Page 24 - tesis

Pentecostal laity whose communities are working for common causes connected through their common faith.\u000APolitical culture: According to Ireland the political culture consists of beliefs, stories and images that emerge and operate from the grass roots, in every day life, in poor neighbourhoods and in popular religion (1991: 3, 7, 43). For Martin, it is primarily in the sphere of culture that religious changes operate and can be seen. Here the believer may reinvent himself in an atmosphere of fraternal support and give tongue to his frustrations and aspirations\u2019 (1990: 286).\u000AF. THE IMPORTANCE OF THE TOPIC\u000AThe analysis of the NPCs becomes important around the world as part of the global Charismatic Movement. Three reasons are emphasized as important for this study.\u000A1. Socio-religious importance\u000AProtestantism in Latin America as a socio-religious movement has tremendous potential for contributing to the development of society. For this reason, some analysts have interpreted the Evangelical emergence and presence within the context of the eruption of new social movements. Marostica says that Protestantism is a new social movement because it possesses its own identity, autonomy and system of beliefs, represents a new form of social organization and has arisen from below (1994: 4-5). For Martin the impact of the theory of differentiation in Third World countries implied the dissolution of all types of monopolies, whether political ideology or religion. He emphasises that today in Asia, Africa and Latin America, development of \u2018a Christianity based on the Holy Spirit set off a process of personal social reform, trying to restore the dignity of women, to support the integrity of the family and to attack violence and corruption in the state\u2019 (1995: 298, 299). Droogers affirms that Martin\u2019s comparative analysis between the Methodist and the Pentecostal growth which he presents as an expression of liberal pluralism which pushed\u000A11\u000A