James Dow

The Expansion of Protestantism in Mexico: An Anthropological View

In the last three decades of the twentieth century, many people in Mexico and Central America turned to Protestantism as a new religion. The greatest increase has been in rural and Indians areas. This article shows that Protestantism in these areas is not a reaction against the Catholic Church as much as it is a reaction against traditional Indian cargo systems generating political and economic power. These people are farmers who live in tight-knitted, closed communities that dominate their lives. It has been difficult for scholars of religion to understand these cultures because the communities are closed to outsiders and many of the people speak Indian languages. Anthropologists have been more successful than historians at finding the data and discovering why the people are converting.