Latino Pentecostal Identity: Evangelical Faith, Self, and Society (Religion and American Culture)

Of the approximately 37 million Latinos living in the United States, nearly 5 million declare themselves to be either Pentecostal or Charismatic. __Latino Pentecostal Identity__ examines the rise of Pentecostalism among Latinos, the difficulties involved in reconciling conflicts of ethnic and religious identity, how evangelical groups encourage severing ethnic ties in favor of spiritual community, and the ambivalence Latinos face when their faith fails to protect them from racial discrimination. Of the thirty-seven million Latinos living in the United States, nearly five million declare themselves to be either Pentecostal or Charismatic, and more convert every day. __Latino Pentecostal Identity__ examines the historical and contemporary rise of Pentecostalism among Latinos, their conversion from other denominations, and the difficulties involved in reconciling conflicts of ethnic and religious identity. The book also looks at how evangelical groups encourage the severing of ethnic ties in favor of spiritual community and the ambivalence Latinos face when their faith fails to protect them from racial discrimination. Latinos are not new to Pentecostalism; indeed, they have been becoming Pentecostal for more than a hundred years. Thus several generations have never belonged to any other faith. Yet, as Arlene M. Sánchez Walsh articulates, the perception of adherents as Catholic converts persists, eliding the reality of a specific Latino Pentecostal population that both participates in the spiritual and material culture of the larger evangelical Christian movement and imprints that movement with its own experiences. Focusing on three groups of Latino Pentecostals/Charismatics—the Assemblies of God, Victory Outreach, and the Vineyard—Sánchez Walsh considers issues such as the commodification of Latino evangelical culture, the Latinization of Pentecostalism, and the ways in which Latino Pentecostals have differentiated themselves from the larger Latino Catholic culture. Extensive fieldwork, surveys, and personal interviews inform her research and show how, in an overwhelmingly Euro-American denomination, diverse Latino faith communities—U.S. Chicano churches, pan–Latin American immigrant churches, and mixed Latin American and U.S. Latino churches—have carved out their own unique religious space. Annotation Of the thirty-seven million Latinos living in the United States, nearly five million declare themselves to be either Pentecostal or Charismatic, and more convert every day. Latino Pentecostal Identity examines the historical and contemporary rise of Pentecostalism among Latinos, their conversion from other denominations, and the difficulties involved in reconciling conflicts of ethnic and religious identity. The book also looks at how evangelical groups encourage the severing of ethnic ties in favor of spiritual community and the ambivalence Latinos face when their faith fails to protect them from racial discrimination. Latinos are not new to Pentecostalism; indeed, they have been becoming Pentecostal for more than a hundred years. Thus several generations have never belonged to any other faith. Yet, as Arlene M. Sánchez Walsh articulates, the perception of adherents as Catholic converts persists, eliding the reality of a specific Latino Pentecostal population that both participates in the spiritual and material culture of the larger evangelical Christian movement and imprints that movement with its own experiences. Focusing on three groups of Latino Pentecostals/Charismatics -- the Assemblies of God, Victory Outreach, and the Vineyard -- Sánchez Walsh considers issues such as the commodification of Latino evangelical culture, the Latinization of Pentecostalism, and the ways in which Latino Pentecostals have differentiated themselves from the larger Latino Catholic culture. Extensive fieldwork, surveys, and personal interviews inform her research and show how, in an overwhelmingly Euro-American denomination, diverse Latino faith communities -- U.S. Chicano churches, pan--Latin American immigrant churches, and mixed Latin American and U.S. Latino churches -- have carved out their own unique religious space Latinos recently surpassed African Americans as the largest U.S. minority. Of the approximately 37 million Latinos living in the United States, nearly 5 million declare themselves to be either Pentecostal or Charismatic, and more convert every day. Latino Pentecostal Identity examines the rise of Pentecostalism among Latinos and their conversion from other denominations, the difficulties involved in reconciling conflicts of ethnic and religious identity, how evangelical groups encourage the severing of ethnic ties in favor of spiritual community, and the ambivalence Latinos face when their faith fails to protect them from racial discrimination. Drawing upon extensive fieldwork, surveys, and personal interviews, the book also considers issues such as the com-modification of Latino evangelical culture, the Latinization of Pentecostalism, and the ways in which Latino Pentecostals have differentiated themselves from the larger Latino Catholic culture Contents List of Illustrations Preface Acknowledgments Introduction 1. El Aposento Alto 2. Workers for the Harvest: LABI and the Institutionalizing of a Latino Pentecostal Identity 3. "Normal Church Can't Take Us": Victory Outreach and the Re-Creation of a Latino Pentecostal Identity" 4. Slipping Into Darkness: "God's Anointed Now Generation" and the Making of a Latino Evangelical Youth Culture 5. Worlds Apart: The Vineyard, La Vina, and the American Evangelical Subculture Epilogue Appendix Notes Bibliography Index El Aposento Alto -- Workers For The Harvest: Labi And The Institutionalizing Of A Latino Pentecostal Identity -- Normal Church Can't Take Us: Victory Outreach And The Re-creation Of A Latino Pentecostal Identity -- Slipping Into Darkness: God's Anointed Now Generation And The Making Of A Latino Evangelical Youth Culture -- Worlds Apart: The Vineyard, La Viñ̋a, And The American Evangelical Subculture. Arlene M. Sánchez Walsh. Includes Bibliographical References (p. [221]-229) And Index. This book begins, in chapter 1, with a broad overview of Assemblies of God work on the borderlands. -- Benjamin Ortiz, In These Times