When and Why Religious Groups Become Political Players

In this chapter we ask when and why religious groups become political players, by analyzing the involvement of Catholic and Evangelical churches in the Nicaraguan “pro-life” movement. The movement emerged as a collective player after the 1990 elections that marked the end of the Sandinista regime and the transition to neoliberal democracy under the 14-party opposition coalition UNO (Unión Nacional Opositora). Its mobilizing capacity grew dramatically over time, especially in opposition to therapeutic abortion: while the first anti-abortion rally in 1994 drew around 5,000 people (Envío Team, 1994), in 2000 rallies drew 15,000 (La Prensa, 2000), and by 2006 200,000 people (Kampwirth, 2008: 129). The emergence and growth of the pro-life movement represented a major challenge to the quest for greater recognition of gender equality, sexual rights and reproductive rights in Nicaragua and culminated in a total abortion ban in 2006 – even when the life of the pregnant woman is at stake (Heumann, 2010; Reuterswärd et al., 2011; Kampwirth, 2006; Kampwirth, 2008). Much of this success is attributed to the political power and mobilizing capacity of the churches (Kane, 2008).