Characterization and Categorization of Colombian Protestants in the Late 2010s
Representative studies of religious diversity in Colombia carried out during the last 12 years show a significant increase in people belonging to denominations of Protestantism (Evangelical, Pentecostal, Historic Protestants, and Adventists, among others). However, the similarities, differences, and...
| Authors: | ; ; |
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| Format: | Electronic Article |
| Language: | English |
| Check availability: | HBZ Gateway |
| Interlibrary Loan: | Interlibrary Loan for the Fachinformationsdienste (Specialized Information Services in Germany) |
| Published: |
2025
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| In: |
International journal of Latin American religions
Year: 2025, Volume: 9, Issue: 2, Pages: 470-497 |
| Further subjects: | B
Colombia
B Sects B Pentecostalism B Churches B Evangelical fundamentalism B Denominations B Protestantism B LGBT |
| Online Access: |
Volltext (kostenfrei) |
| Summary: | Representative studies of religious diversity in Colombia carried out during the last 12 years show a significant increase in people belonging to denominations of Protestantism (Evangelical, Pentecostal, Historic Protestants, and Adventists, among others). However, the similarities, differences, and distinctive features of their religious beliefs and practices remain under-studied. The aim of this study is to obtain a picture of the salient relationships among religious beliefs and practices variables, as well as ethical and moral positions variables, to explore their dimensional relationship to protestant religious identities. To develop this work, we analyzed the opinion of dwelling individuals in the 32 departments of Colombia based on empirical data collected through a survey. Furthermore, we attempt to create a categorization of surveyed Protestants through multiple correspondence analyses (MCA). The study draws on the findings of the National Survey of Religious Diversity 2019 (NSRD) (This survey was funded by: Act Swedish Church, World Vision, the Inter-Church Commission for Justice and Peace and the National University of Colombia) (Beltrán WM, Silva SPL (2020) Religious diversity, values and political participation in Colombia. Bogotá: Act Church of Sweden, World Vision, Comisión Intereclesial de Justicia and Paz, Universidad Nacional de Colombia). The NSRD 2019 consulted the opinion of 11,034 Colombian citizens over the age of 18, who live in urban areas of the 32 departments of the country. The sample design is probabilistic and stratified according to geographic criteria at department level. Of the total number of interviewed people, 21.5% (2369) identified as member of the Protestant Diversity. To conduct the multivariate analysis, we filtered the observations to include only those that gave complete answers to all the questions relating to categorization of religious beliefs and practices. In this way, the sample size was reduced to 1662 people. These observations are analyzed in this article. Besides, the characterization of religious beliefs and practices analyzes six variables using questions from the survey as indicative. On the other hand, the categorization is based on data obtained through the characterization of Protestants’ religious beliefs and practices, by means of multiple correspondence analyses. The results show a relatively homogenous make-up of the Protestant population across the variables analyzed. Notwithstanding, in constructing the categorization, we were able to identify three categories of Protestants: a short percentage of the surveyed people fit in the liberals' group; the majority belongs to the conservative groups, both moderate and fundamentalist. We conclude that Protestantism in Colombia is diverse in its religious practices and beliefs. This said, it should be noted that most forms of Protestantism in Colombia bear a close relationship to Pentecostal experience, are part of "denomination" type organizations and adopt conservative attitudes towards moral and ethical issues and in their interpretation of the Bible. |
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| ISSN: | 2509-9965 |
| Contains: | Enthalten in: International journal of Latin American religions
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| Persistent identifiers: | DOI: 10.1007/s41603-025-00296-7 |
