An impactful '30 minuts' that could be a series

On this Sunday's 30 minuts, Power and Glory, kept you glued to the sofa. The investigation into the rise of evangelical churches in Catalonia might initially seem like a matter rather tangential to the country's reality, especially in less religious environments. Perhaps for this reason, they began with three testimonies from Catalans who have become involved. A carpenter from Bellcaire d'Empordà and a couple from Girona served as bait to introduce us to a story that, little by little, took on an unexpected dimension. The 30 minuts sought the viewer's perplexity at scenes of religious fervor and spiritual ecstasy, amidst chants and the pastor's shouts. The difference between the Catalan temperament, more reserved, and the Latin American one, more passionate, was highlighted, with an imprecise use of 'us' and 'them'. us and them.The subsequent examples of neo-Pentecostal Churches in Catalonia made one impatiently await some turn that went beyond that incomprehensible showcase. The overacted pushes to the heads of the faithful to make them fall backward as if fainting, the promises to "dry up cancer," and the cries to heaven to ask for "a new womb" for a woman caused consternation. It took courage to record it without hidden cameras and with the testimony of the very pastors who lead these spectacles. Fortunately, the turning point arrived: the manipulation of people and economic interests. However, the indulgence and fear with which experts in religious matters evaluated that panorama were disappointing. After these images of healing rituals with shouts, roars, and fits of hysteria, Guillem Correa, general secretary of the Evangelical Council of Catalonia – and director of the program Néixer de nou on 3Cat –, remained mute and immobile. He did not want to comment on what we had just seen. We heard the journalist ask him if that was manipulation, but he did not even blink and remained silent. Silence implies consent. It is obvious that talking about religion and its tentacles, not always honest, still generates fear, especially when the line between a Church and a sect becomes more blurred.

The massive gathering in a sports pavilion in Valencia to attend the meeting with the international apostle Guillermo Maldonado was the trigger to understand how all this connects with our daily lives. Mònica Clua, a political scientist specializing in Trumpism, was the necessary key to the relevance of it all: religion as a syrup to spread ultraconservative ideology. The underlying gender bias until then also became more explicit. The narration of "30 minuts" cast a prophecy: "Today, evangelical Churches have changed the face of working-class neighborhoods and the peripheries of large cities. In the coming years, their impact can transform society from the ground up." The report "Poder i glòria" was more suited for a documentary series than for a "30 minuts", as many more threads could be unraveled.