The Fiesta of Latino Protestant Worship: Religious Racialization and the Public Performance of Ethnic Identity

• In Event: 1580 - Section on Sociology of Religion Roundtable Session
  In Refereed Roundtable 60min: Table 03. Qualitative Studies of Church Culture

Abstract

Established in 2001, "Amor Poderoso" is a suburban, non-denominational, evangelical megachurch in El Paso, Texas, founded in 2001 by a white pastor leading an almost entirely Mexican-American and Mexican immigrant membership. The church is a site for intentionally showcasing “Mexican” culture. Not only is the preaching and singing in Spanish but also gatherings feature sounds, images, and artifacts, including the pastor and church volunteers wearing folk costumes (sombreros, sarapes, sirena blouses, etc.) on the platform. Although casual observation may find these to reflect authenticity, ethnographic fieldwork from 2014-2017 supplemented with interviews with pastors, worship leaders, and attendees reveal that these ethnic displays are derived more from U.S. racial schemas rather than imported from Mexican culture. The congregation accentuates an array of idealized ethnic resources (food, dress, clichés, mannerisms) as a distinctive religious resource for cultivating unity within the church; weekly services project a variety of ethnic signals to solicit simultaneously connections to a common ancestral heritage and a common religious identity. More specifically, a distinctly religious racialization provides leverage for legitimating charismatic authority and building solidarity. This research focuses on the dynamics of ethnic performance in this congregation, a church that effectively structures members’ ethnic and religious identities around essentialized racial schemas to buttress a cogent corporate identity for the church as a vehicle for institutionalized evangelical narratives.

Authors

• Aida Isela Ramos, George Fox University

• Gerardo Marti, Davidson College

• Mark Timothy Mulder, Calvin College