El Salvador has experienced a dramatic religious transformation over the past half-century.In what was once an almost exclusively Catholic nation, more than 35 percent of the people are now evangelical Protestants, mostly identified as charismatic or Pentecostal. While having some roots in Protestant missions from North America and Europe, the religious renaissance overtaking El Salvador is both homegrown and closely related to the nation's social, cultural, and economic upheavals. Since the end of the Salvadoran Civil War, the traditional social orderawhich was established in colonial times, ruled by elites, enforced by the military, and supported by the Churchahas been overturned. Once a world of haciendas, plantations, and old merchant firms, El Salvador is now home to new factories, shopping malls, fast food restaurants, and call centers. Modernization has brought new ideas tooaabout asserting individual rights and making choices, forming communities, voting in elections, consuming material goods, employing technology, and engaging with global culture. The Rise of Pentecostalism in Modern El Salvador explores how this vast social transformation has opened the gates to runaway religious creativity and competition. In weaving together the lively and complex story, author Timothy Wadkins employs the scholarly tools of historical reconstruction, theological analysis, and ethnographic interviews, as well as the results of a pioneering national religious survey. The outcome is a comprehensive and detailed picture of El Salvador's religious renaissance against the backdrop of El Salvador's fitful path toward modernization and democratization.
Timothy H. Wadkins is Professor of Modern Christianity and Director of the Institute for Global Study of Religion at Canisius College.
Introduction: The Eruption of the Spirit in the Land of the Savior Chapter 1. La Nueva Familia de Fey Chapter 2. The Preferential Option for the Spirit Chapter 3. The New World Order Chapter 4. Spirit-Filled Ascendency in the New World Order Chapter 5. Surviving the World Chapter 6. Consuming the World Chapter 7. Engaging the World Chapter 8. Managing the Spirit Conclusion: Spirit-Filled Christianity and Modernization in El Salvador
A pathbreaking analysis of the meaning and impact of the growth of evangelical Christianity in Ethiopia. -James C. McCann, Professor of History, Boston University This story is a triumph of historical scholarship. -Joel A. Carpenter, Provost of Calvin College This thoroughly researched book provides invaluable information regarding Ethiopian evangelical movements. -Amy DeRogatis, Associate Professor of Religious Studies, Michigan State University A very welcome contribution to the understudied subject of the history of Protestant religion in Ethiopia Liza Debevec, Journal of Religion in Africa Wadkins's detailed research and in-depth analysis is presented in an engaging format and is both refreshing and insightful. From a sociological and theological point of view, he describes the historical path of Pentecostalism in modern El Salvador with great skill, providing the reader with historical background, a literature review, transcribed interviews, and careful analysis along the way...This book is recommended to scholars and lay readers alike who are interested in Pentecostalism and historical and ethnographic research. -- Shaun Joynt -- Reading Religion
