SAUL GONZALEZ: For centuries, faith in Latin America has largely been synonymous with Catholic rites and rituals, like this traditional religious procession through the streets of Guatemala City on the eve of Lent.
Yet increasingly the Catholic Church's spiritual dominance in this part of the world is being challenged by other faiths -- namely Evangelical and Pentecostal Christianity.
In recent years, Evangelical Protestant churches have attracted millions of followers in Latin America and moved from the margins of religious life into the mainstream.In Guatemala, it's estimated that up to 40 percent of the population identify themselves as Evangelical and Pentecostal Christians.
Pastor ARNULFO URLA (Church of Christ, through translator): Over the last 20 years here, there has been a complete transformation in the country because of evangelism. It's more than a religion; it's a complete way of life.
GONZALEZ: Arnulfo Urla is pastor of the Church of Christ, a Pentecostal house of worship in Guatemala City.
Pastor URLA (through translator): This was a country that was Catholic -- almost 100 percent Catholic, because that was the traditional faith. But then God awakened in people the need to spread evangelism, and now this just isn't a Catholic country. Now many Guatemalans are committed Christian Evangelicals.GONZALEZ: Although the Catholic Church still remains a dominant force in Latin America's religious life, many in the Church are troubled by the advance of Evangelical and Pentecostal denominations in the region.
Father JIM FREDERICKS (Associate Professor, Loyola Marymount University, Lost Angeles, California): I think for a lot of Roman Catholics -- traditional Roman Catholics in Latin America and Rome -- I think the rise of Evangelical Protestantism in Latin America is perceived as a major threat.GONZALEZ: Father Jim Fredericks, who teaches at Los Angeles's Loyola Marymount University, is an expert on Roman Catholic doctrine and the Church's relationship to other faiths. He says in Latin America and other areas of the developing world, the Catholic Church is having trouble accepting a new age of spiritual competition.
Fr. FREDERICKS: The idea that you can simply presume that everybody in Latin America is Roman Catholic to one degree or another -- that era is over. This is a huge challenge; this is an amazing demand that is being placed on an institution that is as old, and whose symbols go as deep, as the Catholic Church.
GONZALEZ: In Latin America, examples of Protestant Christianity's growing influence in Latin America are everywhere, from massive televised religious services where celebrity evangelists claim to channel God's power to heal the disabled to the construction of American-style mega-churches which dominate city skylines to the establishment of thousands of humble storefront churches like Pastor Urla's, where worship services can resemble a raucous party.Indeed, many people say they are attracted to the Protestant churches because of their strong emphasis on emotionally charged and ecstatic forms of worship -- worship which congregants say give them a closer relationship to the divine.
UNIDENTIFIED PARISHIONER (through translator): I feel like my life changes completely when I am in this church. It feels like this fire is in your heart which completely changes you. You feel the presence of God, like he is right here with you.
Pastor RIGOBERTO GALVEZ (Theologian, Family of God Church, through translator): The attraction of the Evangelical churches is their ability to give a sense of value and identity to people and provide comfort and support in dealing with their suffering and pain.GONZALEZ: Rigoberto Galvez is a theologian and pastor at Family of God, one of Guatemala's largest Protestant churches. He credits Evangelical and Pentecostal Christianity with giving Latin Americans a new sense of confidence in themselves and their place in the world.
GONZALEZ: Aggressive use of the mass media is one reason why Protestant Christianity has prospered in the Spanish-speaking world. Many large Evangelical and Pentecostal churches like Pastor Galvez's now own their own television and radio stations, which broadcast religious programming to the most remote regions of Latin America.
Pastor GALVEZ (through translator): We believe that the traditional Catholic Church is more about rituals and gestures and customs, which don't really touch the heart of a human being. We believe that our relationship with God is freer, and you can say that we have a more genuine and real relationship with God.
Fr. FREDERICKS: I suspect that the competition may be good for Roman Catholicism. In the long run there might be fewer Roman Catholics, but the Roman Catholics who will be more dedicated, more converted, more eager to think about their faith in very personal ways and to try to to live out the faith. There will be a deepening of the faith. There may be fewer Roman Catholics, but the Roman Catholicism will be richer.
Mr. SMITH: Indeed, if you look at the overall shift of the Christian Church throughout the world, there is now a decided shift from the North to the South, that is, there [are] now more people practicing and confessing Christian faith in the countries of the South than there are in the countries of the North, and that's probably at least partially an indication of the daily experience of exclusion -- economic, political, cultural and gender exclusion that most people in most countries are experiencing on a daily level.
Pastor URLA (through translator): Guatemala will be a light to other nations. From Guatemala, so many missionaries have now gone abroad. I remember when foreign missionaries used to come to Guatemala to spread the word of Jesus Christ. But now it's Guatemala that sends missionaries to other countries.
