Reason to Believe: Cultural Agency in Latin American Evangelicalism

Abstract

Numerous studies have examined the explosive growth of Evangelicalism in parts of Latin America. David Smilde's book—grounded in several years of ethnographic field work in Venezuela—adds to our growing knowledge of this phenomenon by focusing on the practical reasons for conversion among impoverished men in Caracas. He documents how many of his respondents turned to Evangelicalism to cope with substance abuse, marital conflicts, and economic difficulties. Since drinking, drug use, and gambling are forbidden among Evangelicals, new converts find themselves in a social context where there is strong support for refraining from these activities. Moreover, their sense of masculinity is undercut by economic marginalization, which is compounded by Venezuela's macho culture. Evangelicalism, therefore, may be particularly appealing, since its emphasis on male headship in the family offers an alternative masculinity that reinforces men's authority. Perhaps most interesting is the author's discussion of how Evangelical men are able to absolve themselves from neighborhood vendettas since Evangelicals are not permitted to engage in violence and, therefore, they are no longer perceived as threats to their rivals. This religious identity even appears to deter street muggings since Venezuelan popular Catholicism grants respect to sacred items such as the Bibles Evangelicals often carry with them. Thus, the author notes, “a Bible-toting Evangelical is an image that frequently instills enough insecurity in would-be attackers to prevent an assault” (71).