Pentecostalism and South America's social movements

Focusing on outh America, this paper provides an overview of social movements and Pentecostalism. It particularly draws on the work of U.S urban specialist, Mike Davis, and historian/ social psychologist Marco Fernandes.

Pentecostalism is described by Davis as the largest self-organised movement of urban poor in the world. Pentecostals are a social and political force, not just religious. In a historical irony, the largest left party on the continent, the Workers Party (PT), created by the Catholic Church and other entities, came into power with a Pentecostal vice president, José Alencar. The Universal Church of the Kingdom of God to which he belongs controls 70 television and 50-plus radio stations, a bank, several newspapers, and has 3,500 temples.

Some of the key points highlighted about Pentecostalism in South America are that:

• Brazil has a high population of Catholics, but also the most Pentecostals in the world, with some 24 million faithful, in comparison to only 5.8 million in the United States
• Fernandes states that in the slums, Pentecostals not only get many people away from alcohol, but also occasionally get them to give up drug trafficking and delinquency - and they do it without pressure
• Pentecostalism is viewed by groups on the left, which come from university-educated middle classes, as pastor’s who exploit people's ignorance through money contributed by the faithful - Fernandes argues that they forget that when people begin to go to the churches, they begin to feel better; they put their life back together.