Latin America is undergoing a period of intense religious transformation and upheaval. This book analyzes some of the more important new discoveries about religious movements in the region. It examines important shifts such as the expansion and politicization of Protestantism, the ongoing transformation of the Catholic church, the growth of Afro-Brazilian religions, and the genuine pluralization of faith.

Before Columbus, the Americas were populated by many indigenous cultures, with a great diversity of religions. After 1492, European governments and churches dominated religious life. While Roman Catholicism was the official religion, great religious hybridization occurred, mixing European, indigenous, and often African traditions into distinctly New World forms. Latin American Religions provides an introduction through documents to the historical development and contemporary expressions of religious life in South and Central America, Mexico, and the Spanish-speaking Caribbean. A central feature of this text is its inclusion of both primary and secondary materials, including letters, sermons, journal entries, ritual manuals, and ancient sacred texts. These documents provide readers with direct access to the voices of adherents, enabling them to act as academic investigators, experiencing and interpreting the same texts on which historians draw. The documents are framed by substantive introductions which provide both historical context and theoretical insights for the study of these religions traditions and the ways in which they have developed over time. From the religious traditions of the Mayas and Aztecs and of the African diaspora, to official and popular Catholicism, to liberation theology, the rise of Pentecostalism, and emerging trends and new religious movements in Latin America, this new work offers a concise overview of this fascinating field.

Thinking more globally about the formation of theology enriches our understanding of what it means to be a Christian. It's no secret that the center of Christianity has shifted from the West to the global South and East. While the truths of the Christian faith are universal, different contexts and cultures illuminate new questions, understandings, and expressions. What does this mean for theology, as Western theologians understand it? Timothy Tennent argues that the Christian faith is culturally and theologically translatable. Theology in the Context of World Christianity is written to expand our "ecclesiastical cartography" by highlighting—within each of the major themes of systematic theology—studies that are engaging the global church, such as: Anthropology (with studies drawn from the different views of human identity between Eastern and Western cultures). Christology (with a focus on the emphases that African Christians place on the characteristics of Christ). Pneumatology (by looking at the role of the Holy Spirit in Latin American Pentecostalism). Eschatology (by focusing on how this branch of theology shapes world missions and evangelism). Each of the ten chapters examines traditional theological categories in conversation with theologians from across the globe, making this volume valuable for students, pastors, missionaries, and theologians alike. Theological reflection is active and exciting in the majority world church, and Tennent invites you to your own reflection and celebration of Christ's global church. These are perspectives that should be heard, considered, and brought into conversation with Western theologians. Global theology can make us aware of our own blind spots and biases and has much to offer toward the revitalization of Western Christianity.

This interdisciplinary introduction offers students a truly global overview of the worldwide spread and impact of Christianity. It is enriched throughout by detailed historic and ethnographic material, showing how broad themes within Christianity have been adopted and adapted by Christian denominations within each major region of the world. Provides a comprehensive overview of the spread and impact of world Christianity Contains studies from every major region of the world, including Africa, Asia, Latin America, the North Atlantic, and Oceania Brings together an international team of contributors from history, sociology, and anthropology, as well as religious studies Examines the significant social, cultural, and political transformations in contemporary societies brought about through the influence of Christianity Discusses Protestant, Evangelical, Catholic, and Orthodox forms of the faith Features useful maps and illustrations Combines broader discussions with detailed regional analysis, creating an invaluable introduction to world Christianity

The purpose of this study is to focus on the intersection of religion and politics. Do different religions result in different politics? More specifically, are there significant contrasts between the political attitudes and behavior of Catholics and Protestants in Latin America?

The explosive growth of Pentecostalism has radically transformed Latin America’s religious landscape within the last half century or so. In a region where Catholicism reigned hegemonic for centuries, the expansion of Pentecostalism has now resulted in a situation of religious pluralism and competition, bearing much more resemblance to the United States than to the Iberian motherlands. Furthermore, the fierce competition from Pentecostal churches has inspired significant renewals of Latin American Catholicism, most notably the growth of a Catholic Charismatic movement. However, another and more recent source of religious pluralism and diversity in Latin America is an increasing pluralization and diversification of Pentecostalism itself and of the ways in which individual Pentecostals exercise their faith. By carefully exploring this diversification, the book at hand breaks new ground in the literature on Latin American Christianity. Particular attention is focused on new ways of being Pentecostal and on the consequences of recent transformations of Christianity for individuals, faith communities and societies. More specifically, the chapters of the book look into certain transformations of Pentecostalism such as: theological renewals and new kinds of religious competition between Pentecostal churches; a growing political and civic engagement of Pentecostals; an observed de-institutionalization of Pentecostal religious life and the negotiation individual Pentecostal identities, composed of multiple intra- and extra-ecclesial points of identification; and the emergence of new generations of Pentecostals (children of Pentecostal parents), many of whom have higher levels of education and higher incomes than the previous generations within their churches. In addition, Catholic responses to Pentecostal competition are also addressed in several chapters of the book.

This book examines religion and politics in diverse countries or regions.

This book analyzes the problems that arise when women's rights conflict with the views of conservative organized religion. Specifically, it addresses the legalization - or lack thereof - of divorce and abortion in three recently democratized Catholic countries: Spain, Chile, and Argentina. Offering a vital and timely contribution to political debates on democratic consolidation, social policy, gender, politics and religion, it challenges many of the accepted assumptions and conclusions in these fields, arguing that to understand the political dynamics and policy trajectories on these issues we must first analyze the distribution of both economic and political power. Merike Blofield moves the debate away from a (unitary) focus on values and public opinion to an analysis of how economic, social and political structures give certain actors more power than others. The topics covered should appeal to a broad readership interested in the difficulties of democratic consolidation in Latin America, and the obstacles to social policy reform in a region with such high levels of inequality. The analysis presented in The Politics of Moral Sin also deepens our understanding of why and how European countries have been so successful in limiting the indulgence of organized religion and in promoting women's rights.

Although church historians often call the 19th century the Great Century of Protestant mission, for Latin America it was the 20th century that was the great century of Protestant growth and expansion. The 20th century witnessed vast societal changes and the realization of systemic poverty and injustice as well as the exponential growth, pentecostalization, and diversification of Latin American Protestantism. Latin American Protestant Theology emerged during this century of change. This text provides an introduction to Latin American Protestant Theology by engaging its dominant theological streams (Liberal, Evangelical, and Pentecostal) and how they understand themselves through the lens of mission. The text offers both a critique of the Christendom cartography that is dominant in Latin American Protestant Theology as well as suggestions for how to move towards a transformative theology of mission. The primary intention of this text is to offer an informed outline and analysis of the theological landscape of Latin American Protestantism. The secondary intention of this book is to note the contributions as well as deficiencies of the streams of LAPT in the hope to signal a possible path towards the development of an integral, transformative, contextual, and decolonial theological voice.

Las Abejas came to be known by the international community as the civil counterpart to the neozapatista movements and as a Christian pacifist movement. This book presents the voices of Las Abejas and of numerous collaborators alongside an innovative theoretical analysis of the dynamics of identity construction. The uniqueness of this study is the analysis of the role of international human rights observers in relation to indigenous communities in resistance. In this fascinating study, Marco Tavanti explains how cultural, religious, political, human rights and nonviolent frameworks combine in a syncretic identity of resistance.