Pentecostalism in Latin America, Rural Versus Urban

Definition

Pentecostalism is typically an urban phenomenon around the world and this is not different in Latin America. However, this form of Christianity has a noticeable presence in the countryside throughout the region. In Latin America, the growth of Pentecostal denominations in the cities has followed the increasing urbanization trends, with the bulk of new converts originated from rural areas (D’Epinay 1970; Hoffnagel 1980; Corten 1996). After a century of activities by this diverse group in Latin America, distinctive patterns between rural and urban Pentecostalism have become perceptible.

Introduction

Since the urban Latin American Pentecostalism has been widely studied (Stoll 1990; Martin 1990), this entry presents the contrast between both aspect of the movement while emphasizing the rural – peasant and indigenous – forms of that religion. This entry covers the history and the scholarly interpretation of this social and religious phenomena in Latin America. The last section...