L'“Evangelio”: Pentecôtisme Indigène dans le Chaco Argentin

Abstract

After Elmer Miller's classic work on Toba Pentecostalism appeared in the early 1960s, studies of the emergence of indigenous churches in the Gran Chaco region of Argentina began to multiply. This interest led researchers to identify a number of socio-religious phenomena in connection with anthropology in the Chaco region, suggesting new themes and new conceptual approaches. The author synthesizes some of the main theoretical trends developed for the purpose of analyzing these phenomena and the conceptual challenges and problems to which they have given rise. He also describes the main questions addressed since 1954, including the relations between Christianity and shamanism, indigenous interpretations of the Bible, discourse, temporality and historicity, and the connections between myth and history. Finally, the author outlines possible directions for research within the wider perspective of religious studies in an intercultural context.