In reading an article this morning about Latino Catholics Increasingly Drawn To Pentecostalism, I am drawn to some excerpts that also highlight, in general, the overall rise and growth of pentecostalism across the board.
Excerpt:
Researchers have found that Latinos have been drawn in by aggressive proselytizing and the practical help small Pentecostal churches offer. Protestant evangelicals were twice as likely as Catholics to say that their church has helped them or a family member get a job, or provided money, housing, food or clothing, according to a recent survey of hundreds of churchgoers in Chicago.
"It's not that the Catholic Church does not serve the needs," Hernandez said. But "Catholic parishes in large cities are connected to these large bureaucratic social service organizations. . . . It suggests that one of the ways people are brought in is, if you help somebody get a job, that's a connection people make. It's a personal relationship they establish."[/b]
Modern day Christian church is a social vehicle to connect people to their community, with a strong emphasis on family values. I strongly believe that alot of the "religious rhetoric/ doctrine" is merely swallowed in favor of the latter.
Using slogans like unconditional love, worthiness and forgiveness wherever you are at in life must truly feel like a welcome oasis for the weary travelor and offers a sense of "belonging." A huge pull for the multitude of disenfranchised longing to fit in somewhere.
I think "church" does indeed fill a "practical" gap of help, resources and sense of extended family (personal relationships) that modern society often lacks, and is why the "aggressive proselytizing" is finding more and more of a receptive ear. Christian churches are definately on the rise.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/04/29/AR2006042901027.html?referrer=email
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