Latin America's Neo-Reformation

Religion's Influence on Contemporary Politics

Eric Patterson

• Publisher: Routledge
• Year: 2013
• ISBN:
  9781135412913
• Edition: 1
• Topic: Politics & International Relations
• Subtopic: Politics
• Index: Politics & International Relations

The purpose of this study is to focus on 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?

Chapter One
Introduction: Religion and Politics in Brazil, Chile, and Mexico

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 evangélico (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.

Values, Resources, Engagement: "Different Religions, Different Politics" Hypotheses

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 chapter three. 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.

The second theoretical tradition focuses on participation and resources. Democracies differ from most other regime types in that the public is expected to participate in politics by voting and engaging in other political acts. Scholars have long recognized that those most likely to participate (e.g. vote, write a letter, protest) are those who have a repertoire of skills learned at home, school, work, or voluntary organizations. When applied to Latin America this tradition suggests that the egalitarian and participatory structure of Protestant churches aids parishioners in developing skills, such as voting for deacons and public speaking, which are transferable to politics. Furthermore, this perspective argues that in general Catholic churches tend to be hierarchical and generally do not encourage comparable lay participation. Several scholars have compared contemporary Latin American Protestantism to the American Civil Rights and other movements: Protestant churches provide a learning ground for skills essential to political participation and democracy: "... they acquire the skills of organization, of self-help, of self-expression which make them articulate and self-reliant" (Martin, 1990:108). Parishioners also speak in front of the assembly, teach groups of people, learn elements of institutional finance and fundraising, and vote for church elders (Cleary and Stewart-Gambino, 1997).

Finally, this work will evaluate whether religious affiliation, religious intensity, and/or participation in religious organizations corresponds with higher levels of political engagement. More specifically, do particular aspects of religious practice influence political interest, efficacy, or political ideology? For instance, many scholars feel that Protestantism bodes well for democracy because local churches initiate literacy programs, train parishioners to participate in the church's quasi-democratic structures, and foster a desire to help others and be active citizens. (Lynch, 1998). These emphases result in charitable works such as building orphanages, offering medical services, and providing food to the poor. Such programs associated with the church engage Protestants in the social issues of their environment, potentially resulting in increased levels of political interest and efficacy.

In sum, this study tests three "different religions, different politics" hypotheses drawn from the theoretical literature and studies of Latin American Protestantism. The first hypothesis tests a political culture theory: Protestants are more likely than Catholics to hold democratic attitudes because Protestantism fosters attitudes such as individualism, tolerance, and equality whereas Catholicism values hierarchy and conformity. The second hypothesis to be tested is drawn from the resource tradition: Protestants are more likely than Catholics to participate in politics because Protestant congregations provide resource-building opportunities to parishioners that develop skills that can transfer to politics. The final hypothesis to be tested comes from the political engagement literature: Protestants are more likely than Catholics to be politically engaged because the culture and resourcerich environment of Protestant churches results in increased political interest and feelings of individual efficacy.

Testing the "Different Religions, Different Politics" Hypotheses

The Quatitative Approach

A large body of qualitative literature has developed in the last ten years that describes this Protestant "neo-Reformation," especially as it has unfolded in Brazil and Chile. Existing accounts tend to be qualitative studies, rich in details culled from in-depth interviews and participant-observation. This study complements the existing literature by relying on quantitative data and extends the qualitative literature in three ways. First, in contrast to small-N, ethnographic accounts, this study examines survey data from large samples of national populations. A second and related point is that most existing studies describe the conversion of rural villagers by missionary intervention.¹ The survey data for this study are from national samples and thereby provide a more generalizable portrait of mass attitudes and behavior. Moreover, these data are not a single snapshot of the phenomena. This study provides three data points for each country (1990, 1995, 2000) in order to compare the attitudes and behaviors of Protestants and Catholics during the period of greatest Protestant expansion.

This study tests the claims made by resource, values, and engagement theories through the use of data from the 1990 and 1995 World Values Surveys and the 1995,2000, and 2001 Latinobarometer surveys. Further details about the surveys can be found in Appendix 1. In sum, a quantitative study provides us with representative evidence about mass attitudes and political behavior during a time of rapid Protestant expansion in Latin America.

The Phenomenon of Religion

The use of religious variables is at the heart of this study, yet religion can be a problematic measure because it is a multi-dirnensional concept.² Most of the existing literature simply compares Catholics and Protestants based on self-identification of religious affiliation. Distinguishing by religious affiliation can be useful in a qualitative study as respondents provide rich details regarding their experiences and beliefs, but it is often of limited use in making causal claims linking religion to political attitudes and behavior. Therefore, a handful of studies have gone beyond affiliation as an independent variable to using church attendance (religiosity) to distinguish between practicing congregants and those who self-identify as religious but are uninvolved (Talavera and Beyer, 1993; Camp, 1995).

This study goes beyond the existing literature on Latin America to focus on two additional components of religion: intensity and activity. Religious intensity is defined in terms of religious devotion ("devout-ness"), not in terms of church attendance. Respondents were asked whether they considered themselves to be "very devout," "somewhat devout," "not very devout," or "not at all devout" and for purposes of analysis these categories were collapsed to "devout" and "not devout." This allows us to test the impact of religious intensity separately from affiliation and thereby analyze whether the intensity with which religious beliefs are held affects political attitudes. In other words, are those who are devout different politically from those who are not? In addition, we will be able to analyze whether there is an interaction between affiliation and intensity and examine whether religious intensity affects Protestants differently than Catholics.

The other independent variable comes from the resource literature: religious activity (participation in a religious organization). Scholars have observed that some religions, particularly Protestantism, encourage lay involvement through service as committee members, deacons, ushers, Sunday School teachers, lay preachers, and Bible study leaders. The resource tradition argues that skills learned in these capacities can be transferred to politics. Consequently, this religion variable distinguishes those who have opportunities to develop skills in a religious setting from those who do not.

In sum, the independent variables for this analysis distinguish respondents by religious affiliation, religious intensity, and religious activity in order to test values, resource, and engagement theories. This study complements the exiting literature by introducing the results of quantitative analysis to the discussion.

Political Culture and Democratic Attitudes

The dependent variable is politics, evaluated in three broad categories: political culture, resources, and political engagement. The political culture argument is simple: democracy needs a political culture of sustaining values in order for it to thrive. Different segments of society, such as different religious or ethnic groups, may harbor different attitudes about society and politics. Chapters four through six will test whether members of one faith are more likely than members of another to hold democratic attitudes such as preference for democracy, satisfaction with democracy, interpersonal trust, and support for democratic institutions^.3

How one feels toward democracy, both as a theoretical concept and in its practical application in one's life experience, is an essential democratic attitude. Respondents were asked three primary questions that attempt to define these relationships. The first is satisfaction with democracy—respondents were given a four-point scale ranging from "very" to "not at all" to rate their satisfaction "with how democracy works in your country." A second indicator allowed respondents to choose whether they preferred democracy over other forms of government. Respondents could "prefer democracy to any other form of government," choose authoritarianism as "preferable at times," or state "people like me have no say" in the form of government.

A third attitude question concerns trust between citizens. The interpersonal trust variable is a dichotomous variable, so respondents indicated either that they felt that they could trust others most of the time or not. In addition, the analysis in the case study chapters provides information about citizens' confidence in democratic institutions. Respondents were provided with a list of national institutions including the Church, Armed Forces, Police, Legislature, Presidency, and Courts and asked to rate on a four-point scale what level of confidence they felt in each institution.

Finally, in the Brazilian and Chilean cases additional information was available about equal rights and the trade-offs between political values. For instance, respondents were asked a variety of questions about whether women had achieved equal status and opportunities in society. Similarly, the questionnaire asked that the respondent choose between four political values: maintain public order, increase participation, protect freedom of speech, or fight inflation. The purpose of this question is to ascertain whether the respondent prioritizes order and economic issues over democratic values such as freedom and equality. In short, the case study chapters provide a wide range of democratic attitudes on which to compare Protestants and Catholics.

Resources and Political Participation

The resource literature suggests that those who develop skills in church and religious organizations are more likely to engage in political behavior. Measurements of political behavior are less ambiguous than measurements of political attitudes because respondents are asked whether or not they have performed a variety of specific conventional and unconventional political acts from voting and discussing politics to striking and demonstrating. This study will test the relationship between skill building opportunities in religious organizations and the likelihood of various conventional and unconventional acts of political behavior.

The surveys utilized in this study queried a range of conventional and unconventional political behaviors from voting to discussing politics to blocking traffic and occupying buildings. In order to simplify the many participation variables, I have employed two additive indices of behavior: conventional participation and unconventional participation. The conventional participation index is labeled 'participate' in the data sections of the cases and is made up of four questions that ask if the respondent has worked on a local issue or campaign, worked for a political party, worked for a political organization⁴, and voted for president. For each behavior the response is coded "yes"=l or "no"= 0. Thus, an individual can score 0-4 on the conventional participation scale.

Similarly, the surveys asked about unconventional forms of political behavior. Three specific questions have been used to create an unconventional participation index that is labeled "protest." Respondents were asked if they had engaged in any of the following "political activities:" taking part in a demonstration, blocking traffic, and occupying land, buildings, or factories. By coding affirmative responses as "1" and negative responses as "0" and then adding the three categories, a protest indicator is created on which respondents can score between 0-3.

Political Engagement: Interest and Efficacy

Political engagement refers to one's psychological engagement toward politics (Verba, Schlozman, and Brady, 1995). In general an individual must be interested in politics and/or feel that their involvement is of consequence before he or she will participate in most political acts. Facets of political engagement include political interest, internal and external forms of efficacy, and familiarity with political news and information. This study focuses on two political engagement variables drawn from the Latinobarometer Survey. The first concerns political interest; respondents were asked "How interested would you say you are in politics: very interested, fairly interested, a little interested, or not interested?" Responses for this study have been collapsed into two categories—interested and not interested. The second engagement variable used in the data analysis is efficacy. Respondents were asked to specify on a five-point scale how much they feel that their vote can influence politics. Although the analysis in the case study chapters relies primarily on political interest and efficacy as measures of engagement, some data is presented about additional engagement variables such as external efficacy, political information, and partisan preferences.⁵

Applying Theory to Context: Brazil, Chile, and Mexico

Brazil, Chile, and Mexico provide three contexts for evaluating the di...