Concluded Projects from 2022 – 2024: Latin America
Vaccines, values and truths: promoting dialogue between science, biotech and theology
The growing rejection of scientific facts among evangelical Christians in Brazil and Latin America has been a significant factor in low vaccination rates in the region, especially for the Covid-19 vaccine. At the same time, there is very little academic literature in Portuguese on the dialogue between the biomedical sciences, biotechnology and theology. Biologist Prisciliana Jesus de Oliveria’s project aimed to promote dialogue between these three areas.
In 2022 – 2023, Prisciliana launched a social media campaign linking biblical values with scientific information on vaccination. She also developed an eBook for students, containing a series of Bible studies on this subject, and led two courses for undergraduate and postgraduate students about theological approaches to vaccine development and other life-saving technologies.
In 2023 – 2024, Prisciliana trained a network of Christian researchers in Brazil who will be “multiplier leaders.” They were equipped to engage in dialogue between theology, and bioethics and vaccinology through health education and to communicate their research and career paths to Christian communities. Prisciliana develop the eBook and awareness-raising materials that she created in 2022 – 2023 into a health education course about vaccines titled “Vaccines, values and truths,” and the “multiplier leaders” were trained to deliver this course to national movements and churches.
For a global impact, Prisciliana produced two scientific articles: a review article about the role of Christian scientists in the control of infectious diseases, and an article presenting the findings of her project and the impact of the training and health education courses on vaccination rates.
— Prisciliana Jesus de Oliveira is a PhD student in tropical medicine at the Oswaldo Cruz Foundation and teaches immunology on a consultancy basis.
Watch a 3-minute video about Prisciliana’s project from 2022:
Launching a research and mentoring group for mothers at the intersection of science and theology
Many women have successful academic careers but little research has been published specifically on the experiences of Christian women in academia. A pilot study conducted by Lorena Brondani in 2021 in Argentina raised many questions on the triangular intersection among women’s academic work, Christian faith and their gender and family roles.
In 2022 – 2023, Lorena partnered with the IFES movement in Argentina to conduct an exploratory study which captured and shared the life stories of six Argentinian women academics through a series of short audio-visual clips, an e-book and a short film. The goal was to demonstrate how academic work, faith and gender roles can complement and enrich each other, and to encourage young Christian, female students who hope to pursue academic careers.
During the project, Lorena identified a need for further research specifically on the needs and contributions of Christian female academics who are navigating motherhood and academia.
She also identified a need for a space in which Latin American Christian mother-scholars can share stories, skills, resources, achievements and challenges and be equipped through training, resources and mentoring.
In 2023 – 2024, her project took on a regional scope with the creation of a mutual mentoring and research network for approximately ten Latin American mother-scholars. The goal was for the women to be encouraged and equipped to reflect and write about their academic performance, family, motherhood and rest – a topic that has received very little research attention in Latin America. Over a ten-month period, they met to explore the intersection between motherhood, spirituality and academia. They participated in online meetings and book clubs, and were offered mentoring, funding for training and funds and resources for an individual spiritual retreat.
Alongside this, Lorena developed a database of Christian women academics (not only mothers) who are connected to national movements in the region in order to explore the beginnings of a wider scholarly support network.
In 2024-2025, Lorena will be providing communications assistance to a number of Catalysts’ current projects in Latin America.
— Lorena Brondani is a PhD student in social communication at the Graduate School of Communication at University Austral.
Watch a 2-minute video about Lorena’s project from 2022:
Working towards human flourishing amid the climate crisis in Guatemala
Guatemala is among the top 10 countries most vulnerable to the effects of climate change1. A nation in environmental crisis cannot flourish. Graduate student Johnny Patal believes that solutions will arise by approaching the issue from multiple different knowledge perspectives.
His 2021 pilot project explored Christian university students’ perspectives on climate change. He found that they acquire their information on this topic from academic sources and through their Christian communities, but their understanding is incomplete and largely relates to their personal experience.
Johnny’s project equipped Christian students to bring together perspectives from the academy and their Christian worldview to discover ways to positively tackle climate change.
Working with GEU Guatemala, the IFES national movement, the project convened a multidisciplinary group of students who participated in discussion groups, reading circles and practical projects in the university and wider communities. The project developed resources such as: video interviews with Christians who have implemented climate change adaptation and mitigation projects, interviews with Christian academics sharing their position on climate change; and a written training guide for students in GEU Guatemala.
From 2023 – 2025, Johnny is assisting with Venuz Perez Lopez’ project. Read more on this webpage.
— Johnny Patal is from Guatemala and is studying for a master’s in economics, development and climate change.
Watch a 2-minute video about Johnny’s project from 2022:
Exploring how spirituality and virtues impact the scientific profession in Chile
The perceived conflict between science and spirituality is still prevalent in academia and the wider society in Chile. Physicist Pablo Gutiérrez conducted field research in 2021 and observed two specific observations: Christian students and academics in Chile need role models and “companions along the way”; and the academy could benefit from a more integrated perspective on the sciences.
Pablo’s project tackled these needs by exploring how spirituality (the root of our virtues) impacts academic life. This area was explored both in personal stories and from theoretical perspectives.
Working with GBUCH Chile, the IFES national movement, Pablo developed a supportive network of Christian students and professionals working in academia. Through this network, he captured and shared audiovisual interviews with Christian academics discussing the points of connection between their Christian faith and academic careers. Finally, he organized a scholarly seminar about the relevance of faith perspectives and spirituality on academic work – an aspect which is frequently excluded from academic conversations in Chile.
— Pablo Gutiérrez is a physicist who teaches and conducts research at the University of O’Higgins, Chile.
Watch a 1-minute video about Pablo’s project from 2022:
Combining theology, history and philosophy to tackle Mexico’s challenges
In the northeast region of Mexico, problems such as migration, gender violence, and young people being victimized by drug traffickers converge to affect university students and the general population. In order to know how to respond to these challenges, Christian students need to understand their place in history and how the Bible speaks about the difficulties of their context.
Areli Cortez’s project created a learning space for students in COMPA Mexico, the IFES national movement. She developed a course in which the biblical framework of creation, fall, redemption and restoration helped students understand their personal and social history. The course brought together perspectives from theology, history and philosophy to equip and encourage students to respond to the challenges around them from a science and theology perspective.
The project included curriculum development and training for COMPA staff and volunteers who delivered the course. In parallel, Areli explored the same themes in an academic article that was presented at a colloquium at her university.
From 2023 – 2025, Areli is collaborating on a regional project with Sandra Marquez. Read more on this webpage.
— Areli Cortez is a history and anthropology of religion student at the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM)., and a staff worker with COMPA Mexico.
Watch a 1-minute long video about Areli’s project from 2022:
Fostering a Christian response to gender-based violence in El Salvador
Tackling gender-based violence (including physical, sexual, psychological and economic) in El Salvador needs to involve all of society, including the Christian community. But the evangelical church in El Salvador has often been silent on such issues and in some cases, complicit.
Initial research through Remy Ocón’s pilot study on women’s experiences in evangelical churches in El Salvador found that many of the women said they had experienced inequality, lack of access to leadership roles, conflict in male/female relationships and the use of biblical interpretations to support violence towards women.
The interdenominational nature of MUC El Salvador, the IFES national movement, provides an opportunity to promote frank dialogue between the Bible and gender studies. Remy’s project provided a formative process and practical tools to train students, professionals and church members to be able to understand and respond to the challenges of gender-based violence in El Salvador from a Christian perspective.
She extended her 2021 pilot project research into a full study. This informed the development of a manual that brought together perspectives from social sciences and the bible. It was disseminated through workshops for students, a podcast and printed materials.
From 2023 – 2025, Remy is collaborating on a regional project with Sandra Marquez. Read more on this webpage.
– Remy Ocón is a sociology student at the University of El Salvador (UES), the only public university in the country.
Watch a 2-minute video about Remy’s project from 2022:
Theology and the arts research program in Brazil
Our perception of God and reality impacts how we relate to the world and how we represent it through artistic expression. The biblical narrative arc of creation, fall and redemption is the lens through which Christians see the world.
Looking at this biblical narrative through the arts, and vice versa, is a way in which we can understand more about God, the world and what it means to be human. For theologian David Taylor, “the arts lead us to an intentional and intense participation in the physical, emotional, and imaginative aspect of our humanity.”
Marcio Lima’s project was a theology and the arts research program for Christian students who are involved with ABUB Brazil, the IFES national movement. It promoted the production of new research and meaningful artistic productions that are related to the biblical narrative. The program consisted of a Fundamentals Course, followed by a public call for research/artistic production proposals, of which three received funding, mentoring and academic support.
– Marcio Lima is a Professor of Architecture and Urban Planning at the University of São Paulo in Brazil.
Watch a 2-minute video about Marcio’s project from 2022:
Art and Word in Ecuador
Most of the students in CECE Ecuador, the IFES national movement, understand that there is a symbiotic relationship between art and the Christian faith. The movement has held events on this topic for the last five years. However, many students lack the theological and theoretical elements to represent this relationship in a rich and concrete way. In the aftermath of the global pandemic, there is also a need to help students connect with each other in new ways.
Isabela Pineda’s project had three axes: theology, aesthetics and artistic production in community. She developed and delivered a free, digital learning module on the dialogue between art and theology in the Latin American context, and students contributed to its production.
The module was launched with two special events on a local university campus: an academic conversation in which panelists discussed themes from the module, such as art, imagination and decolonization; and an exhibition of eight works of art, each produced by a student under the mentorship of a volunteer artist from CECE.
— Isabela Pineda is an architecture student at the Pontifical Catholic University of Ecuador.
Watch a 2-minute video about Isabela’s project from 2022: