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. Acknowledgements 11 Preface 15 Part I 25 Religious Pluralism and Ethnicity in Guatemala: An Introduction 27 The Religious Players 30 Part I: Catholicism 31 Part II: The Maya Movement 32 Part III: Enthusiastic Christianity: Protestant and Catholic Pentecostalism 34 Ethnicity and Pentecostal Christianity 35 The Guatemalan Social Structure: Ethnicity and Ethnic Identities in Guatemala 40 Theoretical and Methodological Considerations 43 Existing Theories 43 Globalization Theories 48 Religion as a Supermarket? Rational-Choice and Microeconomic Theories 49 Methodology and Methods of this Study 52 Book Structure and Overview 58 Part II 61 Catholicism, Religious Pluralism, and the Ethnic Divide 63 Introduction to Catholicism and Ethnicity 63 The Catholic Bureaucracy: Structure and Features of Guatemalan Catholicism 70 Catholicism in Guatemala: Looking Back at the History of Religious Pluralism and the Ethnic Divide (1524–1944) 76 The Conquest and Colonialism (1524–1824) 76 The Post-Independence Period: The Fall of Catholicism and the Rise of Protestantism 81 Mayan Catholicism: The Cofradías 83 The Decline of the Cofradías 89 Revival of the Cofradías? 92 The Formation of an Indigenous Activism and the Role of Catholic Networks and Ideologies: From the 1950s to the 1970s 94 Catholicism and the Political Environment of the 1950s and 1960s 94 Catholicism, Catholic Action and the Mayas 96 Cultural and Educational Initiatives 102 Political Initiatives 105 Agricultural Initiatives: Cooperatives, Ligas Campesinas, and the Comité de Unidad Campesina (CUC) 106 Catholicism, Indigenous Activism, and the Insurgency: 1978 Onward 109 Ideological Factors and Mayan Exclusion 113 Catholic Networks and the Armed Confrontation 122 The Catholic Church in the mid-1980s and 1990s 126 The Popular Front, the Human Rights Agenda of the Catholic Church, and the Emergence of the Maya Movement 127 The Catholic Church and the Ethnic Agenda 133 Theory and Practice 133 The Popol Vuh: Myth and Revitalization of the Indigenous Culture within the Catholic Church 136 Mayan Culture and Spirituality and the Training of Catechists Today 138 The Pastoral Indígena 142 The Pastoral Indígena in San Marcos 145 The Maya Movement and the Pastoral Indígena 146 Diversification of Catholicism: The Catholic Charismatic Renewal in Guatemala 149 The Historic Roots of the Catholic Charismatic Renewal 150 The Guatemalan Catholic Charismatic Renewal 152 The Contemporary Presence of the Catholic Charismatic Renewal in Guatemala 155 The Catholic Charismatic Renewal and Religious Pluralism 156 The Catholic Charismatic Renewal and Mayan Culture 158 Theological Profile and Religious Empowerment 162 Healing, Exorcism, and Popular Religion 165 The Guatemalan Church Hierarchy and the Catholic Charismatic Renewal 168 The Charismatic Renewal in Concepción Tutuapa 175 History and Religious Characteristics of the Municipality and the Parish 175 The Situation in the Parish Today 178 From Rejection to Acceptance: The Relationship between the Parish, Charismatic Catholics, Catechists, and the Diocese 180 Summary 186 Part III 197 The Guatemalan Maya Movement: Ethnicity and the Transformation of the Religious Sphere 199 Introduction 200 Factors that Contributed to a New Ethnic-Religious Agenda: Rigoberta Menchú and the Peace Process 204 The Maya Movement and Its Religious Discourse 209 Syncretism, Hybrid Identities, and Resistance within the Indigenous Mayan Culture 217 The New Mayan Priests 222 Mayan Spirituality in Comitancillo 229 The Decline of Traditional Mayan Spirituality in Comitancillo 230 The Social Effects of Essentialism: Conflicts over Meaning at the Local Level 237 The New Mayan Ceremonies 241 Summary 244 Part IV 247 Protestantism, Religious Pluralism, and the Ethnic Divide: An Introduction 249 Explaining Religious Pluralism and Protestant Growth in Guatemala: An Overview 256 The Distribution of Protestantism in the Indigenous and non-Indigenous Population 265 Overlapping Terms and Doctrines: Pentecostalism, Neo-Pentecostalism, Charismatic Movement, Evangelicalism, and Fundamentalism 272 Pentecostalism in Guatemala 279 Doctrine and Historical Origins of Pentecostalism 280 Pentecostalism and the Rejection of Mayan Spirituality and Culture 282 Racial Exclusion and Pentecostalism 287 Organizational Structures: Kin and Family 290 Pentecostalism and Ethnic Homogeneity 293 The Case of Fermín Cuyuch: Conversion and Ethnic Mobility 296 Conversion of Mayans to Pentecostalism: A Religious and Ethnic Empowerment? 299 Symbolic and Real Power: Conversion and the Gifts of the Holy Spirit 301 Neo-Pentecostalism in Guatemala 303 Doctrinal and Historical Roots of Neo-Pentecostalism 303 Iglesias de Fufurufus? – Churches of the Rich? Class and Ethnicity in neo-Pentecostal Congregations 306 Spiritual Army, Religious Enterprise, and Charismatic Apostles: Organizational Features of neo-Pentecostalism 311 The New Apostles and Ethnicity 315 Spiritual Warfare and the Negation of Mayan Culture in neo-Pentecostal Doctrine 320 A Side Note on Neo-Pentecostalism and Political Activism 327 Civil War, Democratization, Reconciliation, and neo-Pentecostal Doctrine 339 The Development of Religious Pluralism in an Indigenous Municipio: The Case of Comitancillo 342 Religious Pluralism and Ethnicity in Comitancillo 343 Religious Pluralism from an Individual Perspective: The Biography of Cidiaco Temaj (Iglesia del Nazareno) 346 Summary 350 Part V 357 Conclusion Divided by Faith and Ethnicity: The Relational Dynamic of Religious Pluralism and the Ethnic Status Quo 359 Catholicism and Ethnicity in Guatemala 360 Colonialism, Catholicism, and the Maya 362 Guatemalan Twentieth-Century Catholicism and the Maya 363 The Catholic Hierarchy and the Ethnic Agenda at the End of the Twentieth Century 365 Pastoral Indígena, Popul Vuh, and Training of the Laity 365 The Catholic Charismatic Renewal 367 Mayan Catechists and the Catholic Charismatic Renewal (CCR) 368 Catholic Charismatic Renewal Doctrine and Mayan Culture 372 The Maya Movement 373 Protestantism and Ethnicity in Guatemala 384 Mayan Pentecostalism and Ethnicity 386 Neo-Pentecostalism and Ethnicity 391 Bibliography 397 Primary Sources 397 Secondary Sources 404 Index 420 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.