Normally we don’t report on religion unless we find something that seems  unusual. And we have noticed something in Chile over six or seven years that seems to us worth mentioning for those who are interested–whichever way you look at it.

We don’t know if what we see is confined to the south of Chile since there are some things that you are not likely to notice unless you spend some time in an area. Although we have visited Chile from the far north to the far south, we have continued to return over these years to this same area of southern Chile–the same area we are currently investigating after a number of years of absence.

In the south of Chile there is a serious Christian evangelistic movement. We first noticed it seven years ago and it was even more evident on this trip back. It isn’t some kind of formal, liturgical movement or attempt to add members to an organization. You can quickly detect that these people are serious about their faith.

There are a few things about our area of South America that, in particular, impress us compared to the United States. So many U. S. citizens feel so confident that their country is the most free in the world, they have freedom of speech, freedom of assembly, and so on. We know that this was once true, and we ourselves believed that over many years. But it is beyond us that so many think that it still is.

In this part of the world there is no designated “free speech zone” as there often is in the States to which one must limit their protests. In Chile, Argentina and Uruguay, and probably other countries, the entire country is a free speech zone. If people here decide to protest, they will take it right to Congresso (the Congress) or to the Casa Rosada (the equivalent of the White House). Also it is Christmas. Although we don’t celebrate Christmas ourselves, still we see manger scenes in public areas here and no one is telling people you can’t do that.

But it goes further. About six years ago we were visiting a friend in Valdivia. We were walking together toward the dock. Valdivia is another very interesting Chile town where I wish we could take you on this visit. They have ocean access through a river that flows through their area and the fishing boats come in to a dock there where the fishermen clean and sell their fresh fish. So we were walking down to buy some fresh salmon.

One of the things we like about Chile is the fact that all the towns have a central plaza with seating and it is common for people to gather there, sit on the benches and visit. Buenos Aires has similar plazas but the camaraderie that we observed in Chile is absent in Buenos Aires, where people go to sit alone or with a friend on a bench. That may be different in smaller towns in Argentina but Bariloche plazas were the same as Buenos Aires when we lived there. But in Chile the people go to socialize. You can always find someone to talk with in the central plaza in Chile.

In Valdivia and other cities there are often performances in the plaza. They are not usually professional people, only locals, but they are interesting. The performance is likely to be juggling, sometimes singing. But some of the finest break dancing I ever saw was in the central plaza of Valdivia. How a teenage boy can spin upside down on the top of his head is beyond me but I’ve seen it happen there.

As we walked to the dock, we passed the plaza. The music coming from the plaza drew us in. This was a different kind of “show” that day. At the time I spoke almost no Spanish so I didn’t understand the words but I certainly understood the spirit. People were singing from their hearts. I stopped at the end of the park to observe. My friend, who is Catholic, said with disdain, “It’s religious!” Even though I didn’t understand the words of the song I already knew that. As we walked on she told me they are “Christianos” and they told her that being Catholic alone would not get her into heaven. She was very upset with them for saying that

But the last time I saw her she had changed. She was a business owner and had made the accidental discovery that if she hired the “Christianos” nothing ever got stolen. They were completely trustworthy.

It especially impresses us that these people were holding evangelistic services in the  park–unmolested. Freedom of speech is alive and well in Chile.

We saw many other incidents at the time. But on this trip, upon arrival at Temuco, we took a taxi to our hotel. The taxi driver turned on a  particular radio station. This time I knew enough Spanish to recognize what was being said. So I commented to the driver that I noticed this was a Christian station. He said it was. I said in Spanish, “Are you Christiano?” Yes he was. So I told him about what I had observed in Valdivia. He became very animated and started reciting a list of other cities in Chile where the same thing is happening.

Incidentally we noticed this same development in Peru when we were there seven years ago. We went to the huge central plaza right in front of the presidential palace. A young Peruvian man was preaching there. My Spanish was nearly non existent then but I got someone to translate for me. It was a similar situation.

On this trip to the south of Chile this time, we were surprised by the number of “Christianos” that we encountered. For some reason you can almost recognize them before you ask. The place where we stayed two blocks from downtown was very well run, the best that we experienced on this trip. I am an early riser and they told us that they served breakfast from 6 a.m. to 12 noon. So, true to form, I went in to the dining area at 6 a.m. looking for coffee. The dining room was deserted and I ended up having to call for the server. I guess they didn’t expect anyone to really be up at that hour, even though they said breakfast would be served beginning at 6. I noticed a book open on a small table among a bunch of papers. It looked suspiciously like a well-used Bible so I checked. It was a Reina Valera. The Reina Valera is the Spanish equivalent to the King James Version that purists in the faith usually stick to.

I commented to the server, who happened to be the son of the owner, that I had noticed the Reina Valera and I said, “Is your family Christiano?” He broke into a grin that would rival the sunshine. Yes, he said.

Out of curiosity, we have checked the Chile section of  the CIA World Factbook. It says the country is 70% Catholic, 15% evangelical (Christian but non catholic) and then lists even more minor numbers for other religions. We wonder if these are still valid figures. In any event, we think that we are noticing a change of trend in southern Chile.