Divided by faith and ethnicity : religious pluralism and the problem of race in Guatemala : Andrea Althoff

Two unprecedented, striking developments form part of the reality of many Latin Americans. Recent decades have seen the dramatic rise of a new religious pluralism, namely the spread of Pentecostal Christianity - Catholic and Protestant alike - and the growth of indigenous revitalization movements. This study analyzes these major transitions, asking what roles ethnicity and ethnic identities play in the contemporary process of religious pluralism, such as the growth of the Protestant Pentecostal and neo-Pentecostal movements, the Catholic Charismatic Renewal, and the indigenous Maya movement in Guatemala. This book aims to provide an understanding of the agenda of religious movements, their motivations, and their impact on society. Such a pursuit is urgently needed in Guatemala, a postwar country experiencing acrimonious religious competition and a highly contentious debate on religious pluralism. This volume is relevant to scholars and students of Latin American Studies, Sociology of Religion, Anthropology, Practical Theology, and Political Sciences. Contents 6 Acknowledgements 12 Preface 16 Part I 26 Religious Pluralism and Ethnicity in Guatemala: An Introduction 28 The Religious Players 31 Part I: Catholicism 32 Part II: The Maya Movement 33 Part III: Enthusiastic Christianity: Protestant and Catholic Pentecostalism 35 Ethnicity and Pentecostal Christianity 36 The Guatemalan Social Structure: Ethnicity and Ethnic Identities in Guatemala 41 Theoretical and Methodological Considerations 44 Existing Theories 44 Globalization Theories 49 Religion as a Supermarket? Rational-Choice and Microeconomic Theories 50 Methodology and Methods of this Study 53 Book Structure and Overview 59 Part II 62 Catholicism, Religious Pluralism, and the Ethnic Divide 64 Introduction to Catholicism and Ethnicity 64 The Catholic Bureaucracy: Structure and Features of Guatemalan Catholicism 71 Catholicism in Guatemala: Looking Back at the History of Religious Pluralism and the Ethnic Divide (1524–1944) 77 The Conquest and Colonialism (1524–1824) 77 The Post-Independence Period: The Fall of Catholicism and the Rise of Protestantism 82 Mayan Catholicism: The Cofradías 84 The Decline of the Cofradías 90 Revival of the Cofradías? 93 The Formation of an Indigenous Activism and the Role of Catholic Networks and Ideologies: From the 1950s to the 1970s 95 Catholicism and the Political Environment of the 1950s and 1960s 95 Catholicism, Catholic Action and the Mayas 97 Cultural and Educational Initiatives 103 Political Initiatives 106 Agricultural Initiatives: Cooperatives, Ligas Campesinas, and the Comité de Unidad Campesina (CUC) 107 Catholicism, Indigenous Activism, and the Insurgency: 1978 Onward 110 Ideological Factors and Mayan Exclusion 114 Catholic Networks and the Armed Confrontation 123 The Catholic Church in the mid-1980s and 1990s 127 The Popular Front, the Human Rights Agenda of the Catholic Church, and the Emergence of the Maya Movement 128 The Catholic Church and the Ethnic Agenda 134 Theory and Practice 134 The Popol Vuh: Myth and Revitalization of the Indigenous Culture within the Catholic Church 137 Mayan Culture and Spirituality and the Training of Catechists Today 139 The Pastoral Indígena 143 The Pastoral Indígena in San Marcos 146 The Maya Movement and the Pastoral Indígena 147 Diversification of Catholicism: The Catholic Charismatic Renewal in Guatemala 150 The Historic Roots of the Catholic Charismatic Renewal 151 The Guatemalan Catholic Charismatic Renewal 153 The Contemporary Presence of the Catholic Charismatic Renewal in Guatemala 156 The Catholic Charismatic Renewal and Religious Pluralism 157 The Catholic Charismatic Renewal and Mayan Culture 159 Theological Profile and Religious Empowerment 163 Healing, Exorcism, and Popular Religion 166 The Guatemalan Church Hierarchy and the Catholic Charismatic Renewal 169 The Charismatic Renewal in Concepción Tutuapa 176 History and Religious Characteristics of the Municipality and the Parish 176 The Situation in the Parish Today 179 From Rejection to Acceptance: The Relationship between the Parish, Charismatic Catholics, Catechists, and the Diocese 181 Summary 187 Part III 198 The Guatemalan Maya Movement: Ethnicity and the Transformation of the Religious Sphere 200 Introduction 201 Factors that Contributed to a New Ethnic-Religious Agenda: Rigoberta Menchú and the Peace Process 205 The Maya Movement and Its Religious Discourse 210 Syncretism, Hybrid Identities, and Resistance within the Indigenous Mayan Culture 218 The New Mayan Priests 223 Mayan Spirituality in Comitancillo 230 The Decline of Traditional Mayan Spirituality in Comitancillo 231 The Social Effects of Essentialism: Conflicts over Meaning at the Local Level 238 The New Mayan Ceremonies 242 Summary 245 Part IV 248 Protestantism, Religious Pluralism, and the Ethnic Divide: An Introduction 250 Explaining Religious Pluralism and Protestant Growth in Guatemala: An Overview 257 The Distribution of Protestantism in the Indigenous and non-Indigenous Population 266 Overlapping Terms and Doctrines: Pentecostalism, Neo-Pentecostalism, Charismatic Movement, Evangelicalism, and Fundamentalism 273 Pentecostalism in Guatemala 280 Doctrine and Historical Origins of Pentecostalism 281 Pentecostalism and the Rejection of Mayan Spirituality and Culture 283 Racial Exclusion and Pentecostalism 288 Organizational Structures: Kin and Family 291 Pentecostalism and Ethnic Homogeneity 294 The Case of Fermín Cuyuch: Conversion and Ethnic Mobility 297 Conversion of Mayans to Pentecostalism: A Religious and Ethnic Empowerment? 300 Symbolic and Real Power: Conversion and the Gifts of the Holy Spirit 302 Neo-Pentecostalism in Guatemala 304 Doctrinal and Historical Roots of Neo-Pentecostalism 304 Iglesias de Fufurufus? – Churches of the Rich? Class and Ethnicity in neo-Pentecostal Congregations 307 Spiritual Army, Religious Enterprise, and Charismatic Apostles: Organizational Features of neo-Pentecostalism 312 The New Apostles and Ethnicity 316 Spiritual Warfare and the Negation of Mayan Culture in neo-Pentecostal Doctrine 321 A Side Note on Neo-Pentecostalism and Political Activism 328 Civil War, Democratization, Reconciliation, and neo-Pentecostal Doctrine 340 The Development of Religious Pluralism in an Indigenous Municipio: The Case of Comitancillo 343 Religious Pluralism and Ethnicity in Comitancillo 344 Religious Pluralism from an Individual Perspective: The Biography of Cidiaco Temaj (Iglesia del Nazareno) 347 Summary 351 Part V 358 Conclusion Divided by Faith and Ethnicity: The Relational Dynamic of Religious Pluralism and the Ethnic Status Quo 360 Catholicism and Ethnicity in Guatemala 361 Colonialism, Catholicism, and the Maya 363 Guatemalan Twentieth-Century Catholicism and the Maya 364 The Catholic Hierarchy and the Ethnic Agenda at the End of the Twentieth Century 366 Pastoral Indígena, Popul Vuh, and Training of the Laity 366 The Catholic Charismatic Renewal 368 Mayan Catechists and the Catholic Charismatic Renewal (CCR) 369 Catholic Charismatic Renewal Doctrine and Mayan Culture 373 The Maya Movement 374 Protestantism and Ethnicity in Guatemala 385 Mayan Pentecostalism and Ethnicity 387 Neo-Pentecostalism and Ethnicity 392 Bibliography 398 Primary Sources 398 Secondary Sources 405 Index 421 In a unique approach, this book analyzes the spread of Pentecostal Christianity and the growth of indigenous revitalization movements. It explores the roles ethnicity and ethnic identities play in contemporary processes of religious pluralism. It is particularly relevant to those interested in the growth of the Protestant Pentecostal and neo-Pentecostal movements, the Catholic Charismatic Renewal, and the indigenous Maya movement in Guatemala. Analyzes the spread of Pentecostal Christianity and the growth of indigenous revitalization movements. This book explores the roles ethnicity and ethnic identities play in contemporary processes of religious pluralism.