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Fr
Clodovis Boff, OSM Before tackling the subject, I would like to make a few introductory remarks. The topic of new churches is a very broad, complex and hard one to investigate. What is more, it is controversial, both in theological and sociological terms. Today I will only focus on Pentecostal churches. I will not mention the new age sects, which are not as important or as large as the Pentecostal ones, nor will I speak of neo-Christian sects, such as Jehovah Witnesses, the Mormons, etc. I am not an expert in this area. I will try to offer an overview of the situation, since neither you nor I are theoreticians. We are working people, people devoted to action, so we are not experts, we are not knowledgeable. Moreover, I will only speak of Brazil for I believe that the experience of Brazil actually reflects the phenomenon as it occurs throughout the world. I will present a general view of the phenomenon of new Pentecostal churches: how they are organized, how they relate to one another. Our ultimate horizon will always be ecumenism: how can we come together in the Church and how can we come together in the social mission of the churches. I. Seeing (Socio-Analytical) 1. The Pentecostal churches are a growing phenomenon with great social visibility. They say that there are some 300/400 million people in the world. This is a hypothetical figure. They say, also in this case hypothetically, that in Latin America every year some 3,500,000 people leave the Catholic Church for the Pentecostal churches. This means 400 people every hour, 400 Catholics every hour. But these are all hypothetical, unsubstantiated figures. An exact statistical figure is the one concerning Brazil: in 1991, Pentecostals accounted for 10% of the Brazilian population (13 million people at the time), but the percentage of growth is estimated at 15% per year, which means that today there should be some 22,000,000 in Brazil. Consequently, the Catholic Church is declining: ten years ago, 85% of the population was Catholic. Today, Catholics account for only 78% of the population. These figures compel us to look towards the future and ask ourselves: where are we going? Some say that 20 years from now most of the population of Latin America will belong to Pentecostal churches and that the largest Catholic continent will lose its religious hegemony. Others, instead, say that the catholic community is very large, deeply-rooted, very strong and that it will withstand this confessional change. Pentecostal churches represent a highly visible phenomenon because they make extensive use of the media. They have hundreds of radio networks, dozens of television programmes; in Brazil they even have a major television network called "Record". They are very boisterous. More show than substance, as they say. But their assemblies are crowded, rowdy. Furthermore, they are highly experienced and competent in the use of the media, so much so that they are able to fill whole stadiums for exorcisms, crowd parks with thousands of people. In parliament there is a bloc of evangelists, 30 or 50 Federal deputies of whom the majority are Pentecostals; and the political presence of the Pentecostal party is growing. Also in the social landscape their presence is conspicuous; they stand out because of the way they dress, because they always carry a Bible, because they preach in the streets, etc. 2. We should distinguish between two types of Pentecostal churches. There are the traditional ones that originated at the beginning of the century in Latin America. The largest one is the "Assembly of God" (which accounts for two thirds of Pentecostals). They came to Latin America from Scandinavia and Italy, via the United States. They have a typically American approach: style, speeches, organization. Their main characteristic derives from their very name: Pentecostals, the event of the Spirit, the Spirit that manifests itself through glossolalia (the gift of tongues). This is typical of Pentecostals. If one does not speak in tongues he/she is not yet baptized in the Spirit, he/she is not a genuine Pentecostal yet. One has to speak in tongues to become this new creature. Then came the neo-Pentecostals, namely the new Pentecostal churches that were founded over the past 20 years. Their largest church is called "Universal Church of the Kingdom of God". It is a very powerful church: it has seven million followers all over the world and as many as 2,500 temples. In Brazil it owns a television network and a major weekly magazine (Folha universal) which runs one million copies. This new Pentecostal church, which is very influential and grows more than any other, is built on three pillars: healing, exorcism and the theology of prosperity that conveys the following message, "God wants us to be rich, lucky, healthy, successful". Their theology is quite original: to achieve prosperity one needs to have complete faith, so one must risk everything in order to gain everything. Since you are risking everything, you give everything you have to your church: your property, your money, even if you need it to pay the rent, to buy medicines, but you have to risk it so that God will reward you one hundredfold, he will give you prosperity. There are three other aspects that deserve to be highlighted. - The entrepreneurial organization handles 1 billion dollars a year; it is one of the 30 largest businesses in Brazil. It was founded by an entrepreneur who ran a lottery business. He appointed and consecrated himself a bishop. - It is syncretistic; for instance, it takes from Christianity the sacramentals: the holy water, the oil, the blessing of the fruits of the earth, house keys, clothes, titles. - They do not abide by a strict morality like traditional Pentecostals do: the faithful do not wear the same puritan clothes. They buy down town movie theaters and transform them into temples. Last March, in Rio de Janeiro, I walked past one of these temples that used to be a big workshop and at the entrance there was a billboard that said: "No more suffering, here is the way out! Monday: prosperity worship (employment, housing, shopping, business ...); Tuesday: health worship (healing, etc.); Wednesday: worship of the Holy Spirit (to receive glossolalia); Thursday: worship for the family (drug problems, separations, divorce, ...); Friday: liberation rituals (exorcism); Saturday: plentiful life; Sunday: praise unto God. Everyday they celebrate four sessions of worship and the temples are open 24 hours a day, welcoming the faithful who come and go. Such examples give us an idea of what the style of these churches is like and why they are so successful. Why are these new churches growing so much? I am not a sociologist but on the basis of my reading and discussions I have come to the following conclusion: the success of the new churches is the result of a threefold abandonment: a. social abandonment: especially socio-economic. These new churches are the religions of derelicts, they are the religions of affliction. They reach out especially to the poorest of the poor, to the miserable. During a conversation with a cab driver, who was a Baptist, I asked what he thought of these new Pentecostal churches, and he answered: they are the intensive care units for those in misery. It is their last resort. They reach out especially to the uprooted: people who leave the country and move to the city, young people with no family, social or religious ties, etc. These situations of abandonment cause people to seek new religious alternatives. Paul Fresto ( ?), a British sociologist who works in Brazil, wrote : "social misery empties the conventional churches and fills up sects". b. existential abandonment: losing one’s bearings, anomy, emptiness, cultural chaos, crisis of the meaning of life. This is due to the fact that modern society is disillusioned; it is the society of apparatuses, of pragmatism, of secularization. It is also characterized by large structures that depersonalize. In such a setting, sects offer a universe, a world that has meaning, order; a world in which one belongs, has an identity, is safe. A survey conducted two years ago by a sociology centre in Rio de Janeiro revealed that the reasons that lead people to convert to these churches are not so much financial or work-related (only 8% convert for these reasons) but rather they are of a social-existential nature: illness (34%), family conflicts (23%), alcoholism (15%), emotional problems (9%). Stating that only the poor turn to these churches would be oversimplifying matters greatly. c. pastoral abandonment: for which the Catholic Church is responsible. Why does not the Catholic Church respond to the problem posed by sects, that is to say to social and existential abandonment? I will try to give a simple answer also because it is hard to tackle this issue. To begin with, there is a demographic problem, a quantitative problem. The document drawn up by the Bishops that met in Puebla states in n. 78: "population growth has exceeded the current capacity of the [Catholic] Church to bring the Good News to all". I work in seven favelas in Rio de Janeiro and I can see that where we have one Catholic church, they have five, seven, ten. We do not have the means to reach out to everyone, that would be impossible, so people turn to the evangelical churches in order to bridge the pastoral gaps that we leave open. We do not have enough personnel, facilities. Secondly, the problem does not only have to do with quantity but with quality as well: - we still follow the traditional parish system and have little pastoral creativity; - in terms of quality, Catholic ecclesiastical structures are too cumbersome, too rigid, too centralized to adapt to these new urban realities and to respond to the new requirements of the people; - furthermore, ecclesiastical structures are too rationalized, in the modern, Weberian sense of the word; this means that they lack the mystical side, they are not appealing, attractive. They are efficient, but they lack the sacred dimension, the fire, the spirit. The major concerns of the Catholic church concern doctrine, orthodoxy, morality, administrative matters. One can see that the Catholic church is losing faithful (the estimate is at 3,500,000 a year in Latin America). The faithful that the Church is shedding are the ones who have a very weak tie with the institution, the ones who have a traditional faith. The Catholic Church loses only the ones it used to possess, but did it really ever possess these Catholics who are now turning to new churches? This is the problem. In some cases, by joining the new churches people make progress in their lives because they gain a new Christian identity, they live a religious experience that might be considered as a successful outcome of evangelization. Another objection is that, according to some, in Latin America the Catholic Church is too politicized and not religious enough. For this reason people seek out other religious agencies for their spiritual needs. This statement is both true and false. It is true that by focusing only on social aspects the religious needs of the people are neglected so that they are forced to look elsewhere to find what they are looking for. We liberation theologists and Catholics of basic communities are aware of this. Today we talk about recovering the spiritual, mystical roots of social commitment. There is a false side to the above statement: basic communities and the social commitment of the Church address one of the root causes of sects which is social neglect, economic abandonment. So, in a way, it remedies one of the causes that induces people to leave the Catholic Church and search for other churches. Furthermore, there are very clear data: basic ecclesial communities, social ministries, those who belong to the church of liberation do not flow into sects; rather, they represent a dam to hold back sects, a defence against them. In my diocese, Rio de Janeiro, which is the most religious because it is exceedingly traditionalist, sects grow more than in any other Brazilian diocese. So, religious ministry alone cannot solve this problem. To conclude with this aspect, I would like to list a few points that explain the success of sects: aa. The success of sects is due more to their qualities than to our failures: in other words, people do not join sects because something is lacking in the Church but because in these other churches they find a better spiritual and emotional answer than they do in the Catholic Church. They are drawn by a more satisfactory offer on the popular level; bb. Are the new churches a problem or an answer? Are they rivals of the Catholic Church or are they partners in preaching the Gospel? cc. Whatever the answers to the questions may be, there is no denying that to us sects are not the main problem. The main problem is the spiritual and material misery that beget these sects, which respond to the problem as best as they can. Upstream, at the root of sects, there is social and pastoral neglect. Sects are a secondary problem. II. Judging (Theological-Pastoral) I will try to list what attracts people to the new churches, the reasons for their success, and what instead drives one away. What attracts: subjective factors: 1. The direct experience of God, overflowing with emotion, with wonder; an experience of rebirth, a change of life. They are churches of conversion, which one joins at one’s free will. Next to these aspects there is emotionalism, which at times leads to mass hysteria. 2. People feel welcome. A poor person, a wretched person, an outcast who is despised, socially humiliated, finds in the new churches hospitality, comfort, the good news, and this helps him/her become rooted in the community. The question remains: to what extent can these new churches be considered communities? For instance, the "Universal Church of the Kingdom of God" does not create a community; it has patrons, it is like a huge religious supermarket. 3. They convey a strong sense of identity. They say: "We are believers, chosen, saints, elected by God". This generates self-esteem, pride, a sense of dignity. The negative side: the arrogance of the pure, contempt of others, a sectarian spirit. 4. Community participation. The very animated celebrations, with beautiful songs, filled with enthusiasm, fervour, spontaneous prayer. Participation in services: 1/3 of the faithful have an assignment in their church. They are active participants, not patrons. 5. Vital Christ-centred message: Christ the Lord, the Saviour, the Bible which is at the centre of everything, the Spirit that is infused into everyone. Here too we see the shadow of Biblicist fundamentalism, a lack of theological culture. 6. Ethical rigour: they offer a new model of life, a healthier, more dignified, clean life. They appear as wholesome, decent people. This attracts simple people. 7. Enthusiasm in proclaiming the Gospel; they have energy, they believe what they say. The dark side here is the spirit of conquest, proselytism, fanaticism, psychological blackmail. But there is no denying their profound conviction and the energy with which they proclaim Jesus Christ. There are other objective factors that contribute to the success of the new churches and these too have their dark side: a. they have high penetration in the poorest social groups, the outcasts; they reach out to the poorest among the poor, more so than the Catholic Church and basic communities. The dark side is that they manipulate the people in misery, the defenceless, the ignorant; b. institutional flexibility: they are charismatic churches, they are decentralized and do not have a cumbersome structure. They are light, streamlined structures. The training of the ministers is very practical, straightforward. Six months to a year are sufficient to train a good minister. The dark side: they are ignorant ministers, the churches easily splinter, become fragmented. c. good communication: they are capable of communicating the core message effectively and they are convincing. A debate between a minister and a bishop is a disaster for the bishop whose language is based on dogma, canon law, while the minister is free and focuses entirely on the Holy Spirit, the Bible and Jesus Christ. Many talk, but they repeat the same things over and over again, variations on the Spirit, on Christ the Saviour, on salvific faith; d. apostolic enterprise: they act as professionals in the use of pastoral tools, apostolic techniques, they employ all modern means of communication although their mentality is not modern at all. Lastly, what shocks, is the liabilities side of the balance sheet, so to speak. In addition to the points that I have already indicated, such as fundamentalism, emotionalism, proselytism, etc., there are three aspects that I have not mentioned yet: aa. financial abuse of the poor, at times even exploitation. Every member of the faithful must literally pay the biblical tithe; bb. alienated and alienating political position. They do not drive people towards social commitment. They relate to society in a sectarian manner; cc. anti-ecumenical, anti-dialogical attitude. They do not dialogue either with Catholics or the popular religion or the culture. They are iconocalsts. I do not dare express a personal opinion, I will merely report the position of a great archbishop of Brazil who goes by the name of Dom Zumbì. He was a great black leader, a martyr of the black independence movement in Brazil. Dom Zumbì says that as regards the poor, Pentecostalism, the new churches are helpful; people have a great deal to gain from these churches. They do more good than bad. I tend to agree. Indeed, when I go to the favelas and I see the Pentecostals preaching there, at times I thank the Lord because he has sent them to comfort his people, to offer them a more decent, more honest, more human life. It seems to me that they have been sent by God. What is the fundamental criterion on the basis of which we are to judge these new churches? The Catholic Church? I think that would be a mistake. The criterion is the Kingdom of God which brings life, dignity, grace to everyone. If they bring the Kingdom of God, God’s Christ, even if they are not the Catholic Church it is all right. As Paul the Apostle says: whether hypocritically or sincerely, what truly matters is that Christ is proclaimed. III. Implementation (Pastoral Care) The answers that the Catholic Church is currently providing to the problem of the "threefold abandonment" which accounts for the success of the new churches are: - the popular missions in line with new evangelization: in other words, by means of popular missions the Catholic Church wants to rejuvenate parishes, create communities, rekindle faith, increase the participation of the faithful in the ministries, the sense of prayer, welcoming those who have stopped practising; - basic ecclesial communities are one answer to this fundamental problem: there is a great affinity between the basic communities and the new churches. There is a structural analogy between CEBs and the new churches: 1) the centrality of the Bible, even though in CEBs it is not read in a fundamentalistic way; 2) the community experience, although CEBs are less charismatic and more democratic communities; 3) participation in the ministries, in church services; 4) missionary spirit, CEBs are spreading, they preach the Gospel and reach out to those who have distanced themselves. Obviously, there are some differences as well. For instance, CEBs encourage social and political awareness, they have a very clear social commitment which is to transform the system, they are open to ecumenical dialogue, not only in terms of traditional ecumenism but also in terms of macro-ecumenism: dialogue with Afro-Brazilian religions, other indigenous religions, etc. It is clear that the CEBs lack something which instead the new churches have: for example, the emotional aspect which is integrated into the experience of faith. What is missed the most is institutional freedom: CEBs operate within the framework of parishes, dioceses, under the control of the bishop, of the parish priest, and if the bishop, or the parish priest does not want them there is nothing they can do. - Renewal of the Catholic Church, this is an inward-looking response; in other words, what does the catholic Church have to learn from the new churches, since in part it is responsible for this abandonment? 1) Strong experience of God that Catholics feel the lack of, an experiential faith. One speaks of a Catholicism based on conviction, but how can one be convinced without experience, without spirit?; 2) strong Catholic identity. I remember that in São Paulo Catholic Charismatics filled a stadium with 120,000 people; 30,000 could not get in because there was no more room left. Their motto was: "I am happy to be Catholic". Some will have realized that I have used the word "sect" often. Perhaps it is best that I use the term "new churches" because the word "sect" has a negative, demeaning meaning. However, I can use the word "sect" as an adjective. In fact, there are sectarian attitudes not only in the so-called sects but also in the Catholic Church, in religious congregations. So, as an adjective, I think it is rather appropriate. Charismatics represent one of the Catholic answers to the problem posed by new churches. Catholic Charismatics have many things in common with the new Pentecostal churches: the role of the Holy Spirit, glossolalia, and the enthusiastic, emotional style with which they express their faith, not to mention mass gatherings. Because of this, they are considered to be catholic Pentecostals which is why some sociologists speak of the Charismatic Pentecostal movement as a whole, a continuous movement, which is more or less homogenous and presents internal differences. At this point I want to throw down the gauntlet: perhaps our difficulty in understanding and accepting the Charismatics reveals our inability to understand Pentecostals? In other words, if we do not dialogue with our own Pentecostals, who are the Charismatics, how can we expect to dialogue with the Pentecostals of other churches? Some say that Charismatics are the catholic answer to the problem posed by the new churches, the catholic way of meeting these requests for life meaning, participation, experience of the Spirit, love for the word of God, autonomy of the laity, emotional, even psycho-physical therapies, etc. A great Brazilian Charismatic, Father Marcelo Rossi, admits that the Pentecostals have awoken us and spurred us into action. He said an interesting thing: Catholic Charismatics have grown more than the Pentecostals. Just consider a few figures: 20 years ago, there were 300,000 Charismatics in Brazil. Today there are eight million. CEBs involve as many as five million regular participants and, in 20 years, they have almost doubled. It is such a telling phenomenon, also in terms of numbers, that one cannot but stop to consider and analyze it.
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