Evangelical churches are expanding: there are twice as many as twenty years ago

BarcelonaEvangelical or Protestant churches in Catalonia have more than doubled in the last two decades. While there were 341 in 2004, last year ended with 889 places of worship, according to the count by the Directorate General of Religious Affairs of the Department of Justice. Despite the rapid increase in spaces dedicated to this faith, the Barometer on Religiosity and the Management of its Diversity does not show a similarly significant increase in the population that identifies with this faith, which also has many branches, denominations, and internal currents. The latest data in Catalonia, from 2023, indicates that 3.6% of the population belongs to this faith. Sources consulted by ARA, including both experts and people involved in the evangelical movement, see different reasons behind this increase. The General Directorate of Religious Affairs attributes this to immigration from Latin America, sub-Saharan Africa, and some Eastern European countries, but also points out that "part of the Catalan population may have been attracted to the more experiential and straightforward forms of evangelical worship." They cite the Roma population as an example.

The same sources indicate that evangelical churches "tend to operate very autonomously," which differs from other denominations that require authorization within the hierarchy. That is to say, the opening of a new center does not depend on a hierarchical organization, but rather on the will of a group of believers. This means that the existence of evangelical churches and premises "is not necessarily linked to the growth of the evangelical population, but may also be due to schisms within communities or the missionary zeal of some individuals."

Mar Griera, director of the Sociology of Religion research group at the Autonomous University of Barcelona (UAB), agrees, stating that understanding the expansion of evangelical churches hinges on the fact that the process for opening places of worship is completely different from that of a parish. Evangelical churches do not require hierarchical approval, as the latter does. "This helps explain why the expansion is faster in the Pentecostal case," she explains.

Noemí Cortès is a member of one of the oldest evangelical churches in Catalonia, the Brethren Assembly on Teruel Street in Barcelona. It was founded in 1869. She explains that her church hasn't noticed a significant increase in members, but they have seen a proliferation of churches, which she attributes primarily to the arrival of migrants from Protestant backgrounds. In fact, she believes many people come to her church to connect with others from their own countries.

The evangelical "umbrella"

The community members consulted by ARA agree on a fourth reason behind this expansion of places of worship, which Dàmaris Playà, from the secretariat of the Evangelical Council of Catalonia, summarizes as follows: "not everything that seems evangelical is evangelical," and this is related to the wide diversity of branches within the movement. Despite the diversity of the evangelical church since its origins, Playà draws a clear line regarding the groups that have gained strength in recent years, referring directly to neo-Pentecostal groups. Playà says that this movement also presents itself as evangelical churches, but, typically, the leader plays a very dominant role. “They have a lot of power, a lot of authority, they are strong leaders… And that directly clashes with what we as evangelical churches believe,” he asserts. “We believe in fraternal communities, where everyone is equal. Any church that deviates from this path, no matter how much it tries to present itself as an ‘evangelical church,’ is at odds with that.” He clarifies: “There are no churches of this kind in the Evangelical Council.”

In contrast, Jonathan Navarro, president of Methodists and Presbyterians in Catalonia and pastor of Rubí, explains that they have been “excluded” from the Council due to the rise of neo-Pentecostal groups with more conservative ideas. In fact, he presides over the Evangelical Church of Catalonia and affirms that they try “not to use the word ‘evangelical’ because of all its connotations and ambiguities” in light of the rise of this movement. "The problem is that we use the term 'evangelical' as a catch-all," Navarro adds. In fact, he believes the growth of evangelical places of worship is due to the fact that "under the evangelical umbrella," centers are opening with which his church does not identify and which he defines by their conservative bias on issues such as LGBTQ+ rights and abortion. He also points to the lack of "democratic mechanisms" and that some of these centers are not registered as such. "There is regulation, but the truth is you can rent a space, put up a sign, and open it as a church."

"Christianity is becoming entrenched on the right"

Griera also emphasizes the diversity within Protestantism, but dismisses the idea of drawing a clear line between Pentecostal and Neo-Pentecostal. He does see the Pentecostal expansion as being accompanied "by a global geopolitical dynamic, by a Christianity that is becoming anchored to the right, an evangelical Christianity," but clarifies that this is also happening in Eastern European countries, in the Orthodox Christian Church, and in the Catholic Church. "It's a right-wing Christian mobilization that has gained momentum, and in the Protestant case, especially within the Pentecostal context," he summarizes.

"Not all of these churches have such an open mind yet. It's been difficult for us, but over time we've been making progress," says Noemí Cortès regarding the rise of this more conservative movement. She also believes this is creating an image of evangelicals as "more closed-minded than they actually are."

Regarding whether there is a more conservative movement, Griera explains that the first political involvement of these currents was in the United States and that currently there is "a significant conservative expansion." In this sense, the expert places this "push" in recent decades, since approximately the 1980s, although it is now stronger in Brazil, with the evangelical branch in Parliament. And all this, she concludes, differs from the more apolitical position that evangelicals have historically held.