Power, Gender and Cultural Change in the Chilean Pentecostalism

Based on research in a socalled "traditional Pentecostal church" in Valparaiso, Chile, this paper explores the complexity of Pentecostal gender politics. I argue that one of the most significant contributions of Pentecostalism to processes of cultural change in Chile (and Latin America) lies in the movement's potential to bring about transformations in the private sphere by redefining gender relationships. Apart from (re) presenting a few classic arguments, namely that participation in Pentecostal churches leads to a resocialisation and domestication of men while at the same time providing women with new public positions, I demonstrate how a sense of female empowerment and autonomy is constituted through a personal love relationship with Jesus. Finally I argue that the Pentecostal control of the sexuality and physical appearance of women can be seen as a strategy for recreating a profound sense of psychological security and while at the same time imposing a sacred order in an otherwise messy "world."