THE RELIGIOUS MARKET IN NICARAGUA: THE PARADOXES OF CATHOLICISM AND PROTESTANTISM

Henri Gooren

In 1963, no less than 96 percent of the population considered itself Roman Catholic. In 2000, however, the percentage has decreased remarkably to almost 76 percent (see Table 1). During the same period, the percentage of Protestants has gone up correspondingly from 4 to almost 19 percent. This means that there are nowadays approximately 3.85 million Roman Catholics in the Nicaragua, against an estimated 1 million Protestants.

TABLE 1 Religious affiliation as a percentage of the Nicaraguan population, 1900- 2000'

How could the religious map of Nicaragua have changed so much in only thirty years? This article will analyse the origin and consequences of the Prot- estant growth explosion for the religious field in Nicaragua, by applying the sociological concept of 'religious market.' Special attention is given to reli- gious competition between the Roman Catholic Church and various Protestant and Pentecostal churches. The first sections analyse the history of the Catholic

I Sources.Barrett (1982: 522); Barrett, Kurian& Johnson (2001: 544); Johnstone& Man- dryk (2001:483); EncyclopediaBritannica (2000). 341

Church in Nicaragua, focusing particularly on its involvement in politics on the one hand and on its internal divisions between the hierarchy and the so- called 'popular church,' and between the teachings of orthodox Catholicism and the more emotional practices of popular Catholicism (devotion to the saints, processions, and fiestas), on the other hand. A subsequent section analyses the origin and growth of Nicaraguan Protestantism, giving special at- tention to specific church-related growth factors as well as political develop- ments. The religious market in Nicaragua is described and analyzed in the fol- lowing section, which presents and criticizes the theoretical considerations of the religious economy approach of Stark & Finke. Further criticisms and cave- ats of the approach are illustrated by using the Nicaraguan case, with its (ap- parent ?) paradoxes of Catholicism and Protestantism. A final section sketches recent developments on the national religious market in Nicaragua.

Roman Catholicism in Nicaragua

Before the coming of the Spanish conquerors, various forms of traditional indigenous religions were practiced in Nicaragua. The Roman Catholic Church entered with the Spanish colonists and became a part of the colonial administration. Catholicism was the official religion of the country until the constitutional reform of 1894. In 1522, the first Roman Catholic evangelization efforts started on the Atlantic coast. The diocese of Nicaragua was formed in 1527. During the Spanish Colonial era, the Roman Catholic Church formed an almost inseparable part of the government administration. Le6n, the oldest diocese, was founded in 1534. Evangelization on the Pacific coast started in 1689. Nicaragua's first 1826 constitution after Independence from Spain proclaimed Roman Catholicism as the state religion. It was not until the Liberal revolution of General Zelaya in 1893 that the institutional separation of the Roman Catholic Church from the Nicaraguan state took a start. Meanwhile, Nicaragua became a full Roman Catholic ecclesiastical province in 1912 and the capital Managua became a diocese in 1913.

The constitutions of 1894, 1911, 1939, and 1987 as well as the constitutional revisions of 1965, 1995, and 2000, each time contained provisions to guaran- tee religious freedom for all. The Roman Catholic Church, however, has al- ways remained a strong actor in Nicaraguan society. Although no longer the official religion since 1894, the Nicaraguan state has always maintained a privileged position for the Roman Catholic Church, which is exempted from taxes and has received many financial benefits. The new Managua cathedral, for instance, was entirely paid for by the Chamorro-government (1990-96). Various Protestant organizations have challenged this situation, but so far