Abstract

LECAROS, Véronique. Pragmatic and strategic religious alliances in times of pluralization, the case of Peru. Rev. colomb. soc. [online]. 2022, vol.45, n.1, pp.397-416.  Epub Dec 28, 2023. ISSN 0120-159X.  https://doi.org/10.15446/rcs.v45n1.89846.

According to Peter Berger, pluralization should be considered the new paradigm to address religious studies in the world. Despite the consensus that exists among specialists regarding the notion of pluralization, its meaning, in Latin American context, remains to be understood. Our article focuses on the Peruvian religious field.

Recently, religious offerings have multiplied. Today, the Peruvian religious field, overwhelmingly Christian, is characterized by the still pre-eminence of Catholicism, the growing influence of evangelicals and the increase in the number of disaffiliated members, many of whom are still linked to the evangelical nebula. However, pluralization is not limited to a variety of religious proposals available to all, which would be a mere plurality, but also implies an interweaving of dynamic inter-institutional and extra-institutional relationships and alliances.

The rapidity of creative recomposition characterizes the current evolution; however, the logic of religious change is not homogeneous. It is a pluralization of pluralization. In the case of popular Catholicism, the initial configuration plays a determining role; the devotions, from being fragmented, have become more structured by going through a rearrangement at a national level. In the Catholic institution, world dissensions are present and divide the clergy between conservative and liberal currents that correspond mainly to differences in priorities. Evangelical churches, whose diversity hides a relative uniformity, continue to be highly influenced by international currents, in their search for growth and, currently, for political influence. Commitments and alliances are woven between Catholic and evangelical entities. Official activities correspond to international ecumenical agreements and mainly involve the liberal Catholic wing and the evangelical churches closest to traditional Protestantism. On the other hand, common makeshift platforms, dominated by the family and moral agenda, are formed by conservative catholic and evangelical groups who participate in massive marches articulated to neoliberal political projects.

Keywords : Latin-American Evangelical churches; Moral religious agenda; Peru; Peruvian Catholic Church; Popular Catholicism; Religious pluralization.

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