La Mara de Cristo: Homies and Hermanos in the Barrio

1. La Mara de Cristo: Homies and Hermanos in the Barrio Photo: Piet den Blanken Robert Brenneman, Saint Michael’s College

2. Punchline • The challenge, from the perspective of the “worn out” gang member, is how to construct a believable, durable identity as an ex-gang member • Evangelical-Pentecostal congregations, with their deeply emotional, public, and frequent worship services; their dense social ties; and their moral capital, provide the most attractive and available option for meeting this challenge. Robert Brenneman, Saint Michael’s College

3. Contemporary Violence in Central America (Observador Centroamericano de la violencia, OCAVI) Robert Brenneman, Saint Michael’s College

4. The Gangs of Central America: From pandilla to mara • Youth street gangs date to at least 1970s • Latino gang members from L.A. arrived in San Salvador in 1992 • Grew quickly, co-opted, networked local gangs • Institutional vacuum of post-war economies Robert Brenneman, Saint Michael’s College

5. Los mareros: The perfect scapegoat • Mara Dieciocho (M-18) • Mara Salvatrucha (MS-13) • Vatos Locos • White Fence Robert Brenneman, Saint Michael’s College

6. ¡Hasta la morgue! • Tightening of membership rules • Neftalí: “The only way out of here is in your pine-box suit.” • Attempt to exercise social control • Response to “social cleansing” Robert Brenneman, Saint Michael’s College

7. Evangelicalism in Central America • Experiential focus; emphasis on healing • Strict piety, sectarian community • Address each other as “hermanos” • Expected to avoid “5 P’s” Robert Brenneman, Saint Michael’s College

8. Research Project: Explain Gang Conversions from a Sociological Perspective Robert Brenneman, Saint Michael’s College

9. Research Project: Explain Gang Conversions from a Sociological Perspective Robert Brenneman, Saint Michael’s College

10. Research Questions • Why do gang members convert? • How does religious conversion “work” sociologically? • What can gang conversions teach us about religion in Central American? Robert Brenneman, Saint Michael’s College

11. Methods • Interviews with practitioners in youth violence and reintegration (N=28) • Interviews with ex-gang members (N=63) Sex: 59 men, 4 women • Nationality: • 33 Hondurans • 22 Guatemalans • 8 Salvadorans Robert Brenneman, Saint Michael’s College

12. Three common exit pathways • Become a “reservist” (pandillero calmado) • Emigrate • Convert and/or join an evangelical church Robert Brenneman, Saint Michael’s College

13. Religion of Interviewees Robert Brenneman, Saint Michael’s College

14. Findings: Why convert? • Evangelical reputation as “refuge” from the street. • Congregations cultivate this reputation. • Gangs allow for “evangelical exemption” Robert Brenneman, Saint Michael’s College

15. The evangelical exemption Vera (non-convert): “Really, the only way to get out is to get involved in the church one hundred percent. But the gang keeps watch over you day and night to see if you’re actually completing it.” Robert Brenneman, Saint Michael’s College

16. Findings: Why convert? • Evangelicals offer tools for identity reconstruction • Pastors and members provide “accountability” (e.g. social policing). • Pastors provide work references. • Congregations provide job leads and (sometimes) financial stop-gap. • Evangelicals provide “alternative masculinity” and religious career options. Robert Brenneman, Saint Michael’s College

17. Findings: How does conversion “work”? • Congregations provide rituals for dealing with shame • Repressed shame (Gilligan 1996) was a key theme in the accounts of joining the gang. • Public conversion provides “safe space” for expressing remorse, “discharging shame” (Scheff 1990). • Emotional conversions provide a “clue” to self and others of authenticity of new identity. Robert Brenneman, Saint Michael’s College

18. Findings: How does conversion “work”? • Evangelical congregations are “greedy institutions” • Practice “time-hoarding” via multiple evening services and prayer groups. • Maintain clear in-group/out-group boundaries familiar to the gang member. Robert Brenneman, Saint Michael’s College

19. Conclusion: What Gang Conversions Teach Us about Gangs • Transnational gangs seek to raise barriers to leaving by requiring deserters to provide evidence of lifestyle change • Many gang leaders appear to respect high religiosity of evangelicals Robert Brenneman, Saint Michael’s College

20. Conclusion: What Gang Conversions Teach Us about Religion • Evangelicals rarely talk about afterlife. • Central American evangelicals do confront social problems but with spiritual-social resources. • Conversion events provide emotional lever for rupturing hyper-machismothrough “spoiling” of macho identity. Robert Brenneman, Saint Michael’s College

21. Evangelical Gang Ministry = Social Movement? • Not aimed at social change • Does not seek collective action • Social structural critique not widespread Robert Brenneman, Saint Michael’s College

22. Practical insights: How to reduce gang violence • Violence among young males arises out of the concrete experience of humiliation. • Gang youth seek belonging and “respect.” • Violence reduction must provide alternative pathways to respect for young males (alternative masculinities). Robert Brenneman, Saint Michael’s College

23. Robert Brenneman, Saint Michael’s College

24. ¡Mil gracias!Photo credits: The photograph on slide 1, Jeugdbendes by Piet den Blanken. Used with Permission. All others belong to author. Robert Brenneman, Saint Michael’s College