Globalisation and Society in Contemporary Argentina - GUPEA

246 Pages·2013·0.86 MB·English

Pen
te
cos
tal
ism
,
Globalisation
and Society in
Contemporary
Argentina
Hans Geir Aasmundsen
Södertörn University
Södertörns högskola
SE-141 89 Huddinge

www.sh.se/publications

Cover Design: Jonathan Robson
Layout: Per Lindblom & Jonathan Robson

Printed by Elanders, Stockholm 2013

Södertörn Doctoral Dissertations 85
ISSN 1652-7399
ISBN 978-91-86069-76-6

Department of Literature, History of Ideas, and Religion
University of Gothenburg 36
ISSN 1102-9773
Abstract
In Argentina, Pentecostalism had a breakthrough in the early 1980s, and
today more than 10 per cent of the population are Pentecostals. The revival
coincided with a socio-political transformation of Argentinean society.
After half a century of dictatorships and Perónism, democracy was restored,
and structural changes paved the way for a certain “autonomisation” of
politics, law, economy, science and religion. The "new" form of society that
developed resembles what in this study is called a Western model, which to
a large degree is currently being diffused on a global scale. This work exam-
ines the new religious sphere and how Pentecostals relate to society at large,
and the political and judicial sphere in particular.
Social systems theory and an idea of communication as constitutive of
social spheres, such as religious, political and judicial ones, form the theo-
retical foundation for the study. Methods that have been used are fieldwork,
interviews and analyses of written material. It is concluded that evangelisa-
tion and transformation are of major concern to Pentecostals in contempo-
rary Argentina and that this follows a global trend. Evangelisation has al-
ways been important to, even a hallmark of, Pentecostalism. What has be-
come as important is the urge for transformation, of the individual, the
family and society. This leads to increased socio-political engagement.
However, Pentecostals do not have a “fixed” idea of how society should be
organised, i.e., they do not yet have a full-fledged political theology, a public
theology or what could be called a Pentecostal ideology. This is mainly be-
cause they experience a lack of “compatibility” between the Pentecostal and
the political communication. Their approaches to socio-political concerns
seem to be based on an understanding of certain “values” as the fundamen-
tal building block of society.

Keywords:
Argentina, globalisation, Pentecostalism, society, politics, evangelisation,
religious freedom, equality.

Contents
Preface 7
Abbreviations 9
Introduction 11
1. Historical background 31
2. Theoretical framework 55
3. From negative to positive dualism 105
4. The struggle for religious freedom and equality 129
5. Pentecostalism and politics 173
6. Conclusions and final remarks 209
References 221

Preface
In the autumn of 1997, I followed Anne, my wife, to Seville, Spain, where
she was going to be an exchange student at the University of Fine Arts. I for
my part had no particular plan for the stay, apart from touring the city on a
daily basis, visiting cafés and walking in the gardens of Alcázar, a former
Moorish fort and now a royal palace. I had, of course, brought along some
books, among which was Religion and Globalization by Peter Beyer. That
book became a turning point for my interest in the Study of Religions.
Beyer discussed religion, globalisation and politics, topics which I had al-
ways wanted to work on myself. When I returned to Bergen, Norway, I
went to the Department for Religious Studies, where I luckily met one per-
son who shared these interests, Håkan Rydving. His enthusiasm and sincere
openness to my ideas and projects, in addition to the fact that he had started
a course on religion and politics, were crucial to my, as well as many other
students', academic progress. It was in this course that I first learned about
Latin American Pentecostalism, its growth and recent impact on the conti-
nent. So, there was a “new” religious movement on a (for me) “new” conti-
nent, providing an excellent opportunity for field work! I soon learned that
Argentina was a country rarely mentioned in books and articles about the
Pentecostal growth in Latin America, and I started out with the following
questions: Why are there so few Pentecostals there? Is it because the culture
or society or religion of Argentina are different; and, by the way, how many
Pentecostals are there anyway, and what are they up to? With these ques-
tions in mind, I started to write a master thesis (hovedoppgave) on Pente-
costalism in Argentina and went on my first field trip in 2001. As this Ph.D.
thesis will reveal, my “imagined ethnography”, my ideas about Argentina,
Pentecostalism and globalisation have changed a great deal since that time.
Argentina is, in my view, still different from other countries in Latin Amer-
ica, but also “similar” in many respects. Moreover, Pentecostalism was a far
larger movement than I thought, and globalisation was, and is, far more
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PENTECOSTALISM AND GLOBALISATION
complex and diverse than what it seemed to be when I began working on
my master thesis.
In 2006 I started my doctorate studies at Södertörn University in Stock-
holm. That year I also became father for the first time, a fact that delayed
the academic progress. In the autumn of 2007 I was beginning to feel at ease
with the new “life-world” and set out for a second, and this time more thor-
ough, field work. However, Anne became pregnant with twins, and her
pregnancy became quite a trial. She was sick most of the time. After she
gave birth to two healthy babies, her condition worsened, and for two more
years, until she had an operation in May 2010, I was almost completely
away from academic thinking and writing. Thus, it was not until late 2010
when I really started working intensively on this project.
I would like to thank Anne in particular. Besides being a hero in the
years of tough pregnancy and illness, she has had to listen to all my talk
about Pentecostals, politics and globalisation for more than a decade. In
addition to Håkan Rydving, I also wish to thank in particular my good
friend and academic sparring partner Bjørn-Ola Tafjord, who acted, more
or less, as an academic “life-line” in the difficult years. Thanks also to Astrid
Hovden, Terje Østebø, Hans Egil Offerdal and other great friends and aca-
demic companions. I would also like to warmly thank David Westerlund,
my main supervisor at Södertörn University. He has been most helpful and
did not give up on me when I was doing “nothing” because of the above-
mentioned circumstances. Thanks also to Göran Larsson, my assistant su-
pervisor from Gothenburg University, and Susanne Olsson for reading and
commenting on the text when I first started writing. Last but not least,
thanks a lot to all the good friends and colleagues at Södertörn and in Ber-
gen, Stavanger and my new friends Hans, Monica and Fredrik, who have
provided with me “safe havens” when I have been alone in Stockholm. Fi-
nally, a special greeting to my wonderful children Sofie, Jonas and Hanna.

Bergen, October 2013

Hans Geir Aasmundsen

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Abbreviations

ACIERA Alianza Cristiana de Iglesias Evangélicas de la República Argentina
(Christian Alliance of Evangelical Churches in Argentina)
AoG Assemblies of God
CAN Comunidad Andina de Naciones (Union of Andean Nations)
CLAI Consejo Latinoamericano de Iglesias
(Latin American Council of Churches)
CONADEP Comisión Nacional sobre la Desaparición de Personas
(National Commission on the Disappearance of Persons)
CRECES Comunión Renovada de Evangélicos y Católicos en el Espíritu Santo
(Renewed Communion of Evangelicals and Catholics in the Holy Spirit)
CRM Charismatic Renewal Movement
FAIE Federación Argentina de Iglesias Evangélicas
(Argentinean Federation of Evangelical Churches)
FECEP Federación Confraternidad Evangélica Pentecostal
(Federation for the Fraternity of Evangelicals and Pentecostals)
IADA Iglesia Asamblea de Dios en Argentina
(Church Assembly of God in Argentina)
IMF International Monetary Fund
MD Military Dictatorship (1976–1983)
MERCOSUR El Mercado Común del Sur (the Southern Common Market)
NRMs New Religious Movements
PP Princípe de Paz (Prince of Peace)
RFE Religious freedom and equality
UEB Unión Evangélica Argentina Bautista y Hermanos Libres
(Argentinean Evangelical Union of Baptists and Free Brethren)
UNASUR La Comunidad Sudamericana de Naciones
(Union of South American Nations)
VDF Visión de Futuro (Vision of the Future)

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