Evangelical Costa Rican Churches,Folk-Catholics,and Conversion: The Case Study of the Ritual Prayer of El Rezo del Niño

Abstract

Although over four hundred years of Roman and folk-Catholicism have greatly shaped the consciousness of Costa Rican culture and identity, evangelicals continue preaching to Costa Ricans that in order to follow Christ they must reject being “Catholic.” This article proposes that evangelicals should facilitate conversion as a process of innovation and re-socialization through the adaptation of folk-Catholic communal rituals, adding the rich evangelical tradition of studying the Scripture. It presents an alternative ritual based upon the folk-Catholic tradition of El Rezo del Niño as an example of how evangelicals can present Christ without rejecting Costa Rican cultural traditions.