Native Evangelism in Central Mexico

Introduction

Introduction By “native evangelism” we denote dissent movements turning away from Catholicism, as well as doctrinal and organizational dissent from American Protestant evangelist derivations. The Pentecostal, Seventh-Day Adventist, and Jehovah’s Witnesses sects are the most common sources of emulation. Native evangelical sects come into being in basically two different ways: either an individual or group, originally member(s) of a Protestant sect, becomes dissatisfied with some organizational or doctrinal aspect, secedes, and launches a new movement; or a divinely inspired leader initiates a native sect upon hearing the word of God, who, in the time-honored Christian tradition, reveals to him or her the only true doctrinal path to worship and provides the blueprint for the organization of a congregation . In reality, the new sect is a mélange of beliefs and practices of Protestant origin. In both cases, native evangelism sects evolve and, within a few years, acquire their distinct evangelical characteristics. There are no fundamental differences between native evangelism and Protestant evangelism. (Protestant evangelical sects differ significantly from one another doctrinally, of course, but all have the same attraction for disenchanted Catholics desirous of some form of religious change. Converts may adduce idiosyncratic grounds for choosing Pentecostalism, Seventh-Day Adventism, or any other Protestant sect, but the reasons for 2 Native Evangelism in Central Mexico conversion are basically the same.) Thus, native evangelism and Protestant evangelism, irrespective of doctrinal differences and modes of proselytism, are part of the same religious movement that is wresting souls from Catholicism. Conversion is supported by the central doctrinal and pragmatic concerns that native evangelism and Protestant evangelism share: the Bible as the sole source of religious understanding and moral action; total rejection of the cult of the saints; emphasis on individual religious identity; lack of hierarchy in ritualism and ceremonialism; preaching as a core vehicle for religious experience; the congregation as a source of social and psychological dissatisfaction with administrative decentralization ; and in most cases, democratic organization of the congregation . There are, of course, differences among native evangelist sects, just as there are differences among Protestant evangelist sects; variations among the former depend largely on which Protestant group served as their model. Thus, native evangelical sects are in most respects extensions of Protestant evangelism, and whatever differences obtain between them are centered on reactions to local conditions and the needs of dissatis fied Catholics on their own terms, although they are well aware they are emulating a Protestant model. This book is concerned with two native evangelical sects that are widespread in central Mexico, particularly in the CórdobaOrizaba region. The first, Amistad y Vida A.C. (Cristianos) (Friendship and Life Association, but its members call themselves “Christians”), was established years ago in the city of Córdoba; it grew very fast, and today it has more than forty local congregations in the Córdoba-Orizaba region, the TlaxcalaPueblan Valley, the Valley of Mexico, and in metropolitan Mexico City.1 The second, La Luz del Mundo (the Light of the World) was founded in 1926 in Guadalajara, Jalisco; it has experienced unprecedented growth, and by 1990 had become the largest native evangelical sect in Mexico. It has more than five hundred congregations in most states of Mexico, and probably a total membership of nearly one million, including congregations in other countries, despite the sexual scandals that Introduction 3 have plagued the sect during the past two decades. La Luz del Mundo has expanded to the United States, Guatemala, Nicaragua , and several other countries in South America. We studied a congregation of Amistad y Vida in Fortín, Veracruz, and four congregations of La Luz del Mundo (one each in Fortín, Córdoba, and Orizaba, Veracruz, and one in the city of Tlaxcala , Tlaxcala). The aim of this book is an in-depth description and analysis of these doctrinally and organizationally different sects, which in our opinion are representative of native evangelism in central Mexico today. Insofar as these sects are of North American Protestant derivation, we will begin with a short historical and ethnographic sketch of evangelism in Mexico. Historical Considerations The presence of Protestant evangelism in Mexico dates back to the middle of the nineteenth century, when Mormon missions were established in the northern and central parts of the country (Tullis 1987). But their effect was minimal because they made few converts. Seventh-Day Adventists appeared before the turn of the century (Greenleaf 1992...