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Networks, Ethics, and Economic Values: Faith-Based Business and the Coffee Trade in Central America

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  05 September 2022

Amy Reynolds
Amy Reynolds*
Affiliation:
Wheaton College
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Abstract

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In an era of increasing economic liberalization, much has been written on the challenges facing alternative trade movements. Religion is often overlooked in such research, and I examine how the faith identity of one set of actors influenced their involvement in the Central American coffee trade. On the basis of ethnographic research in Nicaragua, I examine how religious networks, ethics, and values shaped the economic behaviors of an evangelical Christian coffee network. Ultimately, I find religion had a mixed impact. Local networks brought actors together in a common mission for economic justice, although transnational connections mattered little beyond providing aid. Although religious' ethics promoted a sense of fairness, more radical was a focus on transparency, which altered economic relationships among those in the coffee chain. Finally, actors leveraged their spiritual vision to challenge market dynamics and redefine the coffee product, although this vision both constrained and advanced efforts toward true empowerment of farmers.

Resumen

Resumen

En una era de liberalización económica en aumento, se ha escrito mucho sobre los desafíos que enfrentan los movimientos para un intercambio comercial alternativo. La religión se echa a un lado en estudios sobre la globalización. En este artículo examino cómo la identidad religiosa de un grupo de participantes influyó en su involucramiento en el comercio del café en América Central. Haciendo uso de la etnografía, examino cómo las redes religiosas, la ética y los valores han impactado los comportamientos económicos de una red de cafetaleros en Nicaragua. Como resultado, he encontrado que la religión tuvo un impacto mixto. Las redes locales unieron a varios protagonistas en una misión común para la justicia económica, porque, aparte de dar ayuda financiera, a las conexiones transnacionales les importaba poco lo demás. Mientras que la ética religiosa ha promovido un sentido de justicia, el tema de la transparencia ha sido el foco más radical, lo que alteró las relaciones económicas entre los del sector cafetalero. Por último, aunque la visión espiritual intentó desafiar la dinámica del mercado y redefinir al café como producto, esta visión restringía y aumentaba los esfuerzos para un verdadero empoderamiento de los agricultores.

Type
Research Article
Information
Latin American Research Review , Volume 48 , Issue 1 , 2013 , pp. 112 - 132
Copyright
Copyright © 2013 by the Latin American Studies Association

Footnotes

Support for this research was provided by Princeton University's Center for the Study of Religion and the Princeton Institute for International and Regional Studies. I thank Robert Wuthnow, Miguel Centeno, Stephen Offutt, Rebekah Massengill, Nelson Lopez, and members of the Religion and Public Life seminar at Princeton for their helpful comments, as well as several anonymous LARR reviewers. Early presentations of this work were given at the Society for the Scientific Study of Religion in 2004 and the American Sociological Association in 2005.

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