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A study made of Brazilian Evangelicals emphasizes that the Brazilians participate little in associations and civic institutions, and that the Evangelicals are not an exception. However, they affirm that according to this study Evangelicals participate with 7 per cent more frequency in the neighbourhood associations compared to the average 4 per cent of the rest of the surveyed population. This is due to the fact that in the local church there are different models of participation in the activities of the church (Instituto de Estudo da Religiao, ISER 1996: 90, 174). Wilson in his study of the Pentecostalism in Guatemala says that in spite of being small, inexperienced, and divided about how much political importance to display, the \u2018Pentecostal\u2019 contribution may lie primarily in the development of human capital, cultivating civic culture among popular groups\u2019 (1998:154).\u000ATo sum up, most of NPCs have social assistance projects, but not all give them the importance they deserve. Nevertheless, their laity is more open to consider social problems and participate openly in some instances of civil society. This participation does not necessarily result from impulses received from their churches. Some bring along certain enterprise or political experiences they had before conversion or joining their churches. Not all the churches show the same level of interest and participation in social projects. In some ways their social position determines how much they participate. Gifford in his book African Christianity its public role says that the \u2018question of the political role of churches is more often posed indirectly, in terms of civil society\u2019 (1998:342).\u000A6. Their vision of politics\u000AIn the past the Evangelical remained outside of party politics cutting themselves off from the political sphere due to the type of theology inherited from some missionaries, and because of the hostility of the Catholic Church. The presence of R\u00EDos Montt as head of State in 1982 opened up the arena for some Evangelicals to start a political career from the 1990s onwards. In spite of the failures of R\u00EDos Montt and Serrano El\u00EDas most of NPL surveyed think that in order to change the country party politics must be assumed. They\u000A 263\u000A


































































































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