Revolutionary Evangelicals in Nicaragua: Political Opportunity, Class Interests, and Religious Identity

Abstract

This article examines the demographic characteristics and political attitudes and behaviors of Nicaraguan evangelicals, Roman Catholics, and nonreligious. Analysis of data from a nationally representative 1990 Gallup survey - conducted showy after the national election in which the revolutionary FSLN was swept from power by the opposition - shows that Nicaraguan evangelicals were stronger supporters of the leftist Sandinistas than was the Catholic majority. These findings challenge the conventional wisdom of earlier literature that Latin American evangelicals are inherently apolitical, other-worldly, or right-wing. These findings underscore the theoretical importance of accounting for prevailing political opportunity structures and social class interests in understanding the varied political commitments and behaviors of Latin American evangelicals.