The Rise of Charismatic Catholicism in Latin America (review)

This book offers a clear and straightforward assessment of a not very well understood phenomenon: the rise of the Catholic charismatic movement in Latin America since the 1970s. This book shows that charismatic Catholicism has its own unique history and origins, partly as a competitive alternative in the religious marketplace of the late-twentieth century, and partly spurred by lay activism in the Church and vigorous community involvement in the movement itself as well as by exceptional individual leaders such as Father Marcelo Rossi in Brazil. As Edward L. Cleary points out in the introduction, “[t]o the surprise of many observers, the fastest growing movement in the Catholic Church in Latin America is the Catholic Charismatic Renewal (CCR)” (p. 1).

Cleary’s analysis and account are largely from sociological and political-science perspectives. He draws in this book on several decades of research as one of the major practitioners of religious studies of Latin America as well as his own personal contact and interviews with members and leaders of the CCR. The result is a well-documented, broad survey of a movement with more than 70 million members in Latin America. He shows that Charismatic Catholicism has some general broad defining characteristics: an emphasis on community action, personal spiritual awakening, prayer groups, a dedication to a religious life beyond the simple Mass, Bible study, and spiritual baptism beyond sacramental baptism. In his view, the CCR has been instrumental in revitalizing the Catholic Church in Latin America, which he viewed as insufficiently instructed in basic tenets of the Catholic faith.

Cleary sees the growth of the CCR as largely the result of rational choice, a response to the spectacular growth of the Pentecostal Protestant movement in Latin America. Given the success in bringing former Catholics into the Protestant Pentecostal fold, the CCR had to compete in the open marketplace of ideas for Catholics to remain Catholic and to participate in a revitalized Church, open to lay participation.

Following the introduction come individual chapters on countries where the CCR has been especially successful: Bolivia, Colombia, Brazil, and Mexico. There are other chapters as well on the Caribbean, Central America, and Guatemala. Time and again, Cleary sees the emergence of the CCR in these individual countries as a successful response to the growing competition from various Protestant movements. For example, in the case of Brazil “[c]ompetition with non-Catholic religious groups, particularly the Pentecostals, seemed more like war than brotherly rivalries. But this competition has generated a vibrancy that is exceptional”(p. 130). Although the CCR does not place as heavy an emphasis on speaking in tongues as does the Pentecostal movement, it falls squarely in the tradition of charismatic religion, spirited preaching, vigorous and enthusiastic worship, and a heavy reliance on music in ritual—in the case of Brazil one of the CCR’s leading figures, Rossi, also became a pop music star. Cleary also sees the CCR as explicitly global. Charismatics have adapted various “outside influences” resulting in “local adaptations” (p. 131). In a case like Mexico, it became one of the major “exporters” of the CCR to the United States.

The book on the whole offers a broad, comprehensive treatment of the rise, personalities, and traits of the CCR. Some questions are left unresolved. For example, in the introduction, Cleary points out that CCR has generally been viewed as a conservative response to liberation theology, but asks the reader to consider whether his analysis offers a dichotomy between liberation theology liberalism and CCR conservatism. However, the reader is left puzzled as to the answer provided by the book. Theology tends to take a back seat to largely structural issues. For example, Cleary shows that the CCR, like Pentecostalism, focuses on a kind of spiritual baptism apart from any formal infant sacramental baptism. Isn’t this what the Catholic Church long considered Anabaptism and therefore a heretical rejection of the sacrament of baptism?

In any...