Protestantism shaped the development of the modern liberal West. What does its current revival mean for the developing world?

IN THE summer of 1974, a 26-year-old Mayan villager lay drunk in a town square in the Guatemalan highlands. Suddenly he heard a voice that was to change the course of his life and that of his home town, Almolonga. “I was lying there and I saw Jesus saying, ‘I love you and I want you to serve me’,” says the man, Mariano Riscajche. He dusted himself down, sobered up and soon started preaching, establishing a small Protestant congregation in a room not far from the town’s ancient Catholic church.

Half a millennium earlier, a 33-year-old German monk experienced something similar. At some point between 1513 and 1517, Martin Luther had a direct encounter with God and felt himself “to be reborn and to have gone through open doors into paradise”. His moment of being born again was private. The day on which he is said to have nailed a list of 95 complaints about ecclesiastical corruption to the church door in Wittenberg, Saxony—widely thought to have been October 31st 1517—made the private public and, soon, political. A mixture of princely patronage, personal stubbornness and chance led what could have ended up as just another minor protest in a remote corner of Europe to become a global movement.

At the heart of this Protestant faith were, and are, three beliefs resting on the Latin word for “alone”: sola fide (that people are saved by faith in Jesus alone, not by anything they do); sola gratia (that this faith is given by grace alone, and cannot be earned); and sola scriptura (that it is based on the authority of the Bible alone, and not on tradition or the church). In a way that complemented the broader themes of the Renaissance, Luther wanted Christianity to go back to the “pristine Gospel”: the teachings of Jesus and the apostles. This return offered a new sort of freedom, one centred on the individual, which helped pave the way for modernity. “The separation of powers, toleration, freedom of conscience, they are all Protestant ideas,” says Jacques Berlinerblau, a sociologist at Georgetown University.

A safe stronghold

Protestantism continues to change lives today; indeed, over the recent decades the number of its adherents has grown substantially. Since the 1970s, about three-quarters of Almolonga’s 14,000 residents have converted; more than 40% of Guatemala’s population is now Protestant. Its story is a microcosm of a broader “Protestant awakening” across Latin America and the developing world. According to the Pew Research Centre Protestants currently make up slightly less than 40% of the world’s 2.3bn Christians; almost all the rest are Roman Catholics. The United States is home to some 150m Protestants, the largest number in any country.

In Luther’s native Germany roughly half the Christians follow his denomination. But today Europe accounts for only 13% of the world’s Protestants. The faith’s home is the developing world. Nigeria has more than twice as many Protestants as Germany. More than 80m Chinese have embraced the faith in the past 40 years.

There are many ways to be a Protestant, from the quietist to the ecstatic. The fastest-growing varieties tend to be the evangelical ones, which emphasise the need for spiritual rebirth and Biblical authority. Among developing-world evangelicals, Pentecostals are dominant; their version of the faith is charismatic, in that it emphasises the “gifts” of the Holy Spirit, held to be a universally accessible and sustaining aspect of God. These gifts include healing, prophecy and glossolalia. According to the World Christian Database at Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary in Massachusetts, Pentecostals and other evangelicals and charismatics account for 35% of Europe’s Protestants, 74% of America’s and 88% of those in developing countries. They make up more than half of the developing world’s Christians, and 10% of all people on Earth.



Many mansions Origins of selected denominations As the Roman Empire disintegrated, the church, too, began to break up. Unlike their equivalents in the Eastern church, Roman Catholic Popes were able to maintain some independence from distant emperors and other political powers. The western church became a single, transnational unit. Early Christianity Eastern Orthodox Great Schism 7th C-1054 Roman Catholic Pre-reformation Independence from rulers paid huge dividends. Because the Roman Catholic church claimed a privileged connection to divine salvation, it could command huge sums for access to it. The church was regularly accused of corruption, and reformers questioned its monopoly on salvation. They were often branded heretics and faced savage reprisals. Lollard* John Wycliffe

England, mid-14th C Hussite* Jan Hus

Bohemia, 1410s The Reformation 1517 European Reformation Like reformers before him, Martin Luther criticised corruption in the church and questioned its role as intercessor between man and God: he taught that religious truth came from the Bible and needed no interpreter. Unlike his predecessors, Luther found princes to back him. Others soon followed him out of the church: most notably, in 1534, England. Lutheran Martin Luther Diet of Worms Germany, 1521 Reformed John Calvin

Switzerland, 1530s Anabaptist Switzerland, 1525 Presbyterian John Knox

Scotland, 1560s Anglican Henry VIII Act of Supremacy England, 1534 Mennonite Switzerland, 1537 Church of Scotland Amish English Reformation Henry VIII broke England from the Catholic fold with a personal agenda—remarriage—not a theological one. His courtiers, clergy, and heirs fought over Anglican doctrine for decades. When King Charles I tried to enforce orthodoxy, he triggered, and lost, a civil war against the “nonconformists”. Ultimately, England settled into a truce where most Protestants were tolerated. Puritan* England, 16th-17th C Episcopalian United States, 17th C Baptist England, 1609 Congregational England, 17th C Quaker George Fox

England, 1650s Pietist* Germany, late 17th C Great Awakenings The relatively open atmosphere of England and its colonies proved ripe for a new wave of religious fervour. In the 18th and 19th centuries, Britain and America saw “Great Awakenings” of evangelicalism, which believes in the authority of the Bible and the need for a spiritual rebirth. This brought a focus on good works and a personal relationship with God. These movements helped kickstart a global missionary movement. Moravian Saxony, 1720s Methodist John Wesley

Britain, 1730s Southern Baptist United States, 1845 Salvation Army William Booth

Britain, 1865 Seventh Day Adventist United States, 1863 Holiness churches Britain, 19th C Modern Evangelical movement Evangelicalism has become more influential in America even as mainline denominations have declined. Pentecostals and charismatics, who follow a form of evangelicalism that includes prophesying and speaking in tongues, have spread from America to the developing world, where they have become the dominant form of Protestant Christianity. Pentecostal United States, early 20th C Assemblies of God United States, 1914 Universal Church of the Kingdom of God Brazil, 1977 Redeemed Christian Church of God Nigeria, 1952 Charismatic movements United States, 1960s Source: The Economist *Denomination or movement no longer exists

Many mansions Origins of selected denominations As the Roman Empire disintegrated, the church, too, began to break up. Unlike their equivalents in the Eastern church, Roman Catholic Popes were able to maintain some independence from distant emperors and other political powers. The western church became a single, transnational unit. Early Christianity Eastern Orthodox Great Schism 7th C-1054 Roman Catholic Pre-reformation Independence from rulers paid huge dividends. Because the Roman Catholic church claimed a privileged connection to divine salvation, it could command huge sums for access to it. The church was regularly accused of corruption, and reformers questioned its monopoly on salvation. They were often branded heretics and faced savage reprisals. Roman Catholic Lollard* John Wycliffe

England, mid-14th C Hussite* Jan Hus

Bohemia, 1410s European Reformation Like reformers before him, Martin Luther criticised corruption in the church and questioned its role as intercessor between man and God: he taught that religious truth came from the Bible and needed no interpreter. Unlike his predecessors, Luther found princes to back him. Others soon followed him out of the church: most notably, in 1534, England. Roman Catholic The Reformation 1517 Lutheran Martin Luther Diet of Worms Germany, 1521 Anglican Henry VIII Act of Supremacy England, 1534 Reformed John Calvin

Switzerland, 1530s Anabaptist Switzerland, 1525 Presbyterian John Knox

Scotland, 1560s Mennonite Switzerland, 1537 Church of Scotland English Reformation Henry VIII broke England from the Catholic fold with a personal agenda—remarriage—not a theological one. His courtiers, clergy, and heirs fought over Anglican doctrine for decades. When King Charles I tried to enforce orthodoxy, he triggered, and lost, a civil war against the “nonconformists”. Ultimately, England settled into a truce where most Protestants were tolerated. Reformed Anglican Episcopalian United States, 17th C Puritan* England, 16th-17th C Congregational England, 17th C Baptist England, 1609 Quaker George Fox

England, 1650s Great Awakenings The relatively open atmosphere of England and its colonies proved ripe for a new wave of religious fervour. In the 18th and 19th centuries, Britain and America saw “Great Awakenings” of evangelicalism, which believes in the authority of the Bible and the need for a spiritual rebirth. This brought a focus on good works and a personal relationship with God. These movements helped kickstart a global missionary movement. Hussite* Lutheran Anglican Baptist Pietist* Germany late 17th C Southern Baptist United States, 1845 Moravian Saxony, 1720s Methodist John Wesley

Britain, 1730s Seventh Day Adventist United States, 1863 Salvation Army William Booth

Britain, 1865 Holiness churches Britain, 19th C Modern Evangelical movement Evangelicalism has become more influential in America even as mainline denominations have declined. Pentecostals and charismatics, who follow a form of evangelicalism that includes prophesying and speaking in tongues, have spread from America to the developing world, where they have become the dominant form of Protestant Christianity. Holiness churches Pentecostal United States, early 20th C hundreds of denominations such as Assemblies of God United States, 1914 Universal Church of the Kingdom of God Brazil, 1977 Charismatic movements United States, 1960s Redeemed Christian Church of God Nigeria, 1952 *Denomination or movement no longer exists Source: The Economist

Many mansions Origins of selected denominations As the Roman Empire disintegrated, the church, too, began to break up. Unlike their equivalents in the Eastern church, Roman Catholic Popes were able to maintain some independence from distant emperors and other political powers. The western church became a single, transnational unit. Early Christianity Eastern Orthodox Great Schism 7th C-1054 Roman Catholic Pre-reformation Independence from rulers paid huge dividends. Because the Roman Catholic church claimed a privileged connection to divine salvation, it could command huge sums for access to it. The church was regularly accused of corruption, and reformers questioned its monopoly on salvation. They were often branded heretics and faced savage reprisals. Lollard* John Wycliffe

England, mid-14th C Hussite* Jan Hus

Bohemia, 1410s The Reformation 1517 European Reformation Like reformers before him, Martin Luther criticised corruption in the church and questioned its role as intercessor between man and God: he taught that religious truth came from the Bible and needed no interpreter. Unlike his predecessors, Luther found princes to back him. Others soon followed him out of the church: most notably, in 1534, England. Lutheran Martin Luther Diet of Worms Germany, 1521 Reformed John Calvin

Switzerland, 1530s Anabaptist Switzerland, 1525 Presbyterian John Knox

Scotland, 1560s Anglican Henry VIII Act of Supremacy England, 1534 Mennonite Switzerland, 1537 Church of Scotland Amish English Reformation Henry VIII broke England from the Catholic fold with a personal agenda—remarriage—not a theological one. His courtiers, clergy, and heirs fought over Anglican doctrine for decades. When King Charles I tried to enforce orthodoxy, he triggered, and lost, a civil war against the “nonconformists”. Ultimately, England settled into a truce where most Protestants were tolerated. Puritan* England, 16th-17th C Episcopalian United States, 17th C Baptist England, 1609 Congregational England, 17th C Quaker George Fox

England, 1650s Pietist* Germany, late 17th C Great Awakenings The relatively open atmosphere of England and its colonies proved ripe for a new wave of religious fervour. In the 18th and 19th centuries, Britain and America saw “Great Awakenings” of evangelicalism, which believes in the authority of the Bible and the need for a spiritual rebirth. This brought a focus on good works and a personal relationship with God. These movements helped kickstart a global missionary movement. Moravian Saxony, 1720s Methodist John Wesley

Britain, 1730s Southern Baptist United States, 1845 Salvation Army William Booth

Britain, 1865 Seventh Day Adventist United States, 1863 Holiness churches Britain, 19th C Modern Evangelical movement Evangelicalism has become more influential in America even as mainline denominations have declined. Pentecostals and charismatics, who follow a form of evangelicalism that includes prophesying and speaking in tongues, have spread from America to the developing world, where they have become the dominant form of Protestant Christianity. Pentecostal United States, early 20th C Assemblies of God United States, 1914 Universal Church of the Kingdom of God Brazil, 1977 Redeemed Christian Church of God Nigeria, 1952 Charismatic movements United States, 1960s Source: The Economist *Denomination or movement no longer exists

Many mansions Origins of selected denominations As the Roman Empire disintegrated, the church, too, began to break up. Unlike their equivalents in the Eastern church, Roman Catholic Popes were able to maintain some independence from distant emperors and other political powers. The western church became a single, transnational unit. Early Christianity Eastern Orthodox Great Schism 7th C-1054 Roman Catholic Pre-reformation Independence from rulers paid huge dividends. Because the Roman Catholic church claimed a privileged connection to divine salvation, it could command huge sums for access to it. The church was regularly accused of corruption, and reformers questioned its monopoly on salvation. They were often branded heretics and faced savage reprisals. Roman Catholic Lollard* John Wycliffe

England, mid-14th C Hussite* Jan Hus

Bohemia, 1410s European Reformation Like reformers before him, Martin Luther criticised corruption in the church and questioned its role as intercessor between man and God: he taught that religious truth came from the Bible and needed no interpreter. Unlike his predecessors, Luther found princes to back him. Others soon followed him out of the church: most notably, in 1534, England. Roman Catholic The Reformation 1517 Lutheran Martin Luther Diet of Worms Germany, 1521 Anglican Henry VIII Act of Supremacy England, 1534 Reformed John Calvin

Switzerland, 1530s Anabaptist Switzerland, 1525 Presbyterian John Knox

Scotland, 1560s Mennonite Switzerland, 1537 Church of Scotland English Reformation Henry VIII broke England from the Catholic fold with a personal agenda—remarriage—not a theological one. His courtiers, clergy, and heirs fought over Anglican doctrine for decades. When King Charles I tried to enforce orthodoxy, he triggered, and lost, a civil war against the “nonconformists”. Ultimately, England settled into a truce where most Protestants were tolerated. Reformed Anglican Episcopalian United States, 17th C Puritan* England, 16th-17th C Congregational England, 17th C Baptist England, 1609 Quaker George Fox

England, 1650s Great Awakenings The relatively open atmosphere of England and its colonies proved ripe for a new wave of religious fervour. In the 18th and 19th centuries, Britain and America saw “Great Awakenings” of evangelicalism, which believes in the authority of the Bible and the need for a spiritual rebirth. This brought a focus on good works and a personal relationship with God. These movements helped kickstart a global missionary movement. Lutheran Hussite* Baptist Anglican Pietist* Germany, late 17th C Southern Baptist United States, 1845 Moravian Saxony, 1720s Seventh Day Adventist United States, 1863 Methodist John Wesley

Britain, 1730s Salvation Army William Booth

Britain, 1865 Holiness churches Britain, 19th C Modern Evangelical movement Evangelicalism has become more influential in America even as mainline denominations have declined. Pentecostals and charismatics, who follow a form of evangelicalism that includes prophesying and speaking in tongues, have spread from America to the developing world, where they have become the dominant form of Protestant Christianity. Holiness churches Pentecostal United States, early 20th C Assemblies of God United States, 1914 Universal Church of the Kingdom of God Brazil, 1977 Redeemed Christian Church of God Nigeria, 1952 Charismatic movements United States, 1960s Source: The Economist *Denomination or movement no longer exists

Changed lives change places. Almolonga’s Pentecostal believers have brought new energy to their town. Where once the prison was full and drunks slumped in the streets, there is now a buzz of activity. A secondary school opened in 2003; it sends some of its graduates, all members of the indigenous K’iché people, to national universities. “We want one of our students to work at NASA,” says Mr Riscajche’s son, Oscar, who chairs the school board.

Scholars have been surprised by the developing world’s Protestant boom. K.M. Panikkar, an Indian journalist, spoke for many when he predicted in the 1950s that Christianity would struggle in a post-colonial world. What might survive, he suggested, in both Protestant and Catholic forms, would be a more modern, liberal form of the faith. The Pentecostal expansion proved him quite wrong. Peter Berger of Boston University, a leading sociologist of religion (who died this summer), saw it as a key part of a wider “desecularisation” of the world.

To some extent, this growth of Pentecostalism among the global poor marks a loss of faith in political and secular creeds. As Mike Davies, an American writer and activist, put it in 2004, “Marx has yielded the historical stage to Mohammed and the Holy Ghost.” But it is worth noting that between 2000 and 2017 the 1.9% annual growth in the number of Muslims was mostly due to an expanding population, whereas a significant part of Pentecostalism’s expansion of 2.2% a year was due to conversion. Half of Latin America’s Protestants did not grow up in the faith.

Their emphasis on personal experience makes Pentecostalism and similar beliefs culturally malleable; their simplicity and ability to dispense with clergy gives them a nimbleness that suits people on the move. They tend to erode distinctions of faith based on ethnicity or birthplace. To Berger, that made this sort of Protestantism a modernising force. It is, he argued, “the only major religion which, at the core of its piety, insists on an act of personal decision.” Its mixture of distinctive individualism and strong, supportive communities, he wrote, makes it “a very powerful package indeed”.

It is a bootstrapping faith. Anyone pulling himself up in the world can join. Many of those who do are from the margins of society. Churches provide migrants in their congregations with employment, support and the possibility of advancement. Where the faith is not part of the establishment, as in Latin America or China, it carries the potential for disruption.

For some sociologists, such ideas evoke the ghost of Max Weber, whose book, “The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism”, published in 1905, posited that modern capitalism was the unintended consequence of an “inner-worldly asceticism” in early modern Protestantism. Such people made money but did not spend it, creating a thrifty, hard-working, literate, self-denying citizenry who drove forward the economies of their countries.

Few economists these days put much stock in Weber’s views. They point out that there was plenty of proto-capitalism—in 13th-century Italian city-states, for instance—before the Reformation, and the development of its modern form was influenced by many other factors. Today the idea seems out of date: the borders that once ensured an overlap between national markets and economic moralities have given way to capital flows and a consumer culture in which unrestricted gratification seems to be the norm.

Yet some hear echoes of Weber’s ideas in Pentecostalism’s growing social influence. “In Guatemala the Pentecostal church is just about the only functioning organisation of civil society,” says Kevin O’Neill of the University of Toronto. Almost all the drug-rehabilitation centres in Guatemala City, of which there are more than 200, are run by Pentecostal volunteers. Throughout Latin America, there are hints of the faith’s socioeconomic impact. A recent study of Brazilian men by Joseph Potter of the University of Texas and others found that Protestant faith was associated with an increase in the earnings of male workers over a 30-year period, especially among less educated people of colour.

In Almolonga itself, in the first decade of this century, farmers on average earned twice as much as those in the next village, where Protestantism had not taken off. Sceptics attribute this to the more fertile soil or new methods of farming. But according to Berger, “Max Weber is alive and well and living in Guatemala.”