Competing for Amazonian Souls – The Amazon Synod and Pentecostal Competition in the Global South

Last updated on: October 11, 2019 at 3:27 pm By Andrew Chesnut

By Professor Andrew Chesnut and Doctor Kate Kingsbury* While the Catholic Church adopts a preferential option for Amazonians, Amazonians themselves are opting for Pentecostalism. One of the most under-reported stories of the Amazon Synod currently taking place at the Vatican is the dynamic of religious competition in a region that included nine South American countries, most importantly Brazil. Since the 1970s the Church in Latin America, which is home to 40% of the world’s 1.3 billion Catholics, has been hemorrhaging... Read more

Mexican Folk Saint Santa Muerte – The Fastest Growing New Religious Movement in the West

Last updated on: October 2, 2019 at 8:57 pm By Andrew Chesnut

Co-authored by Dr. Kate Kingsbury* and Dr. Andrew Chesnut Santa Muerte, Saint Death and Holy Death in English, is now the fastest growing new religious movement in the West. There are no surveys of the number of devotees, but with 10 years of research experience, we estimate some 12 million followers, with 70% in Mexico, 15% in the U.S., 10% in Central America, and the remaining 5% mostly in South America. There are also small groups of devotees surfacing in... Read more

Pentecostal Gangs in Rio de Janeiro Ratchet Up Their Persecution of Afro-Brazilian Religions under President Bolsonaro

Last updated on: August 29, 2019 at 2:15 pm By Andrew Chesnut

Co-authored by Dr. Ana Keila Mosca Pinezi* and Dr. Andrew Chesnut Brazilian history since the Colonial era is marked by the enslavement of Africans and by institutionalized racism which has permeated the social fabric of the nation. As such, Afro-Brazilian cultural expressions are often seen as demonic, stigmatized as evil emanating from malignant spirits. Capoeira, samba, and maracatu, even if they are very popular, are seen as manifestations related to the world of evil. But it’s in the realm of... Read more

Holy Child of Raffles – The Mexican Christ Child Asleep on a Skull

Last updated on: August 17, 2019 at 12:30 pm By Andrew Chesnut

Having researched the Mexican skeleton saint Santa Muerte for the past decade I am quite accustomed to death imagery. However, when I first came across a photo of the Holy Child of Raffles (el Santo Niño de las Suertes) I was taken aback. As a specialist in Latin American religion I am used to seeing the myriad advocations of the Christ Child. There’s el Niño Doctor wearing a doctor’s smock who as one might imagine is most often beseeched for... Read more

Brazil’s Black Supernatural Sister Queens: Our Lady of Aparecida and Oxum

Last updated on: July 9, 2019 at 3:40 pm By Andrew Chesnut

Co-authored by Dr. Kate Kingsbury* and Dr. Andrew Chesnut In a country with the world’s second largest Black population, it’s no surprise that many of the most popular religious figures in Brazil are conceived of as African or derived from Africa. For example, the Orixás or gods the Afro-Brazilian religion of Candomblé are of Yoruban lineage presided over by Yemanja, the goddess of the sea. Likewise, one of the three major types of spirit guides in the less Afrocentric religion... Read more

Brazil’s Black Sister Supernatural Queens – Oxum and Our Lady of Aparecida

Last updated on: July 9, 2019 at 2:32 pm By Andrew Chesnut

Loving Saint Paulinus: Patron Saint of Williamsburg, Brooklyn

Last updated on: June 17, 2019 at 9:37 am By Andrew Chesnut

By Guest Contributor Dr. Alyssa Maldonado-Estrada* Nola, a small town outside of Naples in the Campania region of Southern Italy, and Williamsburg, the premiere trendiest neighborhood in New York, are approximately 4,394 miles apart. Nola with its stone streets and ancient grit, is in the shadow of Vesuvius, while Williamsburg is ultra-gentrified and punctuated by high-rise glass condominiums and the shells of old Brooklyn factories. Still, both are central to Italian-American Catholic practice in Brooklyn. What these places share is... Read more

President Jair Messias Bolsonaro as Messiah for Brazilian Pentecostals

Last updated on: May 30, 2019 at 11:12 am By Andrew Chesnut

By guest contributor *Dr. Ana Keila Mosca Pinezi The Universal Church of the Kingdom of God (Igreja Universal do Reino de Deus or IURD) is a complex that involves a media empire not only aimed at propagating its religious and moral precepts and proselytizing, but also expressing the extraordinary growth of the Evangelicals in Brazil, especially that of neo-Pentecostalism, which has Prosperity and Health Theology at its heart. The neo-Pentecostal Evangelicals are a clear threat both to traditional and to... Read more

Spirits of the Times – Research Team Kingsbury and Chesnut Discuss the Global Exorcism Boom

Last updated on: April 28, 2019 at 7:32 am By Andrew Chesnut

Co-authored by Dr. Kate Kingsbury* and Dr. Andrew Chesnut As of the past few decades, it is clear that Catholic clergy are witnessing a mushrooming demand for exorcisms. An astonishing number of people undergo deliverance from demonic forces every week, not only in the developing world but also in Britain and the United States. Pope Francis, who regularly speaks about the Devil, has told priests that they “should not hesitate” to call on exorcists if they hear confessions or see... Read more

Need It Done Fast? Meet Saint Expedite

Last updated on: April 10, 2019 at 5:02 pm By Andrew Chesnut

By guest contributor Judika Illes* Where do you go if your legal papers are taking forever to process? What if your international flight is already booked but now your passport renewal is delayed? Where do you turn? For many, that’s a no-brainer – turn to Saint Expedite. Saints are frequently specialists – invoke Saint Lucy for eye ailments, for instance, or Saint Barbara for protection from natural disasters. Saint Expedite’s specialty is cutting through red tape and ending delays. As... Read more