I illustrate my argument with three Latin American case studies, based on original fieldwork: (1) the vulnerability of actively practicing Christians caused by criminal violence in the states of Nuevo León, Tamaulipas and San Luis Potosí, Mexico, (2) the vulnerability of cultural dissidents among the Nasa ethnic group in the resguardos indígenas [indigenous reserves] of the southwestern highlands of Colombia and (3) the vulnerability of Christians in Cuba.