Direct Sales and Direct Faith in Latin America

Direct sales companies like Amway and Avon may seen dated in the United States, but they are attracting millions of members in Latin America. Anthropologist Pater S. Cahn joined one of the most prominent of these companies in Mexica to understand the appeal of working on commission. He found that more than material wealth, the companies offer recruits a different kind of commission: a religious calling. Without abandoning their Roman Catholic faith, direct sellers adopt a new, more direct relationship with God that promises success through positive thinking.