Toward a Classification System of Religious Groups ... - Prolades.com

Document #1:
TOWARD A CLASSIFICATION SYSTEM OF
RELIGIOUS GROUPS IN THE AMERICAS
BY MAJOR TRADITIONS AND FAMILY TYPES
INTRODUCTION
During more than 35 years, the author has sought to gain a clearer understanding
of the origin, growth and development of religious movements around the world. We
have approached this study from the perspective of an evangelical missiologist
("missiology" is the study of the Christian Mission), who has attempted to understand
the phenomenology of religion aided by the social sciences.
Much of our research has been in the area of the sociology of religion, and we have
focused largely on the Latin American and Caribbean cultural regions. One of the early
results of our research was The Religious Dimension in Hispanic Los Angeles: A
Protestant Case Study (Pasadena, CA: William Carey Press, 1974). This study was
done while the author was a student in the School of World Mission at Fuller
Theological Seminary in Pasadena, California (1968-1972; M.A. in Missiology, 1974).
In 1972, he moved to Costa Rica and began his missionary career with the Latin
America Mission, where he served with the International Institute for In-Depth
Evangelization (INDEPTH), and later as Executive Director of the Missiological Institute
of the Americas (1981-1989).
Between 1974 and 1981, the author coordinated a regional study of the Protestant
Movement in Central America, under the auspices of PROLADES (Programa
Latinoamericano de Estudios Sociorreligiosos/Latin American Socio-Religious Studies
Program). At that time, PROLADES was the research department of INDEPTH but this
function was incorporated into IMDELA when it was founded in 1981.
Part of the information from this regional study was published in 1982 by the
MARC Division of World Vision International, edited by Clifton L. Holland, World
Christianity: Central America and the Caribbean (Monrovia, CA). The larger body
of information from this study remains unpublished: "A History of the Protestant
Movement in Central America: 1780-1980" (Doctor of Missiology dissertation, School
of World Mission, Fuller Theological Seminary, 1985). The original text was written in
English, but we have also produced a Spanish version and updated the graphics to
1990 for both versions.
Since 1980 the author has done similar research in at least 15 countries of Latin
America and the Caribbean, as well as helping with research projects sponsored by
other organizations. One such project was developed as a joint venture between
IDEA/PROLADES and VELA (Visión Evangelizadora Latinoamericana/Latin American
Evangelistic Vision) in Mexico City, under the leadership of Professor Galo Vázquez
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