FDDW Faith and Development in Focus: Guatemala SUPPORTED BY THE HENRY R. LUCE INITIATIVE ON RELIGION AND INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS MARCH 2017 About the World Faiths Development Dialogue The World Faiths Development Dialogue (WFDD) is a not-for-profit organization working at the intersection of religion and global development. Housed within the Berkley Center in Washington, D.C., WFDD documents the work of faith-inspired organizations and explores the importance of religious ideas and actors in development contexts. WFDD supports dialogue among religious and development communities and promotes innovative partnerships, at national and international levels, with the goal of contributing to positive and inclusive development outcomes. About the Berkley Center for Religion, Peace & World Affairs The Berkley Center for Religion, Peace, and World Affairs at Georgetown University, created within the Office of the President in 2006, is dedicated to the interdisciplinary study of religion, ethics, and public life. Through research, teaching, and service, the center explores global challenges of democracy and human rights, economic and social development, international diplomacy, and interreligious understanding. Two premises guide the center’s work: that a deep examination of faith and values is critical to address these challenges, and that the open engagement of religious and cultural traditions with one another can promote peace. Acknowledgments This report is a product of the Berkley Center multi-country research program conducted in partnership with WFDD. We are grateful to the Henry R. Luce Foundation Initiative on Religion and International Affairs for supporting this mapping program. The Berkley Center and WFDD hosted a September 2015 consultation with scholars and practitioners to review research plans and initial hypotheses and questions.1 This was followed by fieldwork in Guatemala, which featured in-depth interviews (many of them are online at http://berkleycenter.georgetown.edu/subprojects/country-mapping-guatemala) and two workshops on health issues and faith and environment. Crystal Corman, WFDD program manager, managed the report’s development with Katherine Marshall, senior fellow at the Berkley Center and WFDD executive director, who is the report’s principal author. Carlos Martinez led the field research and provided inputs to the report. Research support was provided by Marina Yalon, Christina Johnson, Spencer Crawford, Chrissy Bistline-Bonilla, Laura O’Brien, and Andrea Arzaba Diaz. Wilma Mui contributed to editing and prepared the document for publication. The authors are grateful to those who offered guidance and insights throughout the process. Their wisdom and perspective helped to shape this report. Comments on the draft report, notably from Miguel Von Hoegen and Ana Victoria Pelaez Ponce, were invaluable. Photographs in the report were taken by Carlos Martinez and Katherine Marshall, unless otherwise noted. The cover photo is by Flickr user: IM Swedish Development Partners, and the photo on page 35 is by Flickr user United Church. 2 BERKLEY CENTER FOR RELIGION, PEACE & WORLD AFFAIRS AT GEORGETOWN UNIVERSITY FOREWORD “Faith and Development in Focus: Guatemala” explores many ways. They see themselves, and are commonly how religious influences affect Guatemala’s social and seen, to have responsibilities for defining and upholding economic development challenges and strategies. The values that reflect the best in Guatemalan society. Others, report is part of a broad effort by Georgetown University’s however, may see them as a brake to forward momentum, Berkley Center and WFDD to analyze and document an impediment to progress, or a contributor to significant religious development engagement in several countries social tensions. and is supported by the Luce Foundation. The effort involves original research in each country and preparation The various dimensions of religious involvement in of documentation that will serve actors interested in a development are obviously complex and contentious, country’s development. These include national authorities, but in a diverse and dynamic society where religious official and private development partners (including civil institutions play vital roles, they are worth exploring. society), religiously linked organizations, and others who Ignoring or minimizing religious factors can detract may not have had the opportunity or motivation to focus from development programs. The fragmented nature of on religious dimensions of various facets of society and engagement both among religious actors and with the economy. Guatemalan government and its international partners can undermine potentially positive contributions. Failures to The goal for this specific report is to provide an accessible learn from experience through lack of knowledge about overview of Guatemala’s religious landscape—its history, what others are doing, missed opportunities due to limited contemporary institutions, and the dynamics of change— engagement with communities, and even programs that all in relation to major issues for development. We are counterproductive through failure to appreciate the envisage it as a lasting background document that should motivation of religious actors and organizations are be supplemented by more in-depth research on specific examples of possible gaps. topics. Since this work has a “pilot” flavor, we particularly welcome feedback on content, approach, and presentation: We are hopeful that a solid base of information— How could we make this and similar documents more recognizing diversity and the immense cumulative impact useful? of religious actors in everything from education to climate change adaptation—will challenge an all-too-common Guatemala, like many countries, is grappling with questions narrative of an inherent opposition between religion and involving values that underlie its development strategies development. and policies. The reality of large inequalities, concerns about social tensions and violence, painful historical legacies, and a host of questions around governance (that include the ugly spectacle of widespread corruption and Katherine Marshall embedded crime) are at the center of development debates. Senior Fellow, Berkley Center for Religion, Peace, Religious leaders and institutions are deeply involved in and World Affairs BERKLEY CENTER FOR RELIGION, PEACE & WORLD AFFAIRS AT GEORGETOWN UNIVERSITY WORLD FAITHS DEVELOPMENT DIALOGUE — MARCH 2017 3 Tables Table 2.1 Guatemala: Some Key Development Facts Table 2.2 Social Development Indicators, Guatemala and LAC (2017, World Bank) Table 2.3 K’atun, Breakdown by Pillar and Goal Table 3.1 Historical Religious Demography in Guatemala Boxes Box 3.1 Ethnicity and Language in Guatemala Box 3.2 Atiteco Religion Box 3.3 Protestant/Pentacostal Churches with Arrival Dates Box 3.4 Conflict and the 1996 Peace Accords: Religious Dimensions Box 3.5 Addressing Mining Issues Box 3.6 Churches and Education Box 4.1 Pastoral de la Primera Infancia (PPI) Box 5.1 Gangs and Churches Figures Figure 2.1 ODA by Donor and Sector to Guatemala, 2015 Figure 2.2 Bilateral ODA Disbursement by Donor, 1960-2015 (US$ millions, 2014 prices) Figure 2.3 ODA Multilateral Disbursements, 1964-2015 (US$ millions, 2014 prices) 4 BERKLEY CENTER FOR RELIGION, PEACE & WORLD AFFAIRS AT GEORGETOWN UNIVERSITY TABLE OF CONTENTS Map of Guatemala ...................................................................................................................... 7 Acronyms .................................................................................................................................... 8 Timeline: Key Events in Guatemalan History ........................................................................... 9 Chapter 1: Introduction ........................................................................................................... 12 Study Objectives and Research Themes ..................................................................................13 Research Approach ................................................................................................................ 13 Report Structure .................................................................................................................... 14 Chapter 2: Guatemala’s Development Strategies and Partnerships ......................................... 15 Poverty and Progress .............................................................................................................. 15 Government Development Strategy ....................................................................................... 17 Development Partnerships ..................................................................................................... 18 Major Development Issues ................................................................................................... 21 Chapter 3: Guatemala’s Religious Landscape .......................................................................... 24 Contemporary Developments and Trends ............................................................................. 26 Introducing the Major Religious Traditions ........................................................................... 28 Pre-Columbian Maya History/Spirituality............................................................................ 28 Catholicism ......................................................................................................................... 29