Religion and Political Conflict in Latin America / Edition 1

by Daniel H. Levine

Overview

The authors examine popular religion as a vital source of new values and experiences as well as a source of pressure for change in the church, political life, and the social order as a whole and deal with the issues of poverty and the role of the poor within the church and political structures. Exploring areas from Nicaragua, El Salvador, Brazil, Bolivia, Colombia, and Chile, the authors analyze the transformation in popular religion and reevaluate the growth of grassroots organizations.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780807841501
Publisher:	The University of North Carolina Press
Publication date:	06/20/1986
Edition description:	1
Pages:	279
Product dimensions:	6.12(w) x 9.25(h) x 0.64(d)
Lexile:	1500L (what's this?)

Table of Contents

	Preface	ix
1	Religion, the Poor, and Politics in Latin America Today	3
2	Ambivalence and Assumption in the Concept of Popular Religion	24
3	Latin America's Religious Populists	42
4	El Salvador: From Evangelization to Insurrection	58
5	Nicaragua: The Struggle for the Church	79
6	Brazil: The Catholic Church and Basic Christian Communities	106
7	Brazil: The Catholic Church and the Popular Movement in Nova Iguacu, 1974-1985	124
8	Chile: Deepening the Allegiance of Working-Class Sectors to the Church in the 1970s	156
9	Colombia: The Institutional Church and the Popular	187
10	Bolivia: Continuity and Conflict in Religious Discourse	218
11	Conflict and Renewal	236
	Select Bibliography	257
	Contributors	261
	Index	263

What People are Saying About This

From the Publisher

Levine suggests that popular religion is a salient issue in Latin America, largely because it expresses the hopes and fears of key groups. . . . [This book] successfully presents the conflicts, characteristics, and themes of popular religion for scholars and laypersons alike.—Journal of Developing Areas

Editorial Reviews

[This book] successfully presents the conflicts, characteristics, and themes of popular religion for scholars and laypersons alike.

Journal of Developing Areas

From the Publisher

Much has been written recently on the relation between religion and politics in Latin America. This book examines changes in Latin American Catholicism since 1968, changes that have come about because ``popular'' or grass-roots religion now serves as a source of new values and of pressure for change in the entire social order. It adds significantly to our understanding of the interrelationship between the Catholic Church and the basic Christian communities that represent an important means by which the Church may regain its influence in Latin American society. This scholarly work would probably not appeal to lay readers but is recommended for academic libraries. Ken Phifer, Montgomery Cty. P.L. & Montgomery Coll. Lib., Rockville, Md.

Library Journal