From the blood of the martyrs to the baptism of the spirit in El Salvador

This article discusses the rise and proliferation of individual, emotion and miracle-centered Pentecostal, or Spirit-filled Christianity in El Salvador. Over the past half century, Roman Catholic allegiance has declined to 50 percent of the population, and less than half of those are non-practicing. Meanwhile, Evangelical and Pentecostal varieties of Christianity have grown to about 40 percent of the population with high levels of practice. This Spirit-filled movement is most visible in two mega churches, Tabernaculo Biblico Bauptista and Mision Cristiana Elim, each of which have memberships of over 80,000. However, this movement is also conspicuous in the thousands of small make-shift churches, and the rapidly growing Catholic Charismatic Movement. Overall, this movement is directly connected to the social and political turmoil associated with the Civil War (1980-1992), and especially post-war efforts to modernize and democratize the country.