Artículo

Spanish evangelical mobilizations in public space: between recognition and evangelization

Evangelical Christianity has had a significance growth in Spain among religious minorities in the last two decades, being actually the confession that stands out among them by the number of places of worship in the State (Observatorio del Pluralismo Religioso, diciembre 2017). This growth is also expressed in a major presence of evangelical Christianity in public space: on the one hand, in their traditional confessional actions outdoors, led by single or —temporarily— several coordinated churches in the evangelization —that is, preaching the Gospel one to one or to the shifting crowd, delivering flyers, celebrating religious services—, but also in new ways of evangelical collective action in Spanish religious field: mobilizations that started in 2007, in the form of parades and gatherings in the main cities on the same date, followed each year by a massive mobilization in Madrid. The aim of this communication is to explore these innovative modes of visibilization in public space focusing on a case study, the events of the 500th Reformation Anniversary in Madrid during a week on July 2017, taking into account the relation among the call to the evangelization of the country, the construction of an unitary identity —that eludes the diversity of actual denominations— and the demand of social recognition for its members considering their religious commitment.

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