can pretty much be all things to all men (and women) down here. You're
not really Catholic, so you can always explain to the evangelicals that
you're protestant, etc., and then you're good. If you're talking to a
Catholic... well... Episcopalianism is, as some of my Episcopalian
friends have said, "Catholic Light." And if you're talking to a
nonbeliever, you just tell them the story about how the Anglican church
got started with sufficient irony ("Henry VIII really wanted to divorce
Catherine of Aragon, but the Pope said no, so he just started his own
church.") and you're golden.
And I'm not what you would call a rabidly dogmatic believer, so this is
really no big deal as far as I'm concerned, though I'm sure it would
make some people uncomfortable.
Anyways, the family I'm living with here in Cusco is evangelical
protestant, and they're pretty vocal about it. Normally, this would
make _me_ a little uncomfortable--We talk about religion in my family
(Actually, it's all my grandfather ever talked about. Somehow, even
arguments about gun control turned into arguments about Jesus), but I
guess I'm always just afraid somebody else is going to try to convert
me. And I'm pretty much okay with my Anglican belief system.
No fear of attempted conversion here, though. And all in all, I have to
say, I really agree with the fam's version of evangelical
protestantism. In effect, they think people should:
(a) be honest,
(b) be respectful of women,
(c) work hard,
(d) not judge others, and
(e) go to church on Sunday.
With the exception of the last one, which I'm not too big on, I pretty
much agree with all of that stuff.
Indeed, it's interesting that so many of the European and American
travelers down here have such a strong negative reaction to religious
faith of any kind. First off, the Catholic faith is such a part of the
local history and culture that it's difficult to imagine a day here
without some pretty salient Catholic feel to it, and second of all, one
of the things that these Protestants admire most about the States and
Europe are the same things that have turned them to their own religion.
Listening to these guys talk, it's become increasingly clear to me how
appealing this kind of philosophy can be in a place where:
(a) people lie and cheat all the time (prisoners' dilemma, really--cheat
or the other guy will and you'll be the sucker),
(b) machismo is more the rule than the exception, and sometimes the
worst version is openly on display,
(c) people show up to work late and often do a poor job--good luck
getting the internet turned back on once it's broken down, for example, and
(d) the Catholic church is, shall we say, less than energetic about
following its own dogma.
They see a lot of hypocrisy in the Catholic church (which is,
incidentally, one of the things that drives me nuts about dogmatic
people of any ideological or religious stripe back home), and they
believe in what could almost be termed a constructivist theory about
commonly held beliefs leading to improved behavior. They really think
that energetic religious belief--a very worldly belief system about the
right way to behave in this life, rather than the next--will help solve
Peru's problems with corruption and development. If everybody is trying
to lead a life of "right action" (to steal a phrase from the Buddhists)
and they're all keeping one another in line, things will get better.
As someone who's been socialized as a rational choicer, this stuff is
sometimes hard for me to swallow, but there's clearly a role for belief
in a rational choice explanation of human behavior, as I've written
about before.
There's also a social network story to be told, I think, about the way
evangelicals belong to a close-knit community that can sanction its
members for breaking certain social codes, so it's easier for
evangelicals to trust one another than it is for them to trust the
Catholic downstairs, or (frankly) than it is for others to trust
Evangelicals.
Of course, this won't stop me from making fun of the comically awful
evangelical musical tradition.
But even that, in a way, is a form of democracy. You don't have to be a
professionally trained musician to express your faith through music.
You can just be some schmoe with an electric guitar and a microphone.
And a screechy, out-of-tune voice. And lots of feedback. And a
terrible double-breasted suit.
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