Ofelia López – A Mexican Village’s Evangelical Shift

Ofelia López, 56, is Catholic and lives in Zongozotla, a small town in the highlands of Puebla state, Mexico. There, evangelicals outnumber Catholics. 

"I was baptized at the Catholic church here in town. Now there are many different sects here, mostly evangelical. Now the Catholics are the minority. In my family, most of my relatives have converted to other churches, but we still invite each other to our fiestas and celebrations. Sometimes my relatives don't come to our baptisms, but they'll attend the party after the ceremony. It's a bit disappointing that they don't come for the whole event. But if someone dies, everyone comes to the funeral. Everyone comes and contributes to the family and helps.

I think that the evangelicals have more rules. I think that's what people like about being evangelical, that it can put limits on your life. A lot of my relatives who converted used to drink a lot, or someone's husband drank and the wife saw an evangelical group as a type of rescue.

My daughter is Catholic but I wonder if she will marry an evangelical. I don't think that would be such a bad thing, as long as they respect their decisions."