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Paper short abstract:

I will examine how religious beliefs inform and shape social outreach imaginaries among Latin American Pentecostal churches in Barcelona. I seek to contribute to anthropological conversations regarding the role of immigration and religion in the humanitarian field in neoliberal settings.

Paper long abstract:

In times when States' role in providing welfare is constantly negotiated in political discourses and policies implementation, individuals and communities are often called upon to utilise their scarce resources -time, money, labour, emotional care- to help vulnerable populations in need. Some who respond to these calls are driven by faith.

The recent growth of Evangelical churches has reshaped the humanitarian field in Catalonia. There are 164 Protestant NGOs in Spain, and their combined overall budget places them as the fifth largest network of NGOs in the country (Tarquis, 2017). According to data from the Official representatives of evangelical Churches around 50% of evangelical churches based in Spain regularly carry out social outreach activities (Diaconía, 2015). Immigrants not only make up the congregation of many of these Evangelical churches in Spain (Montañés, 2015; Perez-Agote and Santiago, 2009), but also engage actively in outreach activities. How do ethnic and national identities impact the outreach activities of evangelical churches? Are humanitarian activities carried out by Christian immigrants a form of claiming local belonging and citizenship?

In this communication, I will examine how religious beliefs inform and shape social outreach imaginaries and practices among Latin American Pentecostal churches in Barcelona. I seek to contribute to anthropological conversations regarding the role of immigration and religion in the humanitarian field in neoliberal settings.