Investing in Miracles: El Shaddai and the Transformation of Popular Catholicism in the Philippines

Wiegele (anthropology, Northern Illinois U.) examines a charismatic Catholic movement that has gathered people for miracle and healing rallies since the early 1980s in the Philippines. Documenting its rise, its ethos and ritual practices, and the new sociocultural forms it has spawned, she finds that it reveals the changing culture of Filipino lower and aspiring middle classes now that class struggle and Catholic sacrifice no long resonate with their aspirations. Annotation ©2004 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR