Protestant growth in Central America has been
documented by numerous scholars over the past several decades. The Protestant movement has been considered
by some to be the “most significant religious movement in the world today”
(Hallum 2003: 2). This paper examined
the elements of Protestant growth in Central America through historical,
materialist, and psychological perspectives (Dow 2005). I used an ethnographic study to examine the
development and influence of Pentecostalism in Indian Church Village, located
in the Orange Walk District of Northwestern Belize, Central America. Indian Church Village is a rural community of
predominately Catholic Guatemalan refugees which has recently experienced the
addition of a Pentecostal Iglesia. Ethnographic research conducted in May and
June of 2005 illustrates the effects that Protestantism has had on community
development in Indian Church Village.
Interviews and observations conducted with villagers of both Christian
faiths illustrate the peaceful yet somewhat tense interactions between the two
faiths, providing an interesting micro-level account of the Protestant movement
in Belize and Central America.