Religious Engagement, Civic Skills, and Political Participation In Latin America
Document Type
Article
Publication Date
3-1-2020
Department
Political Science, International Development, and International Affairs
School
Social Science and Global Studies
Abstract
To what extent has the growth of Evangelicalism in Latin America contributed to political participation across the region? A number of scholars of religion and politics in the United States have suggested that Evangelicalism promotes the development of civic skills necessary for political engagement, while the Catholic Church, due to its hierarchical structure, provides fewer opportunities for skill acquisition. In this paper, we apply this debate to Latin America to test whether civic skills developed in Catholic and Protestant church activities lead to differential participation rates in 18 countries. We utilize the 2014 Pew Religion in Latin America survey to test these effects, and find that Protestant churches do indeed promote skill‐developing activities at higher rates, but that Catholics, when involved, are more likely to translate this religious participation into political action. We conclude that political scientists must better understand the organizational role of religion in promoting political engagement worldwide.
Publication Title
Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion
Volume
59
Issue
1
First Page
101
Last Page
118
Recommended Citation
Audette, A. P.,
Brockway, M.,
Castro Cornejo, R.
(2020). Religious Engagement, Civic Skills, and Political Participation In Latin America. Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion, 59(1), 101-118.
Available at: https://aquila.usm.edu/fac_pubs/17268