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Pentecostalism, development and democracy in Latin America
Title
Pentecostalism, development and democracy in Latin America.
Creator
Louis, Pierre A., Harriet L. Wilkes Honors College
Abstract/Description
The recent explosive growth of Protestantism in Latin America has led a number of scholars to predict that the region may be on its way to reaching a significantly higher levels of socioeconomic development and democracy. These are important claims for a region that has struggled with both economic development and democratic consolidation. This thesis argues that Protestantism in Latin America does not follow the classical Weberian pattern of development. Because the majority of Protestant...
Show moreThe recent explosive growth of Protestantism in Latin America has led a number of scholars to predict that the region may be on its way to reaching a significantly higher levels of socioeconomic development and democracy. These are important claims for a region that has struggled with both economic development and democratic consolidation. This thesis argues that Protestantism in Latin America does not follow the classical Weberian pattern of development. Because the majority of Protestant growth in the region is Pentecostal, the causal assumptions of the--culture and development school do not hold. Furthermore, a context of neoliberalism, a significant colonial legacy, and wide income disparities continue to hinder the potential for development. Based on a review of secondary sources and specific data from the case of Guatemala, this thesis argues that while individual Protestants may experience some upward social mobility, the growth of Protestantism has done little to advance the socioeconomic and political development of the region.
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Date Issued
2008
PURL
http://purl.flvc.org/FAU/77674
Subject Headings
Democratization, Neoliberalism, Christianity and politics, Politics and government, Cultural policy
Format
Document (PDF)
Beyond culture wars
Title
Beyond culture wars: the role of Christian religiosity in the public support for social safety net policies in contemporary America.
Creator
Alvarado, Emmanuel., Dorothy F. Schmidt College of Arts and Letters, Department of Sociology
Abstract/Description
This study examines the impact of Christian religiosity on attitudes toward social safety-net policies over the past three decades in the US. The study used data from the General Social Survey on social safety-net policy preferences and levels of Christian religiosity. Simple cross tabulations, correlations and multiple regression analysis were used to assess the data. Contrary to previous related research, the results of this study indicate that Christian religiosity has a very weak...
Show moreThis study examines the impact of Christian religiosity on attitudes toward social safety-net policies over the past three decades in the US. The study used data from the General Social Survey on social safety-net policy preferences and levels of Christian religiosity. Simple cross tabulations, correlations and multiple regression analysis were used to assess the data. Contrary to previous related research, the results of this study indicate that Christian religiosity has a very weak association with opposition to social safety-net policies. At the national level, the relationship between Christian religiosity and attitudes toward social protection policies was largely mediated by other factors such as race, gender, education, family income, and political ideology. These results indicate that Christian religiosity per se does not independently influence social spending preferences. Instead, these results suggest that social divisions in socioeconomic standing and in political ideology, which in turn are closely related to differences in support for social protection policies, permeate American Christianity. The study also examined the relationship between Christian religiosity and social protection policy preferences among Hispanic and Black Americans separately. Although Hispanics and Blacks are generally more supportive of social spending in comparison to White Americans, Christian religiosity was not found to have a strong independent effect on support for social safety-net policies among these two groups. The study did find, however, a markedly different level of support for social safety-net policies among identifiable Christian groups at the national level and in the Hispanic-American population., Those who self-identified as "evangelical" or "fundamentalist" Christians were much less supportive of social safety-net policies in comparison to "mainline" or "liberal" Christians. Among Hispanics, Catholics were more supp in comparison to Evangelical Protestants. Moreover, the results of this study indicate that religious American Christians have had a tendency to give precedence to moral issues over concerns about social safety-net policies thus facilitating an issue-bundling effect in recent electoral competition. Lastly, the present work proposes a broad framework through which to interpret the aforementioned findings grounded on the existence and interaction of two counterpoised cultural narratives on social protection found within American Christianity.
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Date Issued
2010
PURL
http://purl.flvc.org/FAU/1927301
Subject Headings
Social service, Christianity and politics, Urban policy, Democracy, Economic aspects, Social policy
Format
Document (PDF)