The emergence in uruguay of the church “the international encounter with jesus ministry” within the framework of the theology of prosperity: a qualitative analysis from the religious experience of the faithful practitioners

Abstract

This presentation will consist of a qualitative analysis of the Church “El Ministerio Internacional Encuentro con Jesús”, a neopentecostal church present in Uruguay since 2010. Neopentecostal religions are part of the universe of analysis of my doctoral thesis entitled “The expansion of religions in contexts of poverty in Uruguay”. Within the so-called neo-Pentecostal Churches, religious congregations questioned by the Evangelical Churches themselves, based on the theology of prosperity, have flourished in Latin America and the United States -and our country is no stranger to this phenomenon. That is why we focus our attention on the Church “Encuentro con Jesús”, to make clear the presence and modus operandi of these religions in our country. Through the method “Structural Discourse Analysis” we will give an account of the social representations that govern the behavior of the faithful and pastors of the church. The relevant role that money plays in cults and the recurring request for economic contribution by the faithful in its various modalities will be analyzed: offerings, tithes, first fruits, etc. It will be verified, through the testimonies of the faithful, that even those faithful in vulnerable situations are those who always contribute their offering. Likewise, on the part of the faithful there is an “emulation” towards the figure of the pastor, whom they call “dad”, and whom they must “honor” (financially) so that he has the best watch, the best clothes, the best car, etc... This economic donation is fully accepted by the faithful without any question and in many cases they do it voluntarily under fear of the curse that can come to them if they do not. The enormous paradox of this religious machine that financially squeezes the last bit out of the faithful is that, immersed in the eager search for economic prosperity through religious channels, they are left in a situation of even greater vulnerability and wrapped in a situation of psychological dependency with the church authorities, adopting a passive attitude regarding the real possibilities of being able to get out of that situation.