CONICET | Buscador de Institutos y Recursos Humanos

Researchers usually address the political aspect of evangelical groups highlighting their involvement in party politics, i.e. their ability to create new organizations or form alliances with the existing ones, introducing in the electoral field the assumption of a more or less homogeneous or easily influenced Christian vote. However, historical experiences in Argentina show that launching into Politics is full of obstacles. In turn, some of the most important innovations introduced by Neo-Pentecostalism are linked to the consolidation of megachurches in middle and high class neighbourhoods and the training of evangelical leaders on a large scale. Both these innovations develop in correlation with the Gospels shift towards the world and the need of a social change, i.e., a Christian call to transform their environment. Following these leads, the aim of this article is to explore the political implications of Evangelical leadership in megachurches located in Buenos Aires, Argentina. This work is based on original materials, compiled for a research project using ethnographic techniques such as participant observation, in-depth interviews and documentation review.