60 CultureShock! Chile
guitars and accordions. Along the way they sing and recite
Bible verses in unison and a leader or perhaps a recent
convert may speak using a portable loudspeaker.
Pentecostals and other Protestant groups are becoming
very involved with the media to spread their message. They
have been buying radio and television air-time to promote
their views, gain members and raise money. This follows the
American televangelist model, as many of the groups in Chile
are based in the US. Along these same lines, more and more
‘new’ churches are springing up in Chile.Mormons
The Church of Jesus Christ Latter Day Saints, also known as
the Mormon Church, is another of the fastest growing religions
in Chile. A Mormon temple now stands in practically every
town throughout Chile. The church supports an aggressive
outreach programme, carried out by missionaries canvassing
door-to-door. The church also provides full scholarships for
university study in the US.Non-Christians
Other religious groups, such as Jews, Muslims and Greek
Orthodox account for less that 1 per cent of the population.
The Jewish community is strong, powerful and tightly knit,
but is practically invisible in Chile. For example, most Chileans
do not know that Don Francisco, Chile’s most famous
television host, is Jewish and would be surprised to find
out. The number of Muslims is very small and they come
primarily from the Palestinian or Syrian community. There
is one mosque in Santiago. About eight per cent of Chileans
define themselves as agnostics.Society The Role of Women in Chilean
If you arrive in Chile with any preconceived ideas about
women’s roles and machismo in Latin America, you may be
pleasantly surprised, as we were, to find that women have
a great deal of influence and are very active in almost all
aspects of Chilean society. The greatest example of this is the
election of Michelle Bachelet as Chile’s first female president