Religion and Democracy in Central America:
1. Central American Network for Research on Religion & Democracy (CANRRD)
Central American Civil Society and the Impact of Religious Movements: Pentecostal, Charismatic, & Traditional and Liberationist Catholics:
The University of New Mexico together with the Universidad Centroamerican (UCA) in El Salvador, the Rafael Landívar University of Guatemala, and the Group for Reflection, Research, and Communication of Honduras, is launching a study of the effects of specific religious movements on communities in these three countries. The goal of the research is to analyze how specific Pentecostal and Charismatic religious practices shape civil society and social capital in these communities. Funded by the USC Center on Religion and Civic Culture.
Spanish:
El Impacto en la Sociedad Civil de Centro America de los Movimientos Religiosos Pentecostales, Carismáticos, Católicos Tradicionales y Liberacionistas:
La Universidad de Nuevo México junto con la Universidad Centroamericana José Simeón Cañas de El Salvador, la Universidad Rafael Landívar de Guatemala, y por ultimo, el Equipo de Reflexión, Investigación y Comunicación de Honduras, están llevando acabo actualmente una investigación que estudia el efecto que ciertos movimientos religiosos tienen en comunidades en estos tres paises. El propósito de esta investigación es estudiar el efecto que las especificas practicas religiosas del movimiento Pentecostal y Carismático tienen sobre tales comunidades tanto en el contexto religioso como en el contexto social y político.
2. Democratic Organizing in Central America:
Since 2005, the US-based PICO National Network has been extending its work to Central America, under the auspices of the Catholic Church in the region. This research project traces the development of this trans-national social movement, and will ultimately use a cross-national comparative perspective to compare the impact of differing social capital, civil society, church, and state structures on democratic work in different national contexts within the region. Ethnographer Stacy Keogh [hyperlink to her .pdf bio] has done periodic fieldwork in Honduras and El Salvador to document the progress of democratic organizing in the region.
