There is so much one can and normally does for a traditional Easter post–I’ll spare you that. For Easter and Christmas I ask for and so far have yet to see the end of the culture wars–to which I would say I am a conscientious objector in what amounts to a religious nationalism masquerading as theological certainty, but that is for another time. Next time I’ll write about the apocalyptic language some of my brethren are deploying to grasp some... Read more
There is so much one can and normally does for a traditional Easter post–I’ll spare you that. For Easter and Christmas I ask for and so far have yet to see the end of the culture wars–to which I would say I am a conscientious objector in what amounts to a religious nationalism masquerading as theological certainty, but that is for another time. Next time I’ll write about the apocalyptic language some of my brethren are deploying to grasp some... Read more
Like most scholars involved in the study of Latino/a religion, I have been asked about the ongoing papal conclave and who I would like to see come out on the balcony of St. Peter’s Basilica. “What is the new Pope going to do about the growth of Latino/a pentecostals and evangelicals in the Americas? What do you think he ought to do? Do you think a Latino Pope will stem the tide away from the Church?” I waited a bit... Read more
There has been continued interest in the political behavior of evangelicals over the past few weeks. This discussion assumes that everyone who carries that mantle is white, and conservative, and that they read blogs about themselves, you would not know that there are any other demographic groups that comprise American evangelicalism other than whites if you cared to read the prognostications–and increasingly–I don’t care. Simultaneously, a discussion on the politics of Latino/a evangelicals and Pentecostals seems to have drawn some... Read more
Occasionally, I want to open this space up to fellow travelers/colleagues/friends/brethren–and in this case, una hermana, a Tejana whose roots in the Pentecostal movement makes her voice unique and necessary–Erica Ramirez is a Ph.D student at Drew University, is quite an accomplished singer, and as I hope you’ll agree–one of the future stars in our constellation of Latina/o religion scholars… Bienvenidos Erica Iam a third generation Pentecostal woman, a Latina born in San Antonio. I grew up riding around in... Read more
As part of my farewell to Texas tour, I made a pilgrimage to the Pentecostal mecca–the largest church in the U.S., Joel Osteen’s Lakewood Church. I have visited hundreds of Pentecostal churches–as a researcher and as a worshipper, but for some reason, I was really looking forward to visiting Lakewood: For one, Joel Osteen is one of the most fascinating figures in contemporary Pentecostalism, and the multicultural make-up of Lakewood, over 20,000 strong this past Sunday, was quite striking. Pentecostal/charismatic... Read more
I had lunch with my mentor last week. Vicki L. Ruiz is a pioneering Chicana historian who has been my mentor/friend for nearly 20 years. She made grad school possible for me. She has offered me encouragement and has been my “oracle” as I’ve traveled these turbulent academic fields. This past fall, she became the first Latina historian to be inducted into the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, (she was inducted by Daniel Day-Lewis, not bad for a Chicana... Read more
Well that went fast! Conference season is over for me. I attend two with regularity, and I try to present at one of the them if I have any new material I am working on–for me, conferences are similar to when comedians take their new material to smaller clubs, trying it out on audiences first, refining, editing, working on timing, all before the next HBO special, or sitcom pilot. This is the fun part of a conference, the working out... Read more
Customary Top 10 lists–wishes for peace, resolutions, funny, sobering, irreverent, I admit to liking them–I have little time to read them, but I like them nevertheless. I am also working on an academic deadline, which, aside from a busy life being professor mom, means that I especially love those top 10 lists and resolutions that call for people to “slow” down their lives. Never mind…here’s the Top Ten things I’d like to see my evangelical/Pentecostal brethren do more often in... Read more
Jesús wanted to be cremated and have his ashes mixed with some weed. I found that to be a funny line from an otherwise sad and poignant story I read yesterday from the Los Angeles Times, and writer Thomas Curwen’s deft storytelling of a Latino Pentecostal family living in a garage in the Exposition Park area of Los Angeles. Here is the link to the story and the photo essay, http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-jesus-20121223,0,4762028.story Reading the story of a terminally ill young man, whose... Read more
Re-Generacion
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