As church lights dim across the US and Europe, Christian houses of worship are opening every day in Latin America. The majority of the new churches are Pentecostal, an expressive evangelical creed that emphasizes individual “gifts of the Holy Spirit.” In a three-part series from Guatemala, Brazil, and Colombia, the Monitor shows how Pentecostals – who now make up nearly 15 percent of Latin America's population – are bringing a fresh, can-do approach to some of the once staunchly Catholic region's most stubborn social ills: poverty, violence, and gender inequality.
SARA MILLER LLANA
“I said, ‘If everyone says that God is the owner of silver and gold, why can't I have it?’ I started writing out a business plan and prayed.”
- Doris Cuxun, salon owner
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PART 1 | 12.17.07
'Prosperity theology' is empowering people to help themselves out of poverty.
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Reporter Sara Miller Llana discusses "Prosperity Theology" among Pentecostals in Guatemala.
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A look at the religion's theological roots and how the faith took hold in the region.
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PART 2 | 12.18.07
Pentecostals' message of transformation is helping Brazil's drug dealers give up their guns for Jesus.
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A growing number of Brazil's urban poor are seeing Pentecostalism as a way to rise above the scourge of gang violence.
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PART 3 | 12.19.07
Pentecostal women are demanding more of their husbands and themselves as they move beyond civil war.
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Reporter Sara Miller Llana talks about Pentecostals in Colombia.
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Nelly Tuiran says that becoming a Pentecostal has helped her take charge of her life.
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