Eric Patterson - Latin Americas Neo-Reformation: Religions Influence on Contemporary Politics

LATIN AMERICAN STUDIES
SOCIAL SCIENCES AND LAW

Edited by
David Mares
University of California

A ROUTLEDGE SERIES

DAVID MARES, General Editor

OBSERVING OUR HERMANOS DE ARMAS
U.S. Military Attachs in Guatemala, Cuba, and Bolivia, 1950-1964
Robert O. Kirkland

LAND PRIVATIZATION IN MEXICO
Urbanization, Formation of Regions, and Globalization in Ejidos
Mara Teresa Vzquez-Castillo

THE POLITICS OF THE INTERNET IN THIRD WORLD DEVELOPMENT
Challenges in Contrasting Regimes, with Case Studies of Costa Rica and Cuba
Bert Hoffmann

CONTESTING THE IRON FIST
Advocacy Networks and Police Violence in Democratic Argentina and Chile
Claudio A. Fuentes

INSURGENCY, AUTHORITARIANISM, AND DRUG TRAFFICKING IN MEXICO'S "DEMOCRATIZATION"
Jos Luis Velasco

LATIN AMERICA'S NEO-REFORMATION
Religion's Influence on Contemporary Politics
Eric Patterson

Religion's Influence on Contemporary Politics

Eric Patterson

Routledge
New York & London

Published in 2005 by
Routledge
270 Madison Avenue
New York, NY 10016
www.routledge-ny.com

Published in Great Britain by
Routledge
2 Park Square
Milton Park, Abingdon
Oxon OX14 4RN
www.routledge.co.uk

Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group.

Transferred to Digital Printing 2005

Copyright 2005 by Taylor & Francis

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be printed or utilized in any form or by any electronic, mechanical or other means, now know or hereafter invented, including photocopying and recording, or any other information storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher.

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Patterson, Eric, 1971-

Latin America's neo-reformation: religion's influence on contemporary politics / By Eric Patterson.

p. cm. -- (Latin American studies. Social sciences and law)

Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 0-415-94972-6 (hardback: alk. paper)

1. Christianity and politics--Latin America--History--20th century. 2. Christianity and politics--Catholic Church--History--20th century. 3. Christianity and politics--Protestant Churches--History--20th century. 4. Latin America--Church history--20th century. 5. Latin America--Politics and government--20th century. I. Title. II. Latin American studies (Routledge (Firm)). Social sciences and law.

BR600.P378 2005
322'.1'098090511--dc22

2005012932

This work began as a doctoral dissertation at the University of California at Santa Barbara. I am grateful for the counsel and assistance provided by the members of the dissertation committee: Professor Kathleen Bruhn, Professor Eric R.A.N. Smith, and especially Professor Cynthia S. Kaplan (Chair). I also acknowledge the valuable input of reviewers at various conferences and the significant professional influence of other University of California at Santa Barbara faculty, most notably Professor Bruce Bimber, Professor Aaron Belkin, and Professor Dan Philpott (now at Notre Dame). During my time in Santa Barbara, this research was supported financially by the University and by a grant from the Acton Institute. I was particularly appreciative in 1999 when the University mistook me for a faculty member and provided me with a SARI grant and two research assistants for the summer.

I am grateful to the Routledge team for their excellent work on the manuscript. Most importantly, I am fortunate to have numerous friends and fellow scholars who cheered me on in the writing process: Robert Hinckley, Tom Knecht, Eric Carlson, Diane Johnson, Niles Pierce, Brian Johnson, James Denton, and my parents William and Dwayla Patterson. I dedicate this work to my wife and best friend Mary Crooks Patterson who has supported and encouraged me at every stage of this endeavor.

A decade ago Pope John Paul II warned the Catholic leadership of Latin America of an "invasion of sects" within their borders. The pontiff was reacting to the tens of millions of Brazilians, Chileans, Argentines, Costa Ricans, and Guatemalans who have left the Catholic Church and the Catholic identity of their ancestors and converted to evangelical Protestantism since 1970. Both the depth and the breadth of this phenomenon are historic. When an individual leaves the Church in Latin America to become an evanglico (Protestant), he or she not only leaves a cultural legacy that spans five centuries but also rejects the faith of loved ones, often resulting in ostracism and persecution from family and friends. Moreover, this very personal act commits the creyente (believer) to a lifestyle and world-view that is in stark contrast to Catholicism.

The breadth of this change throughout the region is incredible. A generation ago professing Catholics made up 95-98 percent of all citizens in Latin America. In just a quarter century this has changed, with the Protestants growing at a rate of 10 percent annually in several countries in the 1990s. In other words, today Protestants make up 20-30 percent of the population in many Latin American countries.

Various studies have noted this change and the consequent challenges to the dominant culture and institutions it represents. The purpose of this study is to focus on one part of this complex scenario: the intersection of religion and politics. Do different religions result in different politics? More specifically, are there significant contrasts between the political attitudes and behavior of Catholics and Protestants in Latin America? This chapter provides an introduction to the theories and methods this study uses to answer these questions.

Scholars have long recognized that religious phenomena can have political consequences, The phenomenon in question is the conversion of millions of Latin Americans to evangelical Protestantism since about 1970. The motivations for conversion and the multitude of religious and social ramifications of this choice are the subjects of various existing sociological, religious, and anthropological studies.

Does conversion to Protestantism affect the political attitudes and behavior of the individual? Numerous studies suggest that Protestants are more likely to hold values consistent with democratic norms and to engage in political behavior than their Catholic neighbors. This research is based on two theoretical traditions that are discussed at length in . The first tradition focuses on culture and is associated with Max Weber's Protestant Ethic (1934) as well as the civic culture tradition in political science. The cultural argument is that democracy rests on a foundation of democratic values shared by the populace. Weber argued that Protestantism emphasizes individuality, thrift, and egalitarian social relations that are the foundation for capitalist economies. Civic culture theorists like Almond and Verba (1963) and Inglehart (1988, 1990) extend Weber's argument by suggesting that this value system is also responsible for the growth of a democratic middle class in Northern and Western Europe as well as in North America. Recent scholarship on Latin American religion has followed this trend. For example, studies of Guatemala by Amy Sherman (1997) and Sheldon Annis (1987) argue that Protestants develop values of thrift, individualism, and industry just as Max Weber predicted. Emilio Willems (1967) and David Martin (1990) suggest that Protestantism provides a new worldview to adherents and that these attitudes help Protestants adapt to an increasingly modern and pluralistic society. Similarly, Timothy Steigenga's (2001) recent work on Costa Rica and Guatemala demonstrates that religious intensity is related to support for democracy.