New worlds : a religious history of Latin America / John Lynch.

Includes bibliographical references (pages 390-397) and index.

Religion and empire -- Christianity in a new world -- Religion in the Age of Enlightenment -- Independence: a sinful revolution -- Creating a Latin American church -- The religion of the people -- Church and state in a liberal world -- New century, new challenges -- The church and the dictators -- Religion and revolution -- Difference and diversity -- Between liberation and tradition.

"This extraordinary book encompasses the period from the first Christian evangelists' arrival in Latin America to the dictators of the late twentieth century. With unsurpassed knowledge of Latin American history, John Lynch sets out to explore the reception of Christianity by native peoples and how it influenced their social and religious lives as the centuries passed. As attentive to modern times as to the colonial period, Lynch also explores the extent to which Indian religion and ancestral ways survived within the new Christian culture. The book follows the development of religious culture by focusing on peak periods of change: the response of religion to the Enlightenment, the emergence of the Church from the wars of independence, the Romanization of Latin American religion as the papacy overtook the Spanish crown in effective control of the Church, the growing challenge of liberalism and the secular state, and, in the twentieth century, military dictators' assaults on human rights. Throughout the narrative, Lynch develops a number of special themes and topics. Among these are the Spanish struggle for justice for Indians, the Church's position on slavery, the concept of popular religion as distinct from official religion and the development of liberation theology."--Jacket.

Print version record.

In English.

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