Testimonios and Popular Religion in Mainline North American Hispanic Protestantism

Posted on May 12, 2015 by PLT Staff

Paper presented by Luis Pedraja at the second meeting of the Lived Theology and Race Workgroup in Memphis, Tennessee. Pedraja examines testimonios (testimonies) that he has gathered from various individuals about their encounters with God. He also discusses the different types of testimonies and examines their value to both the individual and the church community with which they share these stories.

Excerpt: “Testimonios, the people’s accounts of their particular religious experiences in Hispanic churches, are invaluable sources for theological reflection within the church. Not only do they serve a didactic purpose in the congregation, but they also give us a glimpse into the complex theological depths and insights that can occur in the people’s interpretations of these experiences. In articulating their experiences, people place them within a continuum that expands beyond their tradition to include that of those people who inhabit the stories found in our scriptures.”

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