The Politics of the Spirit: The Political Implications of Pentecostalized Religion in Costa Rica and Guatemala

This work questions whether the spread of Protestantism in Latin America had reinforced an authoritarian political culture or deepened nascent democracy. Crude conspiracy theories about the spectre of conservative corporatist Protestantism and the triumphalist vision of a Protestant reformation as the harbinger of democracy are laid to rest by this balanced critique of the literature of religion and politics in Latin America. The author investigates the impact religious affiliation has on political activity and belief, and the power of non-denominational religious beliefs on Latin American life. His comparative work explores how different political systems - the established democracy of Costa Rica and dictatorial Guatemala - impact religious observance.