Latin American Religions

"This exploration of Latin American religious history is broad yet detailed. Like the region, religious views in this compilation are varied and diverse. Ranging from indigenous and colonial times to contemporary forays into Buddhism and Mormonism, the book explores all of the region's major religious movements to provide a thorough introduction and summary. . . . this work's scope and breadth likely will make it an important textbook for Latin American studies as well as an excellent introduction to the topic for any reader." * Choice * "A truly impressive achievement. Peterson and Vsquez have focused unfailingly on the most important trends and turning points in over a half a millennium of Latin American religious history. The volume is that rarest of things: a work of scholarship that is both broad and deep." -- John Burdick,author of Legacies of Liberation: The Progressive Catholic Church in Brazil at the Start of a New Millennium "Historically, religions all too often have been understood as a side bar to political, social, economic, and historical contexts.Before this reader, no book existed to introduce students to the complex sweep of religions and religious history in Latin America. Latin American Religions fills this yawning gap admirably. Gone is the idea that all Latin Americans are Catholic. . . . We learn about indigenous traditions, the African diaspora, Catholicism, Protestantism, other alternative Christianities, and various world religions. This book should prove a must for any introductory course on Latin America, or for any individualsbeginning or advancedwho wish to deepen their knowledge of the continent." -- Kay A. Read,Saint Vincent DePaul Professor of Religious Studies, DePaul University

Anna L. Peterson, Professor at the University of Florida, is the author of Martyrdom and the Politics of Religion and Seeds of the Kingdom: Utopian Communities in the Americas. Manuel A. Vasquez, Associate Professor at the University of Florida, is the author of The Brazilian Popular Church and the Crisis of Modernity and co-author of Globalizing the Sacred: Religion Across the Americas. Together Peterson and Vasquez have co-edited Christianity, Social Change, and Globalization in the Americas.

Acknowledgments * 1 Introducing Religion in Latin America * 2 Indigenous Religions * 3 Colonial Encounters * 4 Religions of the African Diaspora * 5 Independence and Modernity 6 Protestantism in Latin America * 7 Postconciliar Roman Catholicism * 8 Contemporary Religious Diversity and Change Notes Suggested Readings Index About the Editors