponents were arrested, tortured, or [they] disappeared. Augustin 54.

4 Richard Gott is the former Latin-American correspondent of London’s Guardian newspaper, author of Cuba: A New History (Yale University Press, 2004) and Hugo Chávez and the Bolivarian Revolution (Verso, 2005). Richard Gott, “Latin America at the Dawn of the 21st Century,” The Alternative Museum: Thy Brothers’ Keeper, Dec. 2005 <http://www.alternativemuseum.org/exh/tbk/essay6.html>.

5 Jorge A. Aquino, a Cuban-American scholar of religion, is a professor of Theology and Latin American Studies at the University of San Francisco. Jorge A. Aquino, “Liberation Theology & The New Latin American Left,” Changing Political Climate, Divisadero 3 Spring 2006: 1 (University of San Francisco) <http://www.usfca.edu/lainamerican/Divisadero/Issue3/Issue3_page10.htm>.

6 Mortimer Arias, a former bishop of the Methodist Church in Bolivia, discusses the result of crossing into human rights work. “Human rights in Latin America is not just a matter for foreign policy; it is a matter of life and death, a matter of our confessing life. As the German church had to come to that confessing point before Nazism, so the church in Latin America has had to stand on the matter of human rights”. I said to my interrogators who asked again and again, “Why are you defending human rights?” “Putting your own life on the line is the final ministry of hope: it is an affirmation of life”. He elaborates on this point by stating that martyrdom while fighting for human rights is an act of evangelization itself. “These life-giving deaths become the seed of the church, the seed of hope, the affirmation of a new tomorrow, of a world yet to be”. Dr. Mortimer Arias is a professor of evangelism at Claremont School of Theology, Claremont, California. This statement was made in a panel discussion on “Jesus Christ – the Life of the World from a Latin American

57

Perspective at the Conference on World Mission and Evangelism commission meeting in Bucharest, May 1981. “Jesus Christ – The life of the World,” World Council of Churches, International Review of Mission 71.281 (Jan. 1982): 7-8.

7 Ana de García is a Lutheran educator in Costa Rica. Ana de García. “Affirming The God of Life in

Latin America,” International Review of Mission 71.281 (Jan. 1982): 10. 8 Virginia Garrard-Burnett is a Senior Lecturer in History and Latin American Studies at University

of Texas, Austin. Virginia Garrard-Burnett, “Christianity and Conflict in Latin America,” The Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life, Panel Transcript – 6 Apr. 2006 (Washington, D.C.: National Defense University): 1.

9 David Knowlton is an assistant professor of anthropology at Washington University in St. Louis, Missouri who makes frequent trips to South America. Commenting on the murders of two Mormon missionaries and church bombings in La Paz, David Knowlton concludes the Mormon Church is struggling in Bolivia because it has been linked to North American penetration and domination of imperialism over other countries. In Bolivia, violence has erupted against the Mormon missionaries and churches because of the belief that the church is “part of a U.S. Imperialist conspiracy to rob the Bolivian people of their dream for meaningful democracy.” Unlike the Pentecostals, Mormons are seen as wealthy foreigners building beautiful churches backed by a “well-financed institutional invasion.” The violence against Mormons is seen as an anti-American response. The reasons for this evaluation of Mormons are numerous: 1) the use of the U.S. for proselytizing, 2) heavy American presence amongst missionaries, 3) American style of worship, 4) authoritarian style of leadership, 5) all truth flowing from Salt Lake City, 6) sacralization of U.S. constitution and American ideals promoted in general conference and manuals, 7) it “buys” converts through scholarships to BYU, 8) the church has extensive corporate holdings as well as the unilinal flow of tithes and offerings to the top as further imperialism, 9) missionary work divides the masses with an ideology that promotes obedience and order, authoritarianism, and political quietism, and 10) accused of destroying indigenous religion and culture. David Clark Knowlton, “Missionaries and Terror: Background and Implications of the Assassination of Two Elders in Bolivia,” Sunstone Magazine Mormon Issues 72 (Aug. 1989): 12-15 <http://www.sunstoneonline.com/magazine/searchable/Issue72.asp>.

10 David Barrett of World Christian Encyclopedia, Los Angeles Times, May 31, 2001 recommends

the estimates of Patrick Johnstone in Operation World. The estimate of Protestant participants in 1990: Chile 22%, Guatemala 20%, Brazil 17%, Nicaragua 9%, Peru 4%, Venezuela 3%, Cuba 2%. The estimates for active Catholic participation were put at 10-15%. Fuller Seminary in Pasadena, Cal. Source: “Bolivia,” Adherents.com. <http://www.adherents.com/Na/Na_542.html>.

11 Edward L. Cleary, O.P. is Professor of Political Science and Director of Latin American Studies,

Providence College, Providence, Rhode Island. He served as a missionary in Bolivia and Peru from 1958-63 and 1968-71. In his analysis, Cleary doesn’t get into statistics on Bolivia even though he spent several years living there so this might indicate that either the number of Pentecostals in Bolivia in 2004 was not significant or that there was an inability to track any of the statistics. He mentions Costa Rica, Guatemala, and Chile with high statistics for “no religion”. Edward L. Cleary, “Shopping around: Questions About Latin American Conversions,” International Bulletin of Missionary Research (Apr. 2004): 4 <http://www.providence.edu/las/ Brookongs.html>.

12 There are a wide range of Pentecostal churches in Bolivia. Ekklesia is a charismatic movement that had 5000 members in 1999 spread over 300 house groups, 8 TV stations, and a network of radio stations in Bolivia. Government and business leaders are members and many attend the central church in La Paz. It started with huge revival meetings in the 1970s. Another church, The Ministry of the New Pact of God’s Power has 15 000 members in several cities. The movement grew out of a series of evangelistic and healing campaigns in La Paz. In 1998, the Bolivian Bible Society sold a record number of Bibles, 140 000 copies, mostly to Pentecostal and charismatic churches. “Protestant Evangelicalism Booming in Predominantly Catholic Bolivia.” Religion Today (26 Nov. 1999): 1, The Layman Online <http://www.layman.org/ layman/news/news-around-church/protestant-evangel.htm>.

58

13 Paul Freston is a Professor of Sociology and Byker Chair in Christian Perspectives on Political

Social and Economic Thought at Calvin College. He was speaking to the Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life, a nonpartisan, non-advocacy organization based in Washington, D.C. that began in 2001 to explore topics that border between religion and public affairs. Its four key areas of research include: Religion and Politics, Religion and the Law, Religion and Domestic Policy, and Religion and World Affairs. Paul Freston, “Christianity and Conflict in Latin America,” The Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life, Panel Transcript, 6 April 2006 (Washington, D.C.: National Defense University).

14 This term “nomadismo” is used by Edward L. Cleary, “Shopping around: Questions About Latin American Conversions,” International Bulletin of Missionary Research (Apr. 2004): 3 <http://www. providence.edu/las/Brookongs.html>.

15 Howard Wiarda is Dean Rusk Professor and Department Head, Department of International Affairs, University of Georgia, Athens. Howard Wiarda, “Religion, Security and the Future of Latin America,” PEW Forum on Religion & Public Life, Event transcript 6 Apr, 2006, (Washington, D.C.: National Defense University) <http://pewforum.org/events/index.php?eventID=104>.

16 Lesley Gill tells the story of a thirty-six year old Aymara woman named Vacilia Choque from La Paz, Bolivia who admits she was baptized a Catholic and still calls herself a Catholic but she attends an evangelical Protestant church because she connects with its message. Lesley Gill, “Religious Mobility and the Many Words of God in La Paz, Bolivia,” Rethinking Protestantism in Latin America, ed. Virginia Garrard-Burnett and David Stoll (Philadelphia: Temple U P, 1993).

17 Daniel J. Chiquete is a Costa Rican Pentecostal theologian and author. He describes how a new convert is thrilled to share their own conversion experience with friends, family, and co-workers and this leads to the conversion of more people. Healing and mission are directly linked but it is the broader process of salvation that encourages converts to “work longer and harder, give up vices, organize finances better, improve family and working relations, more confident and energetic – these side effects seen as “signs of the new presence of God in their lives”, or “fruits of the Spirit” or “foreshadowing” of the final salvation which will be fulfilled with the second coming of Christ when he returns to establish his kingdom for ever. Daniel J. Chiquete, “Healing, Salvation and Mission: the Ministry of Healing in Latin American Pentecostalism,” World Council of Churches, Divine Healing, Pentecostalism and Mission, International Review of Mission 93.370-371 (July/Oct. 2004): 474, 481.

18 A telephone conversation with Pedro Moreno on September 26, 2006 drew my attention to the importance of the President’s Prayer Meeting with Alberto Salcedo of Ekklesia. He stated this was a huge step in the separation of church from state in Bolivia and an important step for the recognition of Pentecostals as a religious group in the country.

19 Sandro Magister is an Italian Vatican Analyst. In this article on evangelicals he refers frequently to Philip Jenkins’ book The Next Christendom: The Coming of Global Christianity and refers to sects. The conclusion is that he is referring to U.S. Protestants aiding evangelicals in Latin America. Magister, Sandro. “A New Christianity Is Conquering the Developing World. But Europe Doesn’t Know It Yet.” 29 June 2004. WWW. Chiesa <http://www.chiesa.espressonline.it/dettaglio.jsp?id=7053&eng=y>.

20 Ratzinger’s speech to the Italian senate on May 13, 2004 refers to free churches. The term “free church” traditionally means a separation of state and church but it is more commonly used today to refer to evangelical churches both in the United States and Latin America with a prominent denomination being the Evangelical Free Church of America International Mission (EFCA 1). Evangelical Free Church of America International Mission, EFCA Latin America Area, <http://www.efcmlatinamerica.org/. To verify the translation of Ratzinger’s speech, it was translated from Italian where the term chiese libere (free church) is used, so the word evangelical is not used by Ratzinger but the assumption is made that free church refers to evangelical churches. Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger, “Europe: Its Spiritual Foundation: Yesterday, Today and in the Future,” Speech, Italian Senate, 13 May 2004, Inside the Vatican (Jun/Jul 2004): 44-51, Catholic Culture

59

<http://www.catholicculture.org/docs/doc_view.cfm?recnum=6317> Path: Document Library. Translated from Senato della Repubblica, Europa. I suoi fondamenti spirituali ieri, oggi e domain, 13 maggio 2004 <http:// www.senato.it/notizie/21359/21361/21363/27861/41958/genpagina.htm> Path: 2004.

21 Otto Maduro is a professor and sociologist of religion at Drew University. Venezuelan born, he is Professor of World Christianity & Latin American Christianity. “Otto Maduro,” Drew University, Madison, NJ <http://www.users.drew.edu/omaduro/>.

22 The leaders of the United States of America are leading critics of Evo Morales’ rule in Bolivia.

Speaking at a Pew Forum, Howard Wiarda states that this “populist surge” is very worrisome. Wiarda implies that Evo Morales would like to see Bolivia revert back to a 14th century version of society before the time of contact with the Spaniards to “drive white, Western, Hispanic, globalized […] Bolivia back into the Pacific Ocean from which it came”. Much to the chagrin of the United States, Morales and other Latin American populist government leaders are “lionized” in Europe. Europeans love watching the Bolivian leader and others like Hugo Chávez in Venezuela thumb their noses at United States imperialism and 500 years of colonial rule. Wiarda warns that through repudiation of globalization, countries like Bolivia will isolate themselves, to their detriment. Wiarda 2-7.

23 Most Latin Americans would say that democracy, free trade, and open markets have not worked well in Latin America but Wiarda states that this market form is the only option and both, the Latin American countries and the United States, will have to bend to make it work. He also estimates that a smooth running market system will take “three or four generations to effect these kinds of changes” Wiarda 7-8. Contrary to Wiarda’s implications, Evo Morales has called a constitutional convention to create a new Bolivian republic that will include everyone and be “based on diversity, respect and equal rights for all.” Morales is highly critical of past Latin American leadership when he states, “at least Latin America no longer has racist or fascist presidents like it did in the past. Capitalism has only hurt Latin America.” Evo Morales interviewed by Jens Giasing and Hans Hoyng of Der Spiegel, Trans. from German by Christopher Sultan, “Capitalism Has Only Hurt Latin America,” ZNet/Bolivia (4 Sept. 2006): 1-2 <http://www.zmag.org/content/ showarticle.cfm?itemID=10880>.

24 “CN is an alliance of Protestant Christians (the majority), left-wing groups and community organizations.” “Bolivian Protestants Back Calls for a Secular Constitution.” Ekklesia. 14 June 2006. London <http://www.ekklesia.co.uk/content/news_syndication/article_060614bolivia.shtml>. Ekklesia is a not-for-profit think-tank that works to promote theological ideas in the public square. www.ekklesia.co.uk.

25 Walter Mignolo is the William H. Wannamaker Professor of Literature and Romance Studies at Duke University. Walter Mignolo, “Bolivia’s New President is Something Altogether Different,” Duke University News & Communications, 24 Jan. 2006: 1 <http://www.dukenews.duke.edu/2006/01/ evomorales.html>.

26 Evo Morales declares, “I didn’t want to be a politician because politicians are thieves, but then I realized that politics is the science of serving the people” (2). Dan Glaister, “Bolivia: The Theology of Inculturation and the New President,” Puritan New Weekly, 21 Dec. 2005 <http://puritans.net/news/>. Although Morales himself, and many of his supporters refer to themselves as Catholic, he and his leftist ruling party, Movement to Socialism (MAS), have been pushing to eliminate the privileges of the Catholic Church in favour of a secular state. This would require the removal of Article 3 of the Constitution of Bolivia that reads, “State recognizes and upholds the Catholic and Apostolic faith. It guarantees the public exercise of all other religions.” Relations with [the Roman Catholic] Church will be governed through concordats and agreements between the State and the Holy See.” “Bolivian Protestants Back Calls for a Secular Constitution,” Ekklesia, London 14 June 2006: 1-2 <http://www.ekklesia.co.uk/content/news_syndication/article_060614bolivia. shtml>. Morales is “opposed to a monopoly when it comes to faith.” Jens Giasing and Hans Hoyng, interview with Evo Morales, Der Spiegel, Trans. from German by Christopher Sultan, “Capitalism Has Only Hurt Latin America,” ZNet/Bolivia, 4 Sept. 2006: 3 <http://www.zmag.org/content/showarticle.cfm?itemID=10880>.

60

27 It has taken twenty years for Morales, under the mentorship of a Jesuit priest, to build up his sense

of empowerment to bring him to the political arena and political success. Morales’ mentor, Mauricio Bacardit, instilled in him a sense of power; however, Bacardit’s allegiance is not with the Roman Catholic Church. He states, “so long as people continue to embrace false religion” in reference to what he calls “Romanism” it will keep people of Bolivia in bondage to false religion and idolatry. The priests are trying to implement the inculturization of the Aymara of Bolivia by “reviv[ing] rituals that earlier generations of Catholic priests had tried to eradicate.” Andrew Orta, Catechizing Culture: Missionaries, Aymara, and the “New Evangelization,” (New York: Columbia U P, 2004). This would indicate that Morales might be nominally Catholic and not an active participant in the Roman Catholic Church. Dan Glaister quotes Mauricio Bacardit, the Jesuit priest, “El principal reto agora es resolver el tema de la pobreza”. Bacardit has pushed Morales to encourage Bolivia to focus on the issue of poverty. <http://eldeber.com.bo/anteriores/20050130/santacruz_5.html>. According to Evo Morales, “injustice, inequality and the poverty of the masses compel us to seek better living conditions. Bolivia’s majority Indian population was always excluded, politically oppressed and culturally alienated.” This system of inculturation is nothing new but “just a new chapter in a very old playbook for Roman Catholicism has long been essentially the fusing of many pagan elements with Christianity.” Dan Glaister, “Bolivia: The Theology of Inculturation and the New President,” Puritan New Weekly, 21 Dec. 2005: 2-4 <http:// puritans.net/news/>.

28 “Harvey G. Cox Jr. is Hollis Professor of Divinity at Harvard, where he has been teaching since 1965, both at [Harvard Divinity School] and in the Faculty of Arts and Sciences. An American Baptist minister, he was the Protestant chaplain at Temple University and the director of religious activities at Oberlin College; an ecumenical fraternal worker in Berlin; and a professor at Andover Newton Theological School. His research and teaching interests focus on the interaction of religion, culture, and politics.” He taught his first Pentecostal course in 1993. See “Harvey Cox,” ed. Chris Bower, Harvard Divinity School, 26 Sep. 2006 <http://www.hds.harvard.edu/faculty/cox.html>. Philip Jenkins is Distinguished Professor of Religious Studies and History at Pennsylvania State University with interests in “US history (twentieth century); Historical study of religion; Politics and modern society; comparative colonialism.” See “Philip Jenkins,” Pennsylvania State University <http://php.scripts.psu.edu/dept/history/faculty/jenkinsPhilip.php>.

29 These statistics, upon publication, shocked Pentecostal pastors, but the Chilean pastors took a very mature approach and considered the reasons for this lack of commitment. They recognized the growing gap between the education and class background of the pastors versus that of the persons in the pews. Pastors often have less education and lower class background than the middle class in Chile but with Bolivia’s high rate of poverty, this educational and class gap should not be as obvious. Cleary, Shopping 3.

30 Huang Po Ho is involved in the Presbyterian Church in Taiwan as a professor of Contextual Theology at Tainan Theological Seminary, Tainan, Taiwan and these quotes are the response to the World Council of Churches 11th Conference on World Mission and Evangelism in Salvador, Bahia, Brazil, end of 1996 theme “Called to One Hope – The Gospel in Diverse Cultures. Huang Po Ho, “Gospel in the Setting of Globalization: A Response to the Salvador Conference,” Mission in the Twenty-First Century: Impulses From Salvador, International Review of Mission, 86.340-341 Jan./Apr. 1997: 105.

31 Evangelicals are increasing their presence in politics. In 1999, they led four political parties including prominent government and military personnel. “Protestant” 2.

32 Racist behaviour is a major concern in Bolivia. It is moving from the subsurface into the open. The

situation is being compared to African apartheid as the oppressed indigenous peoples fight for human rights and a share of the economy against the mixed-race elites. It is thought that the Europeans who stayed in Bolivia after independence in 1825 failed to notice anything had changed and they continued to treat the two-thirds of the population that are indigenous as inferiors. Racial boundaries in Bolivia are very strong and the rising social movement in the country today is fighting to change that attitude. “Bolivia: Tiny Nation, Big Troubles,” The Christian Science Monitor 9 June 2005: 1 <http://www.csmonitor.com/2005/0609/p08s01-comv.html>.

61

33 Allan Anderson is a reader in Pentecostal Studies in the Department of Theology at the U of

Birmingham, UK and a former pastor from Zimbabwe. Allan Anderson, “Pentecostals, Healing and Ecumenism,” International Review of Mission 93.370-371 (July/Oct. 2004): 486 <http://63.136.1.22. ezproxy.lib.ucalgary.ca/pls/eli/ashow?aid=ATLA0001455558>.

62

Works Cited Allen, John L. Jr. “The Death of the Pope: Analysis of Pope John Paul II’s Reign.” National Catholic Reporter: Obituary of Pope John Paul II. <http://www.nationalcatholic reporter.org/update/conclave/jp_obit_main.htm> Anderson, Allan. “Pentecostals, Healing and Ecumenism.” International Review of Mission

93.370-371 (July/Oct. 2004): 493-495 <http://63.136.1.22.ezproxy.lib.ucalgary.ca/ pls/eli/ashow?aid=ATLA0001455558>.

Aquino, Jorge A. “Liberation Theology & The New Latin American Left.” Divisadero 3

pr. 2006. University of San Francisco. Changing Political Climate <http://www.usfca.edu/ latinamerican/Divisadero/Issue3/Issue3_page10.htm>.

Arias, Mortimer. “Ministries of Hope in Latin America.” Panel Transcript on Jesus Christ –

The Life of the World from a Latin American Perspective. May 1981. CWME meeting Bucharest. International Review of Mission 71.281 (Jan. 1982): 7-8.

Augustin, Byron. Bolivia. New York, Toronto, London: Children’s P, 2001. Balmer, Randall. Mine Eyes Have Seen the Glory: A Journey into the Evangelical

Subculture in America. 3rd Ed. New York and Oxford: Oxford U P, 1989. Bebbington, David W. Evangelicalism in Modern Britain: A History from the 1730s to

the 1980s. London: Unwin Hyman, 1989. Bergin, Mark. “The People Have Spoken.” World Magazine Weekly News/Christian News.

4 Feb. 2006. 3-4 <http://222.worldmag.com/articles/11488>. Boff, Leonardo and Clodovis Boff. “A Concise History of Liberation Theology.”

Introducing Liberation Theology. Trans. Paul Burns from Portuguese. Maryknoll, NY: Orbis Books, 1986.

“Bolivia.” U.S. Library of Congress – Federal Research Division: Country Profile. Jan.

2006. 9-11 <http://countrystudies.us/bolivia/>. “Bolivia.” HRW World Atlas. <http://go.hrw/atlas/norm_htm/bolivia.htm> Path: Religions. “Bolivian Protestants Back Calls for a Secular Constitution.” Ekklesia. 14 June 2006.

London <http://www.ekklesia.co.uk/content/news_syndication/article_060614 bolivia.shtml>.

“Bolivia – Religion.” Thomson Gale. 2006 <http://www.everyculture.com/A-Bo/Bolivia. html>.

63

“Bolivia: Tiny Nation, Big Troubles.” The Christian Science Monitor. 9 June 2005 <http://www.csmonitor.com/2005/0609/p08s01-comv.html>. Chiquete, Daniel J. “Healing, Salvation and Mission: the Ministry of Healing in Latin

American Pentecostalism.” International Review of Mission 93.370-371 (Jul./Oct. 2004): 474-485.

Cleary, Edward L. “Conclusion: Politics and Religion: Crisis, Constraints, and Restructuring.” Conflict and Competition: The Latin American Church in a Changing Environment. Ed. Edward L. Cleary and Hannah Stewart-Gambino. Boulder, CO: Lynne Rienner Pub, 1992. 1-11 <http://222.dominicans.org/ ~ecleary/conflict/conflict01.htm>.

---. “Shopping around: Questions About Latin American Conversions.” International Bulletin of Missionary Research Apr 2004:1-4 <http://www. providence.edu/las/Brookongs.html>.

Cline, Austin. “Agnosticism/Atheism” International Religious Freedom Report 1999. About. Inc. New York Times Co. 2006 <http://atheism.about.com/library/ irf/irf99/blirf_bolivia99.htm>.

Cox, Harvey. Fire From Heaven: The Rise of Pentecostal Spirituality and the

Reshaping of Religion in the Twenty-First Century. Cambridge, MA: Da Capo P. 1995.

de García, Ana. “Affirming The God of Life in Latin America.” International Review of

Mission 71.281 (Jan. 1982): 10. Direccion Nacional de Comunicacion Social. Edicion Meridiana Television. June 26, 2006. <http://www.comunica.gov.bo/cgi-bin/index.cgi?j20060626153424>.

“Direcciones de Iglesias.” Amen-Amen, Inc. <http://direcciones.amen-amen.net/?c=883>

Path: Bolivia; La Paz.

Dunkerley, James. “Evo Morales, the ‘Two Bolivias’ and the Third Bolivian Revolution.” Journal of Latin American Studies 39 (2007): 134 <http://journals.cambridge.org/ download.php?file=%2FLAS%2FLAS39_01%2FS0022216X06002069a.pdf&code=8bb74fea6769ae459ea5704c1f57a0b3>

“Final Report.” European Union Election Observation Mission Bolivia 2006. La Paz. Sept.

2006 <http://www.eueombolivia.org/english/Absolutely%20Final%20Report% 20Bolivia%20EOM.pdf>.

“Focus on Bolivia.” Latin America Forum. London, England. 2004

<http://www.globalconnections.co.uk>.

64

Freston, Paul. “Christianity and Conflict in Latin America.” The Pew Forum on Religion &

Public Life. Panel Transcript 6 Apr. 2006. Washington, D.C.: National Defense University.

Garrard-Burnett, Virginia. “Christianity and Conflict in Latin America.” The Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life. Panel Transcript 6 Apr. 2006. Washington, D.C.: National

Defense University. Gill, Lesley. “Religious Mobility and the Many Words of God in La Paz, Bolivia.”

Rethinking Protestantism in Latin America. Ed. Virginia Garrard-Burnett and David Stoll. Philadelphia: Temple U P, 1993.

Glaister, Dan. “Bolivia: The Theology of Inculturation and the New President.” Puritan

New Weekly. 21 Dec. 2005 <http://puritans.net/new/>. “Gospel and Identity in Community.” Mission in the Twenty-First Century: Impulses

From Salvador. International Review of Mission. 86.340-341 (Jan./Apr. 1997): PAGE. Salvador report of section II, conference document no. 8, rev., pp. 6-7.

Gott, Richard. “Latin America at the Dawn of the 21st Century.” The Alternative Museum –

Thy Brothers’ Keeper. 1-4 <http://www.alternativemuseum.org/exh/tbk/ essay6.html>.

Grant, Jensen Michael. “Touched by the Holy Spirit: The Pentecostalization of Venezuela

and the 1998 Presidential Election.” Diss. Harriet L. Wilkes Honors College at Florida Atlantic U. May 2006 <http://digitalcommons.fau.edu/cgi/ viewcontent.cgi?article=1016&context=wilkes_theses>.

Hood, Ralph W. Jr., Peter C. Hill, and W. Paul Williamson. The Psychology of Religious

Fundamentalism. New York and London: Guilford P, 2005. Huntington, Samuel. “Religion and the Third Wave.” The National Interest. Sum 1991:

35. Irarrázaval, Diego. “Nuevas Rutas de la Teología Latinoamericana.” Revista

Latinoamericana de Teologia. Año XIII. (Mayo – Agosto 1996): 193. Jenkins, Philip. The Next Christendom: The Coming of Global Christianity. New York:

Oxford U P, 2002. Johnstone, Patrick. “Operation World.” World Christian Encyclopedia. Ed.

David Barrett. Los Angeles Times, 31 May 2001. Adherents.com <http://www.adherents.com/Na/Na_542.html>. Path: Bolivia.

65

Klaiber, Jeffery. “The Church in Peru: Between Terrorism and Conservative Restraints.”

Conflict and Competition: The Latin American Church in a Changing Environment. Ed. Edward L. Cleary and Hannah Stewart-Gambino. Boulder, CO: Lynne Rienner Pub, 1992 <http://222.dominicans.org/~ecleary/conflict/conflict01.htm>.

Knowlton, David Clark. “Missionaries and Terror: Background and Implications of the

Assassination of Two Elders in Bolivia.” Sunstone Magazine – Mormon Issues 72 (Aug. 1989): 12-15 <http://www.sunstoneonline.com/magazine/ searchable/Issue72.asp>.

Lernoux, Penny. “The Fundamentalist Surge in Latin America.” Christian Century 20 (Jan.

1988): 51. Religion Online. Ted & Winnie Brock <http://www.religion-online.org/ showarticle.asp?title=927>.

Levine, Daniel H. and David Stoll. “Bridging the Gap Between Empowerment and Power in

Latin America.” Ed. Suzanne Rudolph and James Piscatori. Transnational Religion and Fading States. Boulder, CO: Westview P, 1997.

“Liberation Theology.” Liberation Theology Chronology. C. John Yu. 30 Sep. 2001.

<http://www.geocities.com/Athens/8420/chronology.html>. MacHarg, Kenneth. “Word and Spirit Together.” Christianity Today 44.12 (23 Oct. 2000):

26. Maduro, Otto. “ ‘Religion’ Under Imperial Duress: Postcolonial Reflections and Proposals.”

Review of Religious Research 45.3 (2004): 221-234.

Magister, Sandro. “A New Christianity Is Conquering the Developing World. But Europe Doesn’t Know It Yet.” 29 June 2004. WWW. Chiesa <http://www.chiesa. espressonline.it/dettaglio.jsp?id=7053&eng=y>.

Martin, David. Tongues of Fire: The Explosion of Protestantism in Latin America. Cambridge, Mass. and Oxford, UK: Blackwell Pub, 1990.

McCarter, J. Parnell. “Bolivia: The Theology of Inculturation and the New President.” Puritan New Weekly 21 Dec. 2005 <http://www.puritans.net/news/bolivia 122105.htm>.

Mignolo, Walter. “Bolivia’s New President is Something Altogether Different.” Duke

University News & Communications. 24 Jan. 2006 <http://www.dukenews.duke.edu/ 2006/01/evomorales.html>. Moreno, Pedro C. “Evangelical Churches.” Religious Freedom and Evangelization

in Latin America: The Challenge of Religious Pluralism. Ed. Paul E. Sigmund. New York: Orbis Books, 1999.

66

---. “Latin American Evangelicals: Impact and Future in Latin American Culture.” The

Forerunner. Mar. 1993 <http://forerunner.com/forerunner/X0259_Latin_ American_Evan.html>.

---. “The Reformation of Latin America.” The Forerunner. Sep. 1992

<http://www.forforerunner.com/forerunner/X0271_Reformation_in_Latin.html>. Nielsen, Niels C. Jr. Fundamentalism, Mythos, and World Religions. Albany, NY: State U

of NY P, 1993. Noll, Mark A. The Rise of Evangelicalism: The Age of Edwards, Whitefield, and the

Wesleys. Downers Grove, IL: Intervarsity P, 2003. Olsen, Roger E. “Pentecostalism’s Dark Side.” Christian Century 7 Mar 2006 <http://www.christiancentury.org/article.lasso?id=1871>. O’Neil, Sean S. “Thinking in the Spirit: The Emergence of Latin America Pentecostal

Scholars and Their Pneumatology of Social Concern.” Diss. Center for International Studies of Ohio University. 2003.

“Peasantry.” Library of Congress – Federal Research Division. Jan. 2006 <http://

countrystudies.us/>. Path: Country Profile: Bolivia; Political Forces and Interest Groups; Government and Politics.

“Pentecostalism.” NationMaster Encyclopedia <http://www.nationmaster.com/ encyclopedia/Pentecostalism> Path: Pentecostalism. Po Ho, Huang. “Gospel in the Setting of Globalization: A Response to the Salvador

Conference.” International Review of Mission 86.340-341 (Jan./Apr. 1997): 105- 108.

“Pope John Paul II (1920-2005).” Library of Life. <http://pope-johnpaulii.memory-of.com/> Path: Memory Of.

“Pope Urges New Effort To Curb ‘Sects’ in Latin America.” Christianity Today. 20 Apr.

2001 <http://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2001/116/56.0.html>. “Protestant Evangelicalism Booming in Predominantly Catholic Bolivia.” Religion

Today 26 Nov 1999. The Layman Online <http://www.layman.org/layman/ news/news-around-church/protestant-evangel.htm>.

“Protestants on the Rise in Catholic Bolivia.” Christian Century 112.29 (18 Oct. 1995):

955 <http://63.136.1.22.ezproxy.lib.ucalgary.ca/pls/eli/ashow?aid= ATLA0000902583>.

67

Ratzinger, Joseph Cardinal. “Europe: Its Spiritual Foundation: Yesterday, Today and in the

Future.” Speech. Italian Senate. 13 May 2004. Inside the Vatican. (Jun/Jul 2004): 44-51. Catholic Culture. <http://www.catholicculture.org/docs/doc_view.cfm? recnum=6317> Path: Document Library.

“Religion.” U.S. Library of Congress Country Studies. Path: Bolivia <http://lcweb2.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/r?frd/cstdy:@field(DOCID+bo0054>.

“Romans.” The HarperCollins Study Bible. NRSV. New York: HarperCollins Pub, 1993. “Small Wars Center of Excellence.” United States Marine Corps <http://www.smallwars. quantico.usmc.mil.sw_past.asp>. Stewart-Gambino, Hannah. “Introduction: New Game, New Rules.” Conflict and

Competition: The Latin American Church in a Changing Environment. Ed. Edward L. Cleary and Hannah Stewart-Gambino. Boulder, CO: Lynne Rienner Pub, 1992 <http://222.dominicans.org/~ecleary/conflict/conflict01.htm>.

Wiarda, Howard. “Religion, Security and the Future of Latin America.” PEW Forum on

Religion & Public Life. Event Transcript 6 April 2006. Washington, D.C.: National Defense University <http://pewforum.org/events.index.php?EventID=104>.

Zeidan, David. The Resurgence of Religion. Leiden, The Netherlands: Brill, 2003.