Abstract

This article aims to analyse the ‘words about God’ in the five peripheral ecclesiastic communities of Medellín by using a hermeneutic and ethnographic method. The analysis comprises two phases: firstly, the population subject and object of study are characterised; secondly, the views and attributes of God that the subjects acquire from the religious experience are identified. It is concluded that most of the individuals involved in the study assume the existence of God, who is perceived as being personal, eternal, spiritual and supreme. The influence of a Trinitarian view of deity, which implies an act of trust, is evidenced in their statements. In this context, God is, above all, powerful: he acts and creates. In the subjects’ demonstration of their experiences, there are no conceptual differences in relation to how Christianity sees God. Although traditional languages are used to refer to the contents of their faith, the manner in which each aspect is understood and explained is not uncomplicated. This has an effect on ecclesiastic practices. Intradisciplinary and/or interdisciplinary implications: The outcome of this research project sets a relation amongst ecclesiology, pastoral and both systematic and contextual theology; it also establishes a dialogue where the actors of social and human science, such as the anthropology, feel identified in terms of the use of categories, techniques and data collection research instruments.

Highlights

  • Latin America is a multi-cultural and ethnic territory, characterised by a strong religious experience

  • In the midst of the secularisation processes that some Latin American countries are conducting, a continuous interest in the different ways of life for the purpose of achieving transcendence is evidenced, even for institutionalised lifestyles (Conselho Episcopal LatinoAmericano 2007). This is the case of Medellín, Colombia, where legitimate and internalised efforts to achieve evangelical authenticity exist at a cultural level

  • 1.In this sample, San Sebastián de Palmitas, which ranks fifth in the table, is not included because the ecclesiastic communities in this part of the territory do not belong to the Archdiocese of Medellín

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Summary

Introduction

Latin America is a multi-cultural and ethnic territory, characterised by a strong religious experience. In the midst of the secularisation processes that some Latin American countries are conducting, a continuous interest in the different ways of life for the purpose of achieving transcendence is evidenced, even for institutionalised lifestyles (Conselho Episcopal LatinoAmericano 2007). This is the case of Medellín, Colombia, where legitimate and internalised efforts to achieve evangelical authenticity exist at a cultural level. The number of believers that practise Christianity from the Catholic tradition is considerable This is reflected in the number of baptised individuals and callings for consecrated, canonically speaking and clerical states of life. The Second General Conference of Latin America and the Caribbean Episcopate of 1968 held in this city embraced the words of the Second Vatican Council and encouraged new methods of preaching the gospel, in the context of the poverty and exclusion present across the continent

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