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Encyclopedia of Latin American Religions pp 1–13Cite as

Latin American Pentecostalism and Politics

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Definition

Pentecostalism is a denomination of the Protestant tradition that focuses predominantly on highly spiritual forms of worship and theology harkening back to the early days of the church. Some of its primary tenets revolve around the common practice of glossolalia, spiritual acts such as divine healing, and a strong emphasis on personal evangelism. Its impact on Latin American society and politics is noticeable – as a system of faith it is accessible and receptive to all classes of people and promotes the development of talents and skills paired with a civil ethic and desire to help the community.

Introduction

A generation ago professing Catholics made up 95–98% of all citizens in Latin America. In just a quarter century this has changed, with the Protestants growing at a rate of 10% annually in several countries in the 1990s. By 2000, Catholics made up only 71% of the population, a trend that has continued over the following 15 years. In other words, today Protestants make up...

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Robertson School of Government, Regent University, Virginia Beach, VA, USA

    Eric Patterson & Jacob Stephens

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  1. Eric Patterson
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  2. Jacob Stephens
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Correspondence to Eric Patterson .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Sociology/Anthropology, Oakland Univ Sociology/Anthropology, Rochester, Michigan, USA

    Henri Gooren

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Patterson, E., Stephens, J. (2018). Latin American Pentecostalism and Politics. In: Gooren, H. (eds) Encyclopedia of Latin American Religions. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-08956-0_337-1

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