Protestantism in Argentina is one of the directions of Christianity in the country. The “Encyclopedia of Religions” by J. G. Melton counted 2.3 million traditional Protestants and 2 million believers in local independent Protestant churches in Argentina in 2000 [1] . According to opinion polls, Protestants made up 8.5% of the population in 2000 [2] and 9% in 2008 [3] .
Historical Review
The Christian religion was brought to Argentina by Franciscan missionaries in 1539. The emergence of Protestantism at the beginning of the XIX century is associated with European immigration. The first Protestant missionary in the country was James Thompson [4] , an agent of the British Bible Society. Thompson founded over 100 comprehensive schools in the country. Later, enlightenment was continued by Pastor W. Morris, who led the education of hundreds of thousands of children. Morris became one of the symbols of the Protestant mission in Latin America, in Buenos Aires, he installed a seven-meter statue with the inscription "Saint Argentina" [4] .
In 1825, Argentina entered into a friendship treaty with Great Britain, guaranteeing freedom of conscience and worship to citizens of the kingdom. In 1829, the first Protestant ( Anglican ) church was opened in Buenos Aires. In 1836, American Methodist missionaries arrived in the country, in 1843 they were joined by Lutherans and reformers . At the origins of the Baptist movement in the country was the European Pablo Besson (1848-1932), who founded the first church in Buenos Aires in 1883 [5] . In 1903, the Baptist mission was strengthened by the Southern Baptist Convention , and in 1908 the country created the Gospel Baptist Convention of Argentina [5] .
Initially, Protestant churches formed around immigrant communities (English Methodists, Scottish Presbyterians, German and Scandinavian Lutherans, Italian Waldenses, Dutch Mennonites and Dutch Reformers). However, already in the 1850s, Anglicans began missionary work among the Indians of Patagonia , and then in Chaco . The preaching of Protestantism among the Catholics of Argentina intensified towards the end of the 19th century, with the arrival of the Plymouth brothers (1882), the Salvation Army (1882), Seventh-day Adventists (1894), and members of the Christian and Missionary Alliance (1895).
The first Pentecostal missionary in Argentina was Luigi Francescon (1866-1964), who arrived in the country in 1909. The Assemblies of God have been operating in Argentina since 1914 [1] . Subsequently, the Pentecostal Assemblies of Canada (1921), the Pentecostal Church of Holiness (1930), the Church of God (1940), the Church of the God of Prophecies (1955), and the United Pentecostal Church (1967) opened their missions in the country. Pentecostal churches experienced rapid growth during the widespread national revival of the 1950s. In 1967, during a home prayer meeting, the community of Plymouth brothers survived the baptism of the Holy Spirit . The powerful charismatic awakening that began after this subsequently spread to other traditional Protestant and Catholic communities. The charismatic awakening among Catholics was supported by the Argentine Cardinal Bergoglio, who later became Pope Francis.6 The healing services conducted by Omar Cabrera, Carlos Anacondia, Hector Jimenez and others in the 1970s and 80s led to the birth of new Argentine Pentecostal Pentecostals. .
Current status
Most Argentinean Protestants are Pentecostals . The number of Pentecostals is estimated from 2.9 million [7] to 3.17 million (or 7.9% of the population [3] ). In 2000, Pentecostals made up more than 70% of all Argentinean Protestants [1] . The number of Pentecostals is growing steadily; in 1995, there were 1.7 million believers of this denomination in the country [8] .
The largest Protestant denomination is the National Union of Assemblies of God (part of the World Brotherhood of Assemblies of God ). The union unites 934 thousand believers in 1154 churches [9] . Other international Pentecostal unions include the New Testament Mission (118 thousand [7] ), the Pentecostal Church of God (103 thousand [7] ), the Evangelical Pentecostal Church of Chile (76.5 thousand [7] ), the Church of the Four-sided Gospel ( 65 thousand [7] ), Christian assemblies (48 thousand [1] ), the Church of God (40 thousand [10] ), the Open Bible Church (27 thousand baptized members [11] ), the United Pentecostal Church of Argentina (23.5 thousand. [1] ), Pentecostal holiness Church (23 ths.), the Universal Church of the kingdom of God , Church of God of prophecy , Pyatidesya nical Church of God .
A number of Pentecostal churches arose in Argentina. The Scandinavian (Swedish-Norwegian) mission stood at the origins of the Independent Assembly of God (1.1 thousand churches and 500 thousand believers [7] ). In 1965, Omar Cabrera founded the “Vision of the Future” church, which currently unites 300 thousand Christians from 595 communities [7] . Other Pentecostal unions are the Mission of the Lord Church (72.5 thousand), the United Gospel Church (59 thousand), the Brotherhood of Evangelical Christian Churches , the Pentecostal Church of the Waves of Love and Peace , the Philadelphia Gospel Association , the Missionary Gospel Church , Christian Union of Chubut . Two Pentecostal churches from Argentina - the Christian Bible Church (30 thousand [12] ) and the Association of the Churches of God (8 thousand [13] ), are one of the few Pentecostal churches that make up the World Council of Churches .
In addition to Pentecostals , there are Baptists (168 thousand), Plymouth brothers (158 thousand), Adventists (113 thousand [14] ), New Apostolic Church , churches of the Holiness Movement (47 thousand), Lutherans (72 thousand [15] ), Presbyterians (79 thousand [16] ), Anglicans (22 thousand), Congregationalists (20 thousand), Methodists (9 thousand [17] ), reformers (9 thousand), Waldenses (17 thousand), Mennonites (2 thousand).
In 1958, on the basis of the Confederation of Evangelical Churches of La Plata , the Argentine Federation of Evangelical Churches was created in the country. Currently, the Federation includes most denominations of traditional Protestants. The Federation is a member of the Latin American Council of Churches and the World Council of Churches . Many of the conservative gospel churches are members of the Argentine Gospel Church Alliance , which is affiliated with the World Gospel Alliance .
Notes
- ↑ 1 2 3 4 5 Melton JG , Martin Baumann . Religions of the World: A Comprehensive Encyclopedia of Beliefs and Practices. - Oxford, England: ABC-CLIO , 2002. - S. 72. - ISBN 1-57607-223-1 .
- ↑ Hilario Wynarczyk. RELIGIOUS DIVERSITY IN ARGENTINA, 2000 . The Latin American Socio-Religious Studies Program / Programa Latinoamericano de Estudios Sociorreligiosos (PROLADES). Date of treatment May 13, 2013. Archived May 22, 2013.
- ↑ 1 2 Dr. Fortunato Mallimaci. La religion de los Argentinos (Spanish) . Primera Encuesta sobre Creencias y Actitudes Religiosas en Argentina . The Latin American Socio-Religious Studies Program / Programa Latinoamericano de Estudios Sociorreligiosos (PROLADES) (26 de agosto de 2008). Date of treatment May 13, 2013. Archived May 22, 2013.
- ↑ 1 2 V.P. Andronova. Argentina // Orthodox Encyclopedia . - M .: Church Scientific Center "Orthodox Encyclopedia" , 2001. - T. III. - S. 180-185. - 752 s. - 40,000 copies. - ISBN 5-89572-008-0 .
- ↑ 1 2 William H. Brackney. Historical Dictionary of the Baptists . - Scarecrow Press, 2009 .-- S. 392. - 32 p. - ISBN 0810856220 .
- ↑ John Vennari. Pope Francis, Pentecostals and Interreligious Action . Catholic Family News (May 10, 2013). Date of treatment May 13, 2013. Archived May 22, 2013.
- ↑ 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Mandryk, 2010 , p. 68.
- ↑ Clifton L. Holland ,. TABLE OF ESTIMATED SIZE OF THE PROTESTANT MOVEMENT IN ARGENTINA, 1995 . The Latin American Socio-Religious Studies Program / Programa Latinoamericano de Estudios Sociorreligiosos (PROLADES) (July 8, 1998). Date of treatment May 13, 2013. Archived May 22, 2013.
- ↑ Latin America and Caribbean . The General Council of the Assemblies of God. Date of treatment August 15, 2013. Archived on September 16, 2013.
- ↑ Argentina . Church of God World Missions (2010). Date of treatment May 13, 2013. Archived May 22, 2013.
- ↑ Global Missions of Open Bible Churches (inaccessible link) . Open Bible Churches (June 2013). Date of treatment April 17, 2014. Archived on April 19, 2014.
- ↑ Christian Biblical Church (English) . World Council of Churches (2013). Date of treatment May 13, 2013. Archived May 22, 2013.
- ↑ Association The Church of God . World Council of Churches (2013). Date of treatment May 13, 2013. Archived May 22, 2013.
- ↑ Adventists Statistics - ARGENTINA UNION CONFERENCE . General Conference of Seventh-day Adventists (2011). Date of treatment May 17, 2013. Archived May 22, 2013.
- ↑ The Lutheran World Federation 2009 Membership Figures (inaccessible link) . The Lutheran World Federation (2010). Date of treatment May 17, 2013. Archived April 30, 2013.
- ↑ Robert Benedetto, Donald K. McKim. Appendix 3. Global Demographics of the Reformed Church // Historical Dictionary of the Reformed Churches . - Lanham, Maryland: Scarecrow Press, 2009 .-- P. 548-560. - 790 p. - ISBN 0810870231 .
- ↑ Statistical Information . The World Methodist Council (2012). Date of treatment May 17, 2013. Archived April 30, 2013.
Literature
- Jason Mandryk. Argentina // Operation World: The Definitive Prayer Guide to Every Nation (Operation World Set). - InterVarsity Press, 2010 .-- 978 p. - ISBN 0-8308-5724-9 .
See also
- Catholicism in Argentina
- Pentecostals