The Battle for Latin America's Soul

Guatemala's decisive presidential election points up the big gains Protestantism is making all across the region at the expense of Roman Catholicism

"We are not alone. God is with us. He'll help us move ahead." With those words, engineer-educator Jorge Serrano Elias, 45, piously hailed his smashing victory last week in Guatemala's presidential elections. As Serrano's comments underlined, religious issues had played a significant role in the campaign. Serrano is a Protestant who, in a predominantly Roman Catholic country, converted from Catholicism to fervent Pentecostalism at age 28. Backers of his Catholic opponent made open appeals against the prospect of a Protestant President. Serrano promised he would not use presidential powers to favor his faith, and his impressive 68% win indicated that the...

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