TruthBook Religious News Blog

12/12/2008
By Christina Hoag
Associated Press

LOS ANGELES -- When Randy Brown visited Hispanic Pentecostal congregations in Southern California, he was stunned by displays of Star-of-David flags, fervent prayers for peace in Israel and Hebrew words in their church names.

Brown, an executive with the American Jewish Committee, saw an opportunity to build Jewish-Latino relations and combat anti-Semitism among the immigrants, who generally have little exposure to Jews in their predominantly Roman Catholic native countries.

The Los Angeles office has since worked to forge new bonds: They have taken groups of Pentecostal Hispanic pastors to Israel, offered a course called "The Essence of Judaism" at a Southern California Pentecostal seminary, and invited Hispanic pastors and their families to Passover seders and Sukkot harvest celebrations.

While Latino immigrants in the U.S. are mostly Catholic, evangelicals comprise a notable 15 percent of the population, according to a recent study by the Pew Hispanic Project and the Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life. Many are Pentecostal, one of the fastest-growing streams of world Christianity, known for spirit-filled worship and speaking in tongues.

A 2007 survey by the Anti-Defamation League found a higher-rate of anti-Semitic views among foreign-born Latinos than among U.S.-born Hispanics. Twenty-nine percent of Latinos born elsewhere harbor anti-Jewish views, while the rate for Hispanics born in the country -- and for the U.S. population in general -- was 15 percent, the study found.

The 2007 numbers are slightly lower than those in a 2005 survey, but Jewish leaders are worried all the same, especially as Latin Americans are expected to become 29 percent of the national population by 2050.

Latin American countries are overwhelmingly Roman Catholic and are steeped in a five-century-old tradition of a church that wields much influence. With the exception of Argentina, Jewish communities in Latin America are tiny and tend to keep a low profile.

By contrast, U.S. Jewish and Catholic leaders have held high-level interfaith talks for years. Several Catholic colleges in the country have centers for Jewish-Catholic understanding, and U.S. bishops heavily emphasize the Second Vatican Council teaching that Jews are not collectively responsible for the Crucifixion. That outlook influences not just Catholics, but also other Christians in the U.S.

Pastor Tony Solorzano, who heads the Iglesia Llamada Final, a 5,000-member congregation in Downey and Inglewood, said some Latinos simply need more education about Judaism to dispel stereotypes. Some consider Jews "Christ-killers."

Pentecostals, who interpret the Bible literally, believe God promised the Jewish people the historic land of Israel. Many consider the modern state of Israel a fulfillment of biblical prophecy -- and a precondition of the second coming of Jesus Christ.

They often cite a passage from Genesis where God makes a covenant with Abraham that those who bless Abraham's people will be blessed, those who curse his people will be cursed.

Jewish leaders are building on Pentecostal pro-Israel sentiment to dispel stereotypes between both groups. Many Jewish groups in recent years have accepted such support without questioning the theology behind it, which says that all people, including Jews, will ultimately accept Christ.

Pentecostal congregations, often housed in storefronts filled with rows of folding chairs, have become fixtures in Latino neighborhoods across the United States, as well as Latin America. Pastors tend to be influential opinion-makers in their congregations and some, like Lopez, have radio programs or stations, expanding their reach.

At the Latin University of Theology in Torrance, which trains Pentecostal pastors, many of the students in Brown's Spanish-language "Essence of Judaism" course hail from Latin American countries. He hopes they'll return home with new knowledge about Jews and Judaism to change negative images and misperceptions.

Nationally, the American Jewish Committee has formed a Latino and Latin American Institute, and in 2001 convened the first Latino-Jewish Leadership Summit in Washington, D.C., to discuss common policy concerns such as immigration.

Labels: Anti-Defamation League, Catholic, Christina Hoag, evangelicals, interfaith, Jews, Latinos, Pentecostalism

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Sunday, December 16, 2007

Pentecostals in Latin America

A look at the religion's theological roots and how the faith took hold in the region.

By Sarah Miler Llana
from the December 17, 2007 edition

Modern Pentecostalism, whose name comes from the biblical term Pentecost commemorating the descent of the Holy Spirit upon the Apostles, grew out of the Holiness movement at the turn of the 20th century in the US.

Pentecostals place strong emphasis on personal experience with the "Holy Spirit," such as speaking in tongues, divine healing, and prophesying. In the Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life survey in 2006, most Pentecostals said that they had experienced divine healings or received revelations from God.

"Renewalists," a term that includes those belonging to Pentecostal denominations and "charismatics," who have adopted the expressive worship services of Pentecostals but belong to Catholic or mainline Protestant churches, now make up an estimated one quarter of the world's Christians, according to the World Christian Database. That number was just 6 percent 30 years ago.

For decades, Pentecostalism remained on the margins of US society, even as missionaries poured into Latin America. Pentecostals now account for 13 percent of Latin Americans. When accounting for "charismatics," the number shoots up to 30 percent.

Scholars say there are many reasons why Pentecostalism has attracted so many adherents. Aggressive evangelism, led at first by US missionaries, has certainly played a role. So has urban anomie and economic crisis. But each country has its own set of factors too, from civil war to natural disasters.

A 1976 earthquake in Guatemala, for example, brought a current of US Christians to Central America, says Paul Freston, a leading expert on religion in Latin America. Today the country has the highest percentage of Protestants in Latin America.

Pentecostals across the region, most of whom considered themselves Catholics before, say they converted in order to tackle their problems, for a sense of community, or simply because Pentecostalism offered something that the rituals of the Catholic mass did not.

Pentecostals have been particularly skilled at reaching out to the region's poor, providing answers to the overwhelming problems their poverty provokes each day. The Catholic answer, in the 1960s, came in the form of "liberation theology," a Marxist-tinged approach to addressing the needs of the oppressed. It had enthusiastic supporters across Latin America, but soon got wrapped up in cold war politics. Religious scholars often quip: "Liberation theology opted for the poor, and the poor opted for Pentecostalism."

Labels: Catholic, charismatics, Holy Spirit, Latin America, Pentecostalism, Pew Forum, protestants, renewalists

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Sunday, August 19, 2007

Why has pentecostalism grown so big, so fast?

by Joseph Serwadda

With 500 million followers, Pentecostalism has grown to be the second largest Christian denomination, after Roman Catholicism. With a distinctive worship style, a literal biblical interpretation and energetic preaching, this sect of the Christian faith has attracted large numbers searching for meaningful spiritual purpose.

The term “Pentecostal” alludes to the day when first-century Christians were given the Holy Spirit, marking the beginning of the Church. Multi-million dollar church complexes are sprouting up around the world. Why and how has this faith grown so big, so fast?

From the day of Pentecost, history has recorded empirical evidence that for over 1,500 years, the church has eluded obliteration and braved persecution including Nero and other Roman emperors’ madness that competed for worship as gods.

In the late 1870s, Charles Parham preached revival in the face of a Protestant world that had lost its zeal. Parham encouraged disciples to seek God through prayer, fasting and studying the Bible, awaiting His blessings of the Spirit. Many who accepted the message were thrown out of the traditional churches, which forced the movement to start its own churches.

Pentecostalism’s influence around the world is phenomenal. It is estimated (Encyclopaedia Britannica) that over 100 million Americans are Pentecostals. According to the World Christian Database, 147 million Africans are either Pentecostals or Charismatics (Reuters). The Charismatics are believers in Protestant and Catholic churches (Bazuukufu) who believe that the Pentecostal worship style should be incorporated into their churches.

A 2006 survey conducted by the PEW Forum on Religion and Public Life showed that 70 percent of Protestants in Kenya are Pentecostal or Charismatic. The same survey also found that 60 percent of Nigeria is Pentecostal and one-third of South Africans are.
The Red Pepper recently reported that Uganda has seven million Pentecostals leaving 23 million to be shared by the rest. This faith is also making gains in predominantly Protestant Europe and multi-religious Asia.

The survey revealed that 75 percent of Protestants in Latin America are Pentecostals. The churches have adopted music-driven, concert-style services to reinvigorate their worship, and confront flagging enthusiasm among its membership. This is not an isolated case. The Catholic priest, Fr. Musaala, has introduced a new sound in the papal domain raising eyebrows for his music and dance style.

Pentecostalism’s popularity is attributed to its leaders, missionaries who travel the world conducting mass healing campaigns. From the late fifties, T.L. Osborn was a household name. Reinhard Bonnkhe became famous for tent crusades. When T.D. Jakes visited Nairobi, the service attracted 250,000. In Uganda, Benny Hinn’s recent visit saw 40,000 flocking the Mandela Stadium crusade. Several local events, such as the Passover Festival at every close of year, pull crowds in their thousands.

Pentecostalism is the ultimate “people’s faith” providing something for everyone, all encouraged to “come as they are.” Pentecostal messages speak to the needs of the disenfranchised and the poor. Many come to these services seeking hope, and view this denomination as a return to the roots of early and original Christianity.

Allan Anderson, Professor of Global Pentecostal Studies at England’s Birmingham University, put it this way: “The success of Pentecostalism is the focus on people’s problems. In countries where people are living on the breadline, Pentecostalism gives hope” (Reuters). Healing occupied two-thirds of Jesus earthly ministry. With healings, speaking in tongues, energetic services, and a focus on prophecy, many see the fruits of Pentecostal teaching and rightly conclude, “God must be here.”

Luis Lugo, Director of the Pew Forum, said he initially questioned some of the survey results, but came to realise the numbers were valid. “I don’t think it's too far-fetched to imagine that Christianity is close to "being pentecostalised. These folks are as engaged as they come, not only talking the talk, but walking the walk," Lugo said.

Labels: Africans, Americans, Christianity, Holy Spirit, Joseph Serwadda, Pentecostalism, Pew Forum