Religion in the slums
The case for religion tends to be much more convincing than the case for belief. Mike Davis, author of Planet of Slums, plans to discuss Pentecostalism in his next book. Meanwhile, he says:
For someone like myself, writing from the left, it’s essential to come to grips with Pentecostalism. This is the largest self-organized movement of poor urban people in the world – at least among movements that emerged in the twentieth century. It has shown an ability to take root, dynamically, not only in Latin America but in southern and western Africa, and – to a much smaller extent – in east Asia. I think many people on the left have made the mistake of assuming that Pentecostalism is a reactionary force – and it’s not. It’s actually a hugely important phenomenon of the postmodern city, and of the culture of the urban poor in Latin American and Africa.
Far from being an escapist sigh of the oppressed, this is religion as a pragmatic way of dealing with the surrounding world. As Eliza Griswold writes in a piece on religion in Nigeria:
Pentecostalism has updated Max Weber’s Protestant work ethic for the 21st century. Pentecostals do not drink, gamble, or engage in extramarital sex; so all of that formerly illicit energy can go into either business or education.
Grey as that life may sound, I can't fault it as a route out of the slums. It would be nice to have a secular alternative with as much force as religion gets by making up stories, but I can't see it happening yet. Meanwhile I'll keep on looking, forlornly, for a godless cult to join.