The manicured lawns and beautifully maintained homes of the city of Filadelfia could be part of any prosperous neighborhood in Europe or North America. They actually live in rural Paraguay and most belong to the Mennonites, a faith known for its traditional lifestyle and pacifist beliefs that are spreading rapidly across Latin America.
Paraguay, a landlocked country in South America, is home to one of the largest Mennonite communities in Latin America. In a country of just six million people the size of California, Paraguayan Mennonites are particularly important as among the largest landowners, and dominate the dairy and agricultural industries.
Arriving in Latin America just a century ago from Canada, the United States and Europe, the Mennonite experience is marked by frequent migrations and the ability of believers to put down roots and maintain their culture. .
“I think it’s fair to say there’s always been an impact wherever Mennonites have arrived,” said Delmer Wiebe, a Mennonite theologian who grew up near Filadelfia. “A highly developed work ethic has always left deep marks and brought about many changes. God blessed this effort. And this blessing has often transformed into social and community assistance.
Low German Mennonites, as a socio-religious community, trace their origins to 16th-century Western Europe. Make no mistake about the Amish, who are also who are also AnabaptistsMennonites are named after the Dutchman Menno Simmons (1496-1561) and emerged following the Protestant Reformation, coalescing around the ideals of nonviolence, adult baptism, and separation from the temptations of the world.
As they left the Netherlands, Germany, and Ukraine, Mennonites remained loyal to the now archaic Low German language while eschewing mandates to serve in the armies of various countries, take civil oaths, and to join national education systems. Today, throughout North and South America, Mennonites have found refuge and are thriving in several countries.
In Latin America, in particular, Mennonites have settled in countries where social customs remain closer to their own conservative values. Mennonite churches in the United States were divided by debates over same-sex marriage and other issues that loom large in the religious debate in North America but are not as relevant south of the Mexico-US border.
The most conservative Mennonite colonies reject, among other things, the use of rubber tires on tractors, electricity and telephones. The more progressive colonies, notably in Paraguay, find it normal to own smartphones, televisions or vans. Diversity is sometimes found within the colonies, with some members having very opposing views on education, work, the use or rejection of the Spanish language and, more generally, connections with the outside world.
Mexico is believed to have the largest number of Mennonites in Latin America. However, as a percentage of the total population, communities in Paraguay, Bolivia and Belize are larger, where they are mainly seen in the countryside.
According to World Mennonite Conference (MWC), 10 percent of the 2.13 million people belonging to churches rooted in the 16th century Radical reform in Europe are based in Latin America and the Caribbean. However, this number does not include some of the more traditionalist groups, such as Old Colony Mennonites and Old Order Mennonites, who make up many Latino communities and who do not organize with the MWC , according to MWC spokesperson Karla Braun.
Mennonite expansion into Latin America began in the 1920s, when a group of Mennonites left the prairies of Manitoba for the deserts of northern Mexico, Yann le Polain de Waroux and co-authors wrote in their article “Pious Pioneers: the expansion of Mennonite colonies in Latin America”.
Since then, Mennonites have established more than 200 agricultural colonies across Latin America, spanning nine countries and seven biomes. Calculations by Le Polain and his team show that Mennonite settlements today cover an area larger than that of the Netherlands, having grown through the conversion of wasteland to agricultural land in remote areas.
In Belize, 14 Mennonite colonies represent a significant percentage of the population. This small country of 400,000 people saw its first Mennonite settlers in 1955, from Mexican communities seeking to escape calls for tighter control of the group inside that country.
But by the 1970s, many Mennonites from Belize were already moving to Paraguay and Bolivia, fearing creeping modernization and a shortage of land.
In his article, le Polain identified 65 Mennonite colonies in Mexico, the first Latin American country to open its borders to the group, and even more colonies (90) in Bolivia, where the first Mennonite colony was founded in 1954. There , believers found land and an attitude of acceptance from local authorities, which allowed some groups to stay closer to their original roots.
“In Bolivia, the larger Mennonite communities are very conservative,” said Rebecca Janzen, a University of South Carolina scholar who has studied the region’s Mennonite settlements and has family in several of them. . “Larger communities don’t learn Spanish or use non-electric technologies. …In Mexico, some people have attended college; in Bolivia, it’s much rarer.”
Janzen notes that Mennonite expansion in Latin America and elsewhere was driven by high fertility rates. Mennonite families are generally very large, and currently new settlements are often established due to lack of land for new households, rather than conflicts with civil authorities. This is leading some Latin American Mennonites to seek new lands in Africa, with countries like Angola as a possible hotbed for future expansion of the faith.
Conversion to the Mennonite faith is also possible, although difficult, even when candidates are willing to respect limits on the use of technology. Mennonites are often reluctant to accept outsiders into their communities because they are bound by family ties that span centuries. Additionally, the need to learn Low German and Mennonite customs and the frequent lack of guidance for these potential converts represent significant obstacles for potential entrants.
For example, Janzen added, schedules for Mennonite religious services are not published. Services are usually held in Low German, with specific chants that can be very difficult for foreigners to learn and follow, she explained.
Mennonites carry out evangelism and mission activities, which often have the effect of bringing indigenous and isolated communities to the Christian faith, even if they do not become Mennonites.
“This missionary activity is completely distinct from the colonies,” explains Le Polain. “When they carry out missionary activity and cooperation, they do it with different objectives. »
Of all the Latin American countries colonized by Mennonites, Paraguay offers a clear example of Mennonite expansion through both conversion and population growth of pre-existing colonies.
Delmer Wiebe, son of former Mennonites, is department director at the Evangelical University of Paraguay, established in the 1990s in Asunción, the capital, with the help of the country’s Mennonite community. Of the department’s five other executive council members, two are non-ethnic Mennonite converts to the faith.
One of them is Rogelio Duarte, a theology professor who became a Mennonite 50 years ago. He estimates that Paraguay has between 45,000 and 50,000 Mennonites, both former and converts.
“Mennonite influence in Paraguay is significant both economically and educationally as well as religiously and socially, particularly through work with indigenous ethnic groups,” Duarte said. “It is one of the largest denominations in Paraguay.”
The Evangelical University is just one of many Mennonite-inspired projects seeking to have a positive impact on one of Latin America’s poorest countries. Others include a charity hospital outside Asuncióna Mennonite-led organization community development programAnd a foundation that helps poor Paraguayans treat eye diseases.
In El Chaco, a sparsely populated flat region in the western half of Paraguay, Mennonites make up a significant portion of the population. Filadelfia, founded by the Mennonites, is a sleepy town of 20,000 residents, which is the largest settlement in the entire region.
Not to be confused with the Pennsylvania town, Filadelfia is in many ways a showcase for the outreach efforts of Mennonites in Paraguay. Featuring a museum and hospital, including a specialized eye clinic, it became a draw for non-Mennonites attracted by the city’s clean, healthy lifestyle – and as Janzen notes of the USC is a strong selling point for Mennonites throughout Latin America.
“In Paraguay, I met young people who attended a (Mennonite) church that was more open-minded and offered services in Spanish,” Jenzen said. “Someone met their husband on OkCupid, but then you go to a restaurant and you have all the food that my grandmother cooked back in the day. It’s a weird combination.
This combination has led to a greater role for Mennonites in Paraguay, as well as higher conversion rates and positive social impact. On the other hand, Le Polain says, it also leads to lower fertility rates, especially in colonies that have left more traditional practices behind.
Ultimately, Mennonites had to adapt to changing circumstances wherever they settled, and their relationships with different states and societies continue to evolve, said Ben Goossen, a professor of Mennonite descent at the University George Mason.
“Today, Latin America remains a place of great importance and attraction for Mennonites of very different backgrounds and religious practices,” Goosen added. “And it is certain that the region will remain a thriving and growing center of Mennonite life for the foreseeable future.” »
Does this mean that Mennonites are not affiliated with the colonies, or simply indicate that the colonies send missionaries?
