A Study On The Development Of Protestantism In Guatemala(1960-1990)

For more than three hundred years since the Spanish colonial conquest,the Roman Catholicism had been the only legal religion in Guatemala.In 1882,the Presbyterian Church in the United States of America was invited to come to Guatemala,which marked the beginning of the development of Protestantism in Guatemala.After more than half a century of slow growth,the development of Protestantism was sluggish between 1940 and 1960.Under this circumstance,the Latin American Mission launched the“Evangelism-In-Depth” campaign in 1961,which stimulated the vitality of Guatemalan Protestantism on an interdenominational level.From 1960 to 1990,Protestantism achieved unprecedented development and gradually changed the religious landscape of Guatemala.During this period,social anomie in Guatemala intensified due to Civil War and the Earthquake.Protestantism quickly responded and pointed out the direction for people who was in a panic,providing them with material relief,spiritual care,social ties,and economic suggestions.In the 1970 s,the Pentecostal Protestantism developed into the mainstream of Protestantism,and its conservative political stance won the military dictatorship's trust and relatively free development space for Protestantism.On the other hand,the social movement of the Catholic Left after the Medellin Conference made the military government vigilant,then it took actions against Catholic activities,which resulted in some Catholic believers flowed to Protestantism.This is the success of Protestantism missionary work,the timely response of Protestantism to the social crisis,and also a victory of Protestantism against Catholicism.