In his introduction, Paul Sigmund states that the growing religious pluralism in Latin America is one of several reasons why the trend toward democracy that has marked the last two decades may endure. Nevertheless, Sigmund notes that this new pluralism, particularly the growth of Protestantism, has led to tensions that must be resolved. Religious Freedom and Evangelization in Latin America provides an indispensable resource for understanding the range of issues confronting the continent, offering Catholic as well as Protestant perspectives, and trenchant analyses of the situation in different countries, including Brazil, Argentina, Mexico, Nicaragua, and Cuba.

This volume summarizes Catholic approaches to mission, evangelization, and religious freedom in light of the text and debates of Vatican II’s documents on the subjects (Ad Gentes and Dignitatis Humanae), traces the documents’ reception in the forty years since their publication. and reflects on their significance for today.

In Latin America, evangelical Protestantism poses an increasing challenge to Catholicism's long-established religious hegemony. At the same time, the region is among the most generally democratic outside the West, despite often being labeled as 'underdeveloped.' Scholars disagree whether Latin American Protestantism, as a fast-growing and predominantly lower-class phenomenon, will encourage a political culture that is repressive and authoritarian, or if it will have democratizing effects. Drawing from a range of sources, Evangelical Christianity and Democracy in Latin America provides case studies of five countries: Brazil, Peru, Mexico, Guatemala, and Nicaragua. The contributors, mainly scholars based in Latin America, bring first hand-knowledge to their chapters. The result is a groundbreaking work that explores the relationship between Latin American evangelicalism and politics, its influences, manifestations, and prospects for the future. Evangelical Christianity and Democracy in Latin America is one of four volumes in the series Evangelical Christianity and Democracy in the Global South, which seeks to answer the question: What happens when a revivalist religion based on scriptural orthodoxy participates in the volatile politics of the Third World? At a time when the global-political impact of another revivalist and scriptural religion - Islam - fuels vexed debate among analysts the world over, these volumes offer an unusual comparative perspective on a critical issue: the often combustible interaction of resurgent religion and the developing world's unstable politics.

The Politics of Transnational Actors in Latin America: Power from Afar explores the important issues of transnational actors and their influence on institutions and people in Latin America, raising profound questions of accountability, social justice, and sovereignty. The text focuses on four particularly significant groups that transcend national boundaries: the Catholic Church, transnational corporations, transnational drug networks, and transnational human rights networks. By comparing each of their impacts on the region, Frederick M. Shepherd explores larger questions about transnational power and how it has deeply penetrated the nations of Latin America. The book’s analysis delves into attempts made over the last 100 years by citizens, social movements, and governments to reassert a degree of control over these transnational actors, setting up a framework to understand how local, national, and global forces interact in a setting of transnational dominance. The volume suggests that local and national groups can use principles and power to bring about equitable and just outcomes in relation to transnational actors, and that, in some cases, transnational actors can be a part of constructive change in Latin America. This concise volume will be of interest to students of History, Latin American and Caribbean Studies, and Political Science, as well as those interested in 20th-century Latin American politics and political history.

Religion, and beliefs related to religion, are a central factor in international life and politics. International law, and human rights law in particular, have to take into consideration the religious dimension, and have done it to some extent. A body of positive law has already been developed for the protection of freedom of religion, and from religion, by the United Nations and regional and specialized organizations. The first edition of this book appeared six years ago, in coincidence with the 25th anniversary of the 1981 United Nations Declaration on the Elimination of All Forms of Intolerance and Discrimination Based on Religion of Belief. It discussed the legal meaning of religion and belief, the United Nations work in this respect, religious minorities, relevant regional and special arrangements, the issue of proselytism, religion and terrorism, religious symbols, international criminal law, and some particular cases such as the state and religious communities in Israel, and this country’s agreement with the Holy See. This second edition of the book updates the information on relevant developments that took place in the time elapsed. and incorporates several new chapters on important issues related to religious freedoms. Such are the chapters on freedom from religion, religion and freedom of association, religion and freedom of expression (including the controversy with respect of defamation of religions), and group rights and legal pluralism. The order of the chapters has been rearranged. It is hoped that law and political science schools, human rights associations and scholars, as well as governments and bodies active in the area of religious freedoms, will find interest in this second, revised and considerably enlarged, edition.

This book examines the recent phenomenon in Latin America of national Truth and Reconciliation commissions. Few studies have examined the role of Churches or religion in political processes that proclaim valued theological terms as their agenda - truth, forgiveness, and reconciliation. This book questions the role of religion, specifically of established Churches. The impact of such reconciliation commissions on Indigenous Native Americans is also examined, as is the role of women and how both commissions and Churches or religions were challenged by their experiences. The contributors offer differing perspectives on one or more national truth and reconciliation processes and thus offer a collection that serves as valuable source for the disciplines of Religious Studies, Ethics, Theology, Political Science, Social Sciences and Women's Studies.

Religious pluralism is everywhere in today's politics. Increased immigration flows, the collapse of communism, and the globalization of communications technologies have all fostered a wider variety of religious beliefs, practices, and organizations within and across democratic societies. This is true in both the United States and Europe, where growing and diverse minority communities are transforming the political landscape. As a result, controversies over such things as headscarves and depictions of Mohammed are unsettling a largely secular Europe, while a Christian majority in the US faces familiar questions about church-state relations amidst unprecedented religious diversity. Far from receding into the background, religious language pervades arguments around established issues such as abortion and capital punishment, and new ones such as stem cell research and same-sex marriage. In Democracy and the New Religious Pluralism, leading scholars from multiple disciplines explore these dynamics and their implications for democratic theory and practice. What are the contours of this new religious pluralism? What are its implications for the theory and practice of democracy? Does increasing religious pluralism erode the cultural and social foundations of democracy? To what extent do different religious communities embrace similar -- or at least compatible -- ethical and political commitments? By seeking answers to these questions and revealing religious pluralism as both a source of animosity and a potent force for peaceful engagement, this book offers a revealing look at the future of religion in democratic societies.

The Politics of the Spirit is a masterful study of the political effects of evangelical Protestantism in Central America. Timothy Steigenga's thoughtfully crafted work questions whether the spread of Protestantism in Latin America has reinforced authoritarian elements in political culture or deepened nascent democracy. Steigenga provides a thorough review of the literature on religion and politics in Latin America, putting many of the hypotheses generated in this literature to the test through an analysis of comparative survey data and qualitative interviews. Steigenga investigates the impact religious affiliation has on political activity and belief, and the influence of cross-denominational religious beliefs and practices on Latin American life. His comparative work explores how different political systems--the established democracy of Costa Rica and the transitional system of Guatemala--impact the politics of religion. This enlightening interdisciplinary book will appeal to scholars seeking to understand the relationships between religious and political change in Latin America.

Latin America, where 90% of the population is Christian and where nearly 40% of the world's Catholics reside, has its own unique brand of Christianity. The Oxford Handbook of Latin American Christianity offers a survey of Latin American Christianity from thirty-three leading scholars. The volume systematically introduces and examines dramatic shifts in Catholic and Protestant Christianity over the course of several centuries. Its four sections explore the emergence of colonial Christianity, its institutional and popular evolution, and its dynamic role the region's contemporary developments.

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.