This article examines the role of the Protestant Moravian
Church in the politicisation of Miskitu ethnic identity, and on the
mobilisation of the Miskitu against the Sandinistas during the 1980s.
It argues that changes in the institution of the Church during the
1960s and 70s, as a result of state policy, socio-economic context and
internal conflicts within Miskitu society, led to Moravianism becoming
a cultural marker of Miskitu ethnicity. At the same time, the
encounter with and appropriation of the pastoral tactics of a Catholic
priest resulted in a radicalisation of Miskitu Moravian pastors on
indigenous issues. When the Miskitu came to mobilise against the
Sandinistas, the Moravian Church was the expressive vehicle and the
institutional means through which the mobilisation took place. The
article reveals how politicised ethnic identities find their
expression in religious institutions.