72-9168 BOOTS, Wilson Texter, 1931- PROTESTANT CHRISTIANITY IN BOLIVIA: MISSION THEORY AND PRACTICE IN THREE MISSION CHURCHES. The American University, Ph.D., 1971 History, modern University Microfilms, A XEROX Company, Ann Arbor, Michigan © Copyright by WIISON TEXTER BOOTS 1971 PROTESTANT CHRISTIANITY IN BOLIVIA: MISSION THEORY M 5 m m C E IN THRfeE MISSION dfofcfcHES by Wilson Texter Boots Submitted to the Facility of the School of International Service of The American University in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Latin American Studies Signatures of Ccmnittee: Chair Dean of the School Date: 5 A/?/ 1971 THE AMERICAN UNIVERSITY. The American University Washington, D.C. AUG 201971 m PLEASE NOTE: Some Pages have indistinct p rin t. Filmed as received. UNIVERSITY MICROFILMS PREFACE Bolivia was the last country of South America in which Protestant Christianity was established, with permanent Protestant activity not being initiated until 1898. The geographical isolation as well as the religious situation were important among other factors in making Bolivia a difficult missionary challenge to Protestant missions. The present study attempts to examine the mission theory and practice of the mission agencies, and the churches growing from their work, that primarily were responsible for the introduction and develop­ ment of Protestantism in Bolivia. These groups are the Canadian Baptist Mission, The Methodist Church (U.S.A.) and the Bolivian Indian Mission. Although a number of other Protestant agencies have been at work in Bolivia in recent years, the three Missions under consideration are the oldest and most established and the present writer makes the assumption in this study that they represent most clearly the activity and influence of Protestant Christianity. The present inquiry is presented as a study in missiology, which is the theory and practice of missions. The investigation seeks to analyze the message and purpose of the three Missions, the goals they have sought to achieve, and the methods and strategy which have been employed to attain these objectives. A major concern of the study has been to examine the extent to which the "exotic plant" of Protestantism (in the words of cne critic)* has had success in taking root in Bolivia, and to assess the relationship of Protestantism to Bolivian national life. An effort has also been made to suggest ways that the Baptists, Methodists and Bolivian Indian Mission might contribute more effectively to Bolivian life. The end of the year 1966 is the close of the period considered in this study. Methods used in the study have included an examination of the self-understanding of the Missions, and the investigation of how this understanding has been expressed in actual practice. Seme comparison of the three groups under consideration has also been included. In this approach considerable use has been made of the content analysis of documents and other historical materials relating to the churches and agencies involved, as well as the results of a number of interviews with mission and church personnel and individuals not related to Protestantism. In conducting this investigation it was discovered that no other writers had dealt with Bolivian Protestantism, with the exception of the descriptive histories of several missions and writings about specific projects which have not attempted to deal in a direct way with most of the missiological questions raised in this study. Since the completion of the research two studies have appeared which would have been valuable had it been possible to incorporate them, which are noted in the intro- *A phrase used by Reman Catholic Archbishop Pierini which will be noted later. iv ductory paragraph to the Bibliography. Neither of these studies, however, has as its primary focus or concern the questions approached in the present study. The writer should indicate something of his cwn involvement and perspectives in approaching the subject. The years 1953 through 1956 were spent in Bolivia as a missionary of the Methodist Church, with several visits to the country since this period, including one visit of three months in 1962 and another of two months in 1966 vhich were utilized in gathering data for the study. My present work cn -the faculty of the Missionary Orientation Center in Stony Point, New York has con­ tinued my interest in many of the questions examined in this study. My closest continuing relationship with Bolivian life has been through my wife, Nora Quiroga de Boots, whose life was affected by Protestant missions to Bolivia. In significant ways this study is as much hers as mine, for it reflects a great deal of her intellectual inquiry and personal support in the research and writing, as well as much of the detailed work of preparation. I want to thank Professors Harold E. Davis, John Finan, and Brady Tyson of -the School of International Service at The American University, and Professor James Pyke of Wesley Theological Seminary for their help and guidance. I would express a special word of thanks to Professor Davis, Chairman of the Coimittee, whose constant encouragement, help and personal involvement with this project was deeply appreciated. TABLE OF CONTENTS Page PREFACE................................................... ii Chapter I. AN HISTORICAL OUTLINE OF BOLIVIAN PROTESTANTISM........ 1 PROTESTANT BEGINNINGS IN LATIN AMERICA.............. 1 CHURCH AND STATE RELATIONS IN BOLIVIA IN THE NINETEENTH CENTURY............................... 7 CANADIAN BAPTISTS................................. 1H THE METHODIST CHURCH......................... 28 BOLIVIAN INDIAN MISSION............................ 38 PROTESTANTISM IN RELATION TO POLITICAL DEVELOPMENTS.... 53 II. THE AIMS AND GOALS OF THE PROTESTANT MISSIONS AND THE METHODS EMPLOYED IN MISSIONARY WORK................. 77 THE RELIGIOUS CONTEXT OF PROTESTANT MISSIONS IN BOLIVIA...................................... 77 THE MESSAGE AND GOAL OF THE MISSIONS................ 80 Bolivian Indian Mission.......................... 80 Canadian Baptists.............................. 85 The Methodist Church............................. 91 EDUCATIONAL APPROACH............................... 95 AGRICULTURAL MISSIONS.............................. 113 v vi Chapter Page MEDICAL SERVICE.................................. 123 METHODS OF DIRECT EVANGELIZATION................... 129 III. ECUMENICAL DIMENSIONS OF THE PROTESTANT MISSIONS...... 137 PROTESTANT ECUMENISM IN LATIN AMERICA.............. 137 ECUMENICAL RELATIONSHIPS AMONG PROTESTANTS IN BOLIVIA. 145 PROTESTANT-ROMAN CATHOLIC RELATIONSHIPS............. 181 BOLIVIAN ECUMENISM IN 1966........................ 199 IV. FROM MISSIONS TO MISSION: THE STRUGGLE TO NATIONALIZE BOLIVIAN PROTESTANTISM................. 206 PHILOSOPHIES OF MISSIONS.......................... 206 DIFFERENT APPROACHES TO MISSION UTILIZED IN BOLIVIA... 216 PROTESTANT ADAPTATION TO BOLIVIAN LIRE.............. 238 V. THE PLACE AND FUNCTION OF THE FOREIGN MISSIONARY...... 263 MISSIONARY IDENTIFICATION, LIFE STYLE, AND METHODS.... 264 VI. THE FUTURE OF BOLIVIAN PROTESTANTISM................. 280 APPENDIX 1 ................................................ 322 APPENDIX II............................................... 328 BIBLIOGRAPHY.............................................. 332 r„ CHAPTER I AN HISTORICAL OUTLINE OF BOLIVIAN PROTESTANTISM Protestant Beginnings in Latin America Prior to the nineteenth centxtrycnly sporadic attempts were made to bring Protestant Christianity to Latin America. The first of •these efforts took place in 1555 when Villegaigncn, a Huguenot noble, tock a group of French colonists to Brazil with the intention of founding an ideal colony on the principles of religious liberty. The colony was situated near what is now Rio de Janeiro. Ttoo years later three hundred French Calvinists joined the group. But Villegaigncn proved to be a renegade and a traitor, denouncing his fellcw-workers as heretics and taking actions which led to persecution and death among them.1 The second attenpt occurred in 1624 when Bahia in Brazil was captured by the Dutch, and the Dutch Calvinists began Evangelical work. This work oeased when the possessions were recaptured by the Portuguese sane twenty years later. John Mackay, a well known writer on religion in Latin America, feels that the principal reason for the failure of the attempts in Brazil was the fact that they were politically more than religiously motivated.2 lW. Stanley Itycroft, On This Foundation (New York: Friendship Press, 1942), p. 72. 2Professor John A. MacKay in Lectures on Hispanic Christianity at The American University, May, 1961. 1 2 In 1734 the Moravians began work amcng the Indians and Negroes in Dutch Guiana as well as the West Indies. No permanent results, however, followed from any of the above mentioned attempts. Thus we must turn to the nineteenth century to discover the real beginnings of Protestantism in the Latin American countries. This new faith entered the Latin American world in three ways— as missions to non-Christian Indians, through Protestant merchants, sailors, and immigrants, and by Protestant missions amcng Roman Catholics. The non-Christian Indians, especially those of the southern area of South America, were considered as objects of missionary effort by several groups. In 1833-34 the American Board of Foreign Commissioners, the first mission organization established by a North American denomination, considered beginning work among the Indians of Patagonia.