From Shame to Confidence

Abstract

On a Saturday evening in December 2002, more than 100 primarily undocumented immigrants from Mexico and other parts of Latin America gathered in the warehouse-turned-sanctuary of the Misión Católica de Nuestra Señora de las Américas in the Atlanta suburb of Doraville, Georgia, to participate in a Catholic Charismatic prayer group called Grupo Fe y Esperanza (Faith and Hope Group). Toward the end of the evening, after a lively session of praise and worship and a brief lesson, Selena came forward to offer her testimony. This single Mexican woman in her late twenties had participated in the group since she arrived in Doraville three years earlier. She worked day shifts in a local factory, barely earning enough to pay for her rented room, but she was unwilling to take on more shifts because the extra work would interfere with her activities at the Misión Católica. She was very active in the Grupo Fe y Esperanza, often leading prayer and giving lessons.On this evening, Selena entitled her testimony "From Shame to Confidence." She explained that, like many other members of the group, she had first started attending simply to have something to do on Saturday nights besides sit alone in her room. At first, she was very shy and would not clap her hands or lift them toward the sky to praise God. She thought that praising God aloud was what members of la otra religión (the evangélicos) did and was embarrassed to do it. Then, to her surprise, she said, "my embarrassment turned into confidence, and I began to pray aloud and praise God in word and song." In a discursive gesture very common among female leaders in this group, Selena proclaimed, "I never would have imagined myself in front of such a large group leading prayer, but here I am by the work of the Holy Spirit!" 1 27 Marie Friedmann Marquardt received her Ph.D. in sociology of religion at Emory University. She is coauthor of Globalizing the Sacred: Religion across the Americas (2003) and has published articles on globalization, Marian apparitions, and religion and immigration to the United States.

Making a Difference: The Political Life of Religious Conversion

“…Contrary to the experiences of Taiwanese women, South Asian domestic workers in Kuwait develop Islamic piety in relation to their family relationships, which allows them to develop a broader sense of connectivity and belonging (Ahmad 2017). Other scholars argue that while such effective consequences can transform women's experiences in the wider world, these consequences are not necessarily crafted and calculated strategically (Marquardt 2005).…”

Küresel göçün sosyo-mekânsallığı: ulusötesi mekânlar / yerelötesi yerler, topluluklar ve kimlikler

“…Din, göç deneyiminin tüm yönlerini (yolculuk, yerleşme, ağların ortaya çıkışı gibi) desteklemektedir. Dinsel aidiyet, sadece göçmenleri anavatandaki ve yerleşilen ülkedeki din kardeşlerine bağlamakla kalmamakta; küresel dinsel hareketler, üyelerini, dünyanın dört bir yanındaki aynı inanıştan diğer insanlarla birleştirmektedir (Marquardt 2005'ten aktaran Levitt ve Jaworsky, 2007). Göçmenlerin inanç topluluklarına katılımları ve diğer dini topluluklar hakkındaki algıları, kimlik inşasında birleştirici ve ayırıcı etmenlerden bazılarını oluşturmaktadır.…”

Gender Attitudes in Religious Schools: A Comparative Study of Religious and Secular Private Schools in Guatemala

“…Some scholars, such as Gill (1990), conclude that the Pentecostal religion that is growing rapidly in the region is detrimental to women because many Pentecostals view the subordination of women as part of the natural order that is sanctioned by God. On the other hand, a number of researchers, including Marquardt (2005); Mariz and Machado (1997);and Brusco (1993), have found that evangelicalism is often supportive of women's autonomy. This is because its emphasis on family life serves as an antidote to machismo, providing women with practical improvements in the form of respect and support from their husbands.…”