How Gypsies have moved from fortune-telling to fervent Christianity

The BBC has an interesting article documenting the movement towards evangelical Christianity in the traveller communities. It seems Catholicism, the traditional home of such communities, is no longer so attractive.

At a time when large numbers of people are drifting away from formal religion, one church is bucking the trend. Huge numbers of Gypsies and travellers in England now say they've joined a new movement called Light and Life. Those who join have given up drinking alcohol and fortune-telling, and many have even abandoned their traditional Catholic faith.

The movement, which is Gypsy-led, has grown rapidly in the past 30 years - it says up to 40% of British Gypsies belong to it. There's no way to prove that claim, but most Gypsies and travellers will agree that there is a surge in people joining.

It's centred on charismatic preaching, praying in tongues and miracle healing.

About 6,000 Gypsies and travellers attended to the Church's UK convention. Seven hundred caravans are parked around a blue and white big top, in the middle of an agricultural showground in the Welsh county of Carmarthenshire.

...

Sitting in the bright sunshine at his campsite on Fair Hill, Billy remembers how his father was one of the first people to be converted to the Light and Life.

"Compared to going to your traditional Protestant or Catholic churches, the Bible was explained the way it was written - not the way some man-made religion wants you to understand."

It's an oft-repeated view.

"I used to be a Catholic," one man says.

"But now I'm a Christian. A Catholic is lost in religion. They go through confession, and they go to a box and tell a priest about their sins. Where it says in the Bible 'tell no man your sin, come to the father alone'."

But why do followers of Light and Life so often describe Catholicism as "man-made"?

The Gypsies and travellers in the UK do have their own Catholic chaplain, Fr Dan Mason. He says Light and Life followers criticise the Church's rituals for not coming directly from the Bible.

"We take great comfort from the tradition that has evolved over the years, and I'd say that's the same for many members of the travelling community."

But Light and Life provides a sense of identity and belonging for many who join it, which he admits is "something that as Catholics we need to take seriously and look at how we can make our parishes more welcoming to all members of the community".

Read the whole article from the link above.