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REVIEW ESSAY
Pentecostalism
David
95
in
Argentina
Bundy
Alejandro Frigerio, (Los
Fundamentos Centro Editor de América
ed. Ciencias sociales
y religión
en el Cono Sur de las ciencias del
hombre;
Buenos Aires:
Latina, 1993).
151
pp.
Frigerio,
sociales,
Aires: Centro Editor de América
Alejandro
ed. Nuevos movimientos
I
(Los
Fundamentos de las ciencias del
hombre;
Alejandro
Frigerio,
religiosos y
ciencias
Buenos Latina, 1993).
97
pp.
ed. Nuevos movimientos
sociales,
II
(Los
Fundamentos de las ciencias del
hombre;
Aires: Centro Editor de América
Alejandro Frigerio, compilador, (Biblioteca
Politica
Argentina, de America
Latina, 1944).
127
pp.
459;
religiosos y
ciencias
Buenos Latina, 1993).
98 pp.
El Pentecostalismo en la Argentina
Buenos Aires: Centro Editor
Louise Jeter de
Walker, histórica
Paraguay,
Perú
y Uruguay 1992).
264
pp.
Siembre
y
consecha. Tomo 2: de las Asambleas de Dios en
Argentina,
(Deerfield,
Norberto
Saracco, Argentine Theology (Ph.D. diss.; Birmingham, 1989).
Birmingham, England;
Pablo
FL,
USA:
Reseña Bolivia, Chile, Editorial
Vida,
Pentecostalism: Its
History
University
and of
Semán,
Mercedes de
Majo,
en
Argentina.
Un Estudio
Hilario H.
Wynarczyk, Panorama
sociológico
Teológica, 1995).
33
pp.
actual del
campo Evangélico
(Buenos
Aires: Facultad Internacional de Educación
Facultad
Hilario H.
Wynarczyk, Perfil sociológico
Pentecostal
de Educación
Internacional
(Buenos
Aires: Teológica, 1994).
11 pp.
1
96
Hilario H.
Wynarczyk,
Tres
evangelistas
carismáticos: Omar Cabrera, Annacondia, Giménez (Unpublished Polycopied Text, Buenos
Aires, 1989).
155
pp.
The
Beginnings of Pentecostalism
in Argentina
One of the earliest
published
references to Pentecostalism in Argentina
is found in correspondence between Willis Hoover of Chile and Thomas Ball Barratt of Norway in which Hoover refers to contacts with the
Norwegian missionary
to
Argentina, Berger
Johnson.1 Hoover’s letters had been translated into
Norwegian
and
published by Barratt in Korsets Seier. Johnson,
having
read these in
Argentina, wrote to Hoover
asking
about the
availability
of
Spanish language Pentecostal literature. Hoover commented, “Do
you
see how we
get bound
up together
with each other.”2 Italian Pentecostal missionaries arrived in Argentina on 9 October 1909 to found the
Iglesia
Asamblea Cristiana.3 Danish missionaries arrived in 1913.4
Alice
Woods,
a Canadian Methodist Holiness woman who had joined
the Christian and
Missionary Alliance,
after
serving
as a Holiness
Missionary
in Venezuela and Puerto
Rico, experienced
the Pentecostal
Baptism
in the
Holy Spirit
in a
Norwegian
Pentecostal church which she attended at the invitation of
Berger
Johnson. She went to Argentina with
Berger
Johnson and his
wife,
but was forced to become
independent
when Johnson came out
against
women
being
in
lOn Berger Johnson and early Norwegian missions to Argentina, see Ivar M. Witzoe,
De Aapene dore:
Norges Frie Evangeliske Hedningemissions arbeidere virke
og
gjennem 10 aar (Oslo, Norway:
NFEH, 1925); Per A. Pedersen,
in Til Jordens Ender: Norsk 50
“Argentina,”
pinsemisjon gjennom år,
ed. Kåre Juul (Oslo, Norway: Filadelfiaforlaget, 1960),
271-278; Oddvar Nilsen, Ut i all Verden: Pinsevennenes ytre misjon i 75 cir (Oslo, Norway:
Filadelfiaforlaget, 1984).
2Letter from Willis Hoover to T. B. Barratt, 5 December 1910, T. B. Barratt Collection, University of Oslo.
An edition of this letter is being prepared. For the
of Hoover in Chile, see D. Bundy, “Bishop William Taylor and Methodist Mission: A Study in Nineteenth Century Social History,” Methodist History 27 (July pre-history
1989): 197-210; 28 (October 1989): 2-21. Hoover was a
with the “Self- Supporting
Mission” related to the Methodist
Episcopal
Church founded missionary
by Taylor who was himself a missionary in Chile from 1878-1884.
3Louie B. Stokes, Historia del Movimiento Pentecostal en la Argentina (Buenos Aires, Argentina: n.p., 1968), 13-14.
4F. B. Petersen, Danmarks Frikirker (Kobenhavn: Evangelieforlaget, 1954), 565.
‘
2
97
ministry.
Woods then united with the Assemblies of God
(1914)
and eventually
took over
(1917)
an
already existing
Pentecostal church which she
pastored
until her retirement.5 Swedish Pentecostal mis- sionaries
began
work in Argentina in 1920.6 Others came
among
the immigrants
from
Bulgaria,7 Poland,
Russia and the Ukraine.8 A mis- sion which
eventually joined
with the Church of God had
significant success
among
a Native American
tribe,
the Toba.9
Despite
the
long history,
the
diversity
of the traditions
represented in
Argentina
and the
significance
of the numbers of adherents to the various movements in Argentina, Pentecostalism in Argentina has not until
recently
been the
subject
of extensive research.10 Walter J. Hollenweger
made a serious and
exemplary
effort to catalogue the tra- ditions and indicate basic source material.l 1 His work is now more than three decades old and much has
changed, including
the
presence
of new Pentecostal and neo-Pentecostal denominations. Denominations and
groups
arise, merge
and/or dissolve with little consideration for the historians’ efforts to
catalogue
and
identify
them.
Despite
the draw- back of
being published
without
documentation,
the work of Louie B. Stokes was
perhaps
the most
complete
narrative of Pentecostal
history in
Argentina.
He traced the Pentecostal
developments
from 1909 to 1968 and discussed
thirty
denominations or
“groups.”12
Two other efforts were made to document trends in Argentina. The first,
under the
aegis
of the
(North American) Evangelical Foreign Missions Association,
attempted
a detailed census but
only
four Pentecostal denominations were noted.13 The second focused on the
.
5 Alice Wood Collection, Assemblies of God Archives, Springfield, MO.
6G. E. Soderholm, Den Svenska Pingstvdckelsens spridning utom och inom Sverige; Supplement
till de Svenska Pingstväckelsens Historia (Stockholm, Sweden: Forlaget Filadelfia, 1933),
97-109, et passim; and, Arthur Sundstedt, Pingstvackelsen 5 vols. (Stockholm, Sweden: Normans Forlag, 1969-1973), Vol. 3: 94-97, et pas- sim.
7Eugene
Nida, “The Indigenous Churches of Latin America,”
Practical Anthropology
8
8(1961):
97.
9 Stokes, Historia del Movimiento Pentecostal en la Argentina, 22-28. Elmer
Miller,
Pentecostalism
Among
the
Argentine Toba, (Ph.D. diss.; Pittsburgh, PA;, University of Pittsburgh, 1967).
1015avid Barrett, World Christian Encyclopedia (Nairobi: Oxford University Press, 1982),
147-151. At least 41 Pentecostal churches were identified by Barrett and his collaborators. 11
Walter J. Hollenweger, Handbuch der Pfingstbewegung (Ph.D. diss.; Zlrich, Switzerland; University of Zurich, 1967), 855-864 [paragraph 02b.01].
12Stokes, Historia del Movimiento Pentecostal en la Argentina.
13 protestant Missions in Latin America: A Statistical Survey (Washington, D.C.: Evangelical Foreign
Missions Association, 1961), 3-6. The denominations/missions noted were the Assemblies of God (USA) [3,298 adherents], Norske Pinsevenners
3
98
U.S.-related Assemblies of God,
despite
the fact that
according
to Enns’ own
numbers,
that
group
constituted fewer than five
percent
of Argentine
Pentecostals.14 The
history by
Stokes was not consulted and Hollenweger’s
work was
apparently
unknown to Enns.
Stokes has been
supplanted by
the
exemplary scholarly
achieve- ment of Norberto Saracco.15 Saracco’s dissertation combines
thorough historical, demographic
and
sociological analysis
with
theological reflection and evaluation. It is to be
hoped
that this work will eventu- ally
be
published.
Somewhat
disappointing
in terms of their research and
perspective were the volumes of David Stoll and David Martin,.16 Stoll failed to appreciate
the
significance
of the differences between various kinds of “evangelicals”
in Latin America and referred
only
in
passing
to Argentina.
For information about
Argentina,
Martin
depended
on the then two-decades old
publication
of Enns. Stoll and Martin did not cite the
analysis
found in
Hollenweger’s
dissertation or the work of schol- ars such as
Stokes,
and made no reference to the careful
sociology
of religion
research either in published or dissertation/thesis form written in
Argentina. They
also made no reference to the
writings
of Latin American Pentecostal scholars
(for example,
for Brazil: Emilio Conde and de
Almeida, among many others).
Interaction with these works would have
provided
a better
understanding
of the
phenomena
and remarkable
diversity
of Latin American Pentecostalism. While Martin and Stoll did make the
major
contribution of
calling
Latin American Pentecostalism to the attention of “Northern” scholars, one would
hope the
day
is past when scholars in the United States could discuss the rest of the world without
seriously consulting
the
scholarship produced by the traditions
being
studied. In addition, a more careful interaction with the sources would have
seriously
modified the
socio-political analysis proffered by
Stoll and Martin.
—– —-
Ytremisjon [9,027 adherents],
Svenska Fria Mission
[18,000 adherents] and the Pentecostal Holiness Church (USA) [460 adherents].
l4Arno W. Enns, Man, Milieu and Mission in Argentina: A Close Look at Church Growth (Grand Rapids, MI: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., 19?1), 83.
15Norberto Saracco, Argentine Pentecostalism: Its History and Theology (Ph. D.diss.; Birmingham, England; University of Birmingham, 1989).
16David Stoll, Is Latin America Turning Protestant: The Politics
Growth (Berkeley, CA: University of California
of Evangelical
Press, 1990); David Martin, Tongues of
Fire: The
Explosion of
Protestantism in Latin America
(Oxford, England: Blackwell, 1990).
4
99
Developing
Paradigm for Analysis
One of the difficulties scholars have in dealing with
religious phe- nomena outside the dominant social and economic classes is that the majority
of interpretative frameworks are devised within the context of the dominant culture. It has been
argued
that the
paradigms
for
analy- sis chosen
by
those outside a tradition have a significant influence on the
self-image
and
development
of the tradition The
Argentine scholars whose research is discussed here have
adopted
a phenomeno- logical approach
within the area of the
sociology
of religion. As
appro- priated by
the
scholars,
the
paradigms
are
non-judgmental,
attentive to the historical
development
of the
movements,
allow the voice of
Pentecostal
evangelists, clergy
and
laity
to be heard and are neutral in the
evolving
international Pentecostal
political landscapes.
The
scholarly
works discussed in this review
essay
are therefore an important departure
in the
historiography
of Pentecostalism in Argentina. They
are
primarily
the result of studies undertaken
by teams of Argentine scholars led
by Alejandro Frigerio,
Professor in the Department
of
Sociology
of the Catholic
University
of Argentina/CONICUT,
and Hilario H.
Wynarczyk,
Professor in the Department
of
Sociology
of the Universidad del Salvador and the Facultad Intemacional de Educacion
Teologica
at Buenos Aires. Together they
contribute
significantly
to a reappraisal of the profile and role of Pentecostalism in
Argentina.
Unlike
scholarly
efforts about which concerns were
justifiably
raised
by
Everett A.
Wilson,
several of the
participating
scholars and research assistants in this
Argentine research
project
are members of Pentecostal churches. 1 8
One
major
research
project
of
Wynarczyk
remains in
manuscript (polycopied)
form’9
although
some of the
findings
have been
published in other venues.20 It is a careful
analysis
of the lives and ministries of three
Argentine
Pentecostal/Charismatic
evangelists:
Omar Cabrera [Fondacion
Visi6n de
Futuro],
Hector Anibal Gimenez
[Ondas
de
l7David Bundy, “Paradigms of Analysis: Early European Scholarly Views 0-li Pentecostalism,” 18
EPTA Bulletin 5 (1986): 4-23.
(
Everett A. Wilson, “Who Speaks for Latin American Pentecostals?” MA : The Journal 19
of the Society for
Pentecostal Theology 16 (fall 1994): 143-150.
Hilario H. Wynarczyk, Tres evangelistas carismáticos: Omar Cabrera, Annacondia, Giminez (Polycopied text, Buenos Aires, 1989).
20For example, to be discussed below,: Hilario “Carlos Annacondia: Un estudio de caso en
neopentecostalismo,”
in Nuevos movimientos Wynarczyk,
religiosos y cien- cias sociales, II, ed. Alejandro Frigerio, Los Fundamentos de las ciencias del hombre (Buenos Aires, Argentina: Centro Editor de America Latina, 1993), 80-97. His work also served as a basis for work by Maria Isabel Tort, Leonor Pessina and A. Jorge Soneira, “El ministerio ‘Ondas de Amor y Paz’ del pastor Hector Animal Gim6nez,” in Frigerio,
Nuevos movimientos religiosos y ciencias sociales., II, 49-79.
5
100
Amor
y Paz]
and Carlos Annacondia
[Asociacion Evangelista Mensaje de
Salvacion]. Wynarczyk
demonstrates that these
evangelists
have a significant
influence in
Argentine religious
and cultural life. The method of research drew
upon
the tools of
sociologists
of
religion
and historians. Most of the information comes from an extensive series of oral
history
interviews, participant observation,
and
non-print
media.
The movement
resulting
from the
ministry
of Omar Cabrera
(bom 24 December
1936) began
in 1972 as the Ministerio de
Fe, becoming in 1986 the Fondacion Vision de Futuro which is juridically linked to the Asociacion
Iglesia
de Dios
Argentina,
but is know
widely
as Iglesia Visi6n de Futuro.
By 1989,
the
organization
had circa
85,000
adher- ents. The
theological
orientation of the
group
is toward a “gospel … of prosperity.”
Baptized Catholic,
Cabrera became a member of the Union de las Asambleas de Dios. He studied at Holmes Bible
College (North Carolina)
and at Franklin
Springs College (Georgia),
worked with Morris Cerullo in California and received a mail-order doctorate from an institution in Orlando. His wife serves as Latin American Coordinator for Women’s
Aglow
and his children have studied at Oral Roberts
University,
Christ for the Nations
(Dallas)
and Christ for All Nations
[Reinhard Bonnke]
in Wiesbaden.21 The ideas and individuals encountered in these contexts
provide
the
theological
basis for his work and the model for his
ministry.
Cabrera’s
theology
is
conservative, centered on a strict biblicism. The ethical structures of the tradition
emphasize personal
and social holiness. The
style
of
ministry
is dis- tinctly entrepreneurial
and the ideas of
“prosperity gospel” pervade
the preaching
and influence the
expectations
of the converts.
Wynarczyk provides
a careful
history
of the
movement,
with attention to the evo- lution of
relationships
with
major
Pentecostal and Charismatic theolo- gians.22
Attention is also
given
to the fiscal and
organizational
struc- tures of the church.23 It is clear from the data
provided
that the move- ment
surged
to a high of 145,000 in 1985 and declined
by nearly
40% by
1989 when the adherents numbered 85,000.24
21Wynarczyk, Tres evangelistas carismáticos, 5-9. Tres
22 Wynarczyk, evangelistas carismdticos,
14-43.
23Wynarczyk,
Tres evangelistas carismáticos, 45-69.
24Wynarczyk,
Tres evangelistas carismdticos, 45. The
high
numbers were reported by
Peter Wagner, and one would assume these may have been exaggerated by
as many as 50.000 although the trend toward numerical decline is clear the
Note that one of the for
during period. problems
research on revivalistic groups is deter- mining
adherence with any kind of accuracy. The social borders of the groups and the personal identities of those participating in activities of the group are both quite porous.
The groups went unnoticed by Barrett, et al. World Christian Encyclopedia.
6
101
The second
evangelist
studied was Hector Anibal Gim6nez
(bom 1957)
who is the founder and leader of the
organization
Ondas de Amor y
Paz
[Waves
of Love and
Peace].25 Having
been formed
among
the less than
privileged
of Buenos
Aires,
the
organization
chose sites for ministry
which make
persons
from those
backgrounds
more comfort- able while
attending
the vibrant
evangelistic meetings.
The services take
place
in cinemas and theaters with modem music. Gimenez also has a
significant
radio and television
ministry.
Most of the
ministry associates are his
age
or slightly
younger.26
His
wife, Irma, is a co-pas- tor and
plays
an important role in the
ministry.27
Because of his unusu- al style and socio-economic
background
he is not
accepted by the
other Pentecostal
organizationsz8 despite
the fact that his
theology
is certain- ly
Pentecostal.29 Ondas de Amor
y
Paz had 24
preaching
centers in Argentina
in 1989 and 70 in 1991.30 It has
spread
to
Uruguay,
31 Brazil,32 Chile,
and the United States
(Miami, Florida).33
The third
evangelist
studied
by Wynarczyk
is Carlos Annacondia [bom
12 March
1944]
who is the leader of La Asociacion
Evangelistica Mensaje
de Salvacion, a
para-church evangelistic
association. After two decades as a successful businessman,34 Annacondia in 1981 felt “called” to
ministry.35
He has
developed
a ministry of
carefully orga- nized
evangelistic campaigns
which
cooperate
with local
congrega- tions.
Campaigns
have also been held in Brazil,
Paraguay, Mexico,
the U.S.A., Russia, Finland, Russia, Switzerland, Spain
and
Singapore.36 Wynarczyk carefully
describes the financial and
ministry
structures of the Association as well as the
theological perspectives
