Reason to believe : cultural agency in Latin American evangelicalism / David Smilde.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Smilde, David.

Series:

Anthropology of Christianity ; 3.

The anthropology of Christianity ; 3

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Evangelicalism--Venezuela--Caracas.

Evangelicalism.

Pentecostalism--Venezuela--Caracas--Case studies.

Pentecostalism.

Christianity and culture--Venezuela--Caracas.

Christianity and culture.

Men--Religious life.

Men.

Caracas (Venezuela)--Church history.

Caracas (Venezuela).

Venezuela--Caracas.

Genre:

Case studies.

Physical Description:

xv, 262 pages : illustrations ; 23 cm.

Place of Publication:

Berkeley : University of California Press, [2007]

Summary:

Evangelical Protestantism has arguably become the fastest-growing religion in South America, if not the world. For converts, it emphasizes self-discipline and provides a network of communal support, which together have helped many overcome substance abuse, avoid crime and violence, and resolve relationship problems. But can people simply decide to believe in a religion because of the benefits it reportedly delivers? Based on extensive fieldwork among Pentecostal men in Caracas, Venezuela, this rich urban ethnography seeks an explanation for the explosion of Evangelical Protestantism, unraveling the cultural and personal dynamics of Evangelical conversion to show how and why these men make the choice to convert, and how they come to have faith in a new system of beliefs and practices.

Contents:

Beginnings

Imaginative rationality

Relational imagination.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references (pages 245-258) and index.

ISBN:

9780520249424

0520249429

9780520249431

0520249437

OCLC:

76481424