Origins, Development and Perspectives of La Luz del Mundo Church

Abstract

The objective of this paper is to describe and explain the historical origin of the native Pentecostal Luz del Mundo Church as a typical religious movement which emerged during times of social and political conflicts, but unlike most radical and counter-ideological social movements, this church has been able to develop and transform itself into a long-term religious project. Taking elements from Mexican culture and even from the dominant Catholic culture, it has created a syncretic religion that is attractive to a significant spectrum of people within the country and among Latin people beyond Mexican frontiers. It has evolved into an authoritarian church which functions around two powerful charismatic figures, able to inspire the construction of strong new identities in the believers. The Church has developed a coherent system of hierarchy in order to sustain its authority and control over the membership. The religious movement has maintained to present times its original holistic project which provides people with spiritual as well as material needs. Within a dominant Catholic culture where protestant churches have a low status, La Luz del Mundo has managed to create a strategic alliance with the Mexican state in order to counteract the Catholic influence, and its friendly relation with government has given acknowledgement and legitimation to this particular pentecostal church.