The candidates and the churches

One aspect of the campaigns of El Salvador's presidential candidates is their interaction with the country's churches, particularly the evangelical churches which are the fastest growing segment of churches in the country.

Rodrigo Avila meeting with evangelicals in Santa Ana.



Funes meets with 600 evangelical pastors.

From what I can observe, the FMLN appears to be more intentional in its outreach. This may reflect the fact that at least some observers felt the evangelical vote in El Salvador went primarily to Tony Saca and ARENA in the 2004 elections. I recently received a copy of an FMLN document distributed to the country's churches. The document is titled "Moral Rescue Plan" with a subtitle "God as the center and engine of the change that is coming. Without morality, there is no hope." The objective of the plan is described as joining hands with the moral forces in the country to confront the evils that afflict the society. The plan describes efforts to work with the churches for rehabilitation of gang members, to stem the disintegration of families as a result of migration, and to combat HIV/AIDS and teen pregnancy through teachings of abstinence and sexual fidelity.

The conservative parties stumbled in their relationship with ELIM church, the largest evangelical church in El Salvador. One of the associate pastors at the church, Jose Tomas Chevez, was the presidential candidate for PCN. Yet after the January 2009 elections, the PCN and ARENA cut a deal in which the PCN leadership threw its support towards ARENA and Avila and jettisoned Chevez over his objections. In a statement following the PCN/ARENA deal, the pastors of ELIM church decried the betrayal by the PCN of its presidential ticket. This week, Chevez threw his support behind Mauricio Funes, breaking with the PCN leadership.

At least some churches are resisting being lured into presidential politics. On its website, the ELIM church has a statement noting that the political preferences of evangelicals vary in pretty much the same way as the rest of the Salvadoran population and the opinion of one pastor or another was not going to alter that fact. In November 2008, the Catholic bishops of El Salvador called on the priests in the country to stay out of politics during this election season. Contrast those positions with the politicized religiosity which David Holiday noted from some churches (supporting the FMLN) in the days before the 2004 elections.