Government regulation, social anomie and protestant growth in Latin America - A cross-national analysis

The rapid growth of evangelical Protestantism in Latin America has received a substantial amount of scholarly attention in recent years. The most comm on explanation for this phenomenon has been a variant of 'social anomie' th eory that focuses on changes in social demand for religion. Individuals exp eriencing socio-economic crisis become displaced from their communities and lose their cultural identities. These individuals are then more susceptibl e to the appeals of new religious movements. An alternative, supply-side hy pothesis is advanced. I argue that the degree of government regulation of r eligious economies can best account for cross-national variations in Protes tant growth. Less restrictive laws regulating religious organizations lower the cost of consuming religion, thus leading to an increase in religious d iversity and participation. Comparative statistical analysis of 20 Latin Am erican countries supports the latter hypothesis. This analysis suggests tha t secularization is a function of government policy.