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During the past half century, Latin America has evolved from a region of political instability and frequent dictatorships into one of elected governments. Although its societies and economies have undergone sweeping changes, high levels of violence have remained a persistent problem. Religious Responses to Violence: Human Rights in Latin America Past and Present offers rich resources to understand how religion has perceived and addressed different forms of violence, from the political and state violence of the 1970s and 1980s to the drug traffickers and youth gangs of today. The contributors offer many fresh insights into contemporary criminal violence and reconsider past interpretations of political violence, liberation theology, and human rights in light of new questions and evidence.
In contrast to many other studies of violence, this book explores its moral dimensions—up close in lived experience—and the real consequences of human agency. Alexander Wilde provides a thoughtful substantive introduction, followed by thematic chapters on "rights," "violence," and case studies of ten countries throughout the region. The book breaks new ground examining common responses as well as differences between Catholic and Evangelical pastoral accompaniment. These new studies focus on the specifically religious character of their responses—how they relate their mission and faith to violence in different contexts—to better understand how and why they have taken action.
“This book has much to offer. Featuring scholars from different disciplines, it presents a wonderful account of historical events and analysis of what Latin Americans had experienced during the political and social turbulence of the region from the 1970s to the present times . . . the topics complement each other and are relevant to anyone working on this issue today.” —Theological Studies
“The 15 contributions reveal the multiple and at times conflicting responses from churches that range from active non-violence to challenging state violence, accompanying popular mobilizations, supporting development projects, and taking up arms in support of revolutionary movements. The volume makes a key contribution to understanding religion in contemporary Latin America.” —Choice
“The book begins with the paradox that ‘modern Latin America is both notably violent and notably religious’ and ends with the empirically based conclusion about ‘the unique qualities of religious as a social force against violence.’ . . . Religious actors play an ongoing and irreplaceable role in acting as an antidote to the universal hold of justice as a revenge seeking lex talionis that so far has been noticed by a few anthropological studies but not the public eye. Religious Responses to Violence is not an easy to read primer. But it’s a necessary one.” —Catholic Book Reviews
"Religious Responses to Violence contains 15 chapters by experts on Argentina, Brazil, Central America, Chile, Colombia, Mexico, and Peru. They cover the history of Latin America from the mid-twentieth century to the present—roughly from Vatican II to Pope Francis and from the early development of Evangelical churches to their current prominence in communities and politics. . . . Anyone involved in that great movement will benefit from reading Religious Responses to Violence." —Friends Journal
"A generation or two ago, the image of church people faced with state-sponsored violence in Brazil, Chile, Argentina, and Central America prompted numerous studies and inspired many to organize and march. This collection sheds new light on those familiar stories and examines the perplexing violence of the present and responses to it, such as pentecostal prison ministry in Brazil and church groups assisting migrants fleeing through Mexico. Each study, whether local, national, or regional, is a treasure; they are enhanced by thematic surveys that bring fresh insight for a new generation of scholars and readers." —Phillip Berryman, author of Religion in the Megacity: Catholic and Protestant Portraits from Latin America
"As the Middle East is today, so was Latin America for decades during the last century, with major stories on every front page and evening news program and with the role of the Church often front and center. Violence pervades much of the region today, especially in Central America, but one hears less of the role of religion now. This volume is a most welcome addition to the study of religion and human rights in the Americas and brings together excellent studies of less covered areas of the recent past and exciting treatments of the new roles of religion in today’s conflict areas." —Tom Quigley, former policy advisor on Latin America and the Caribbean to the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops
"This book makes an important and original contribution to the fields of religion and politics and to the study of human rights and violence in contemporary Latin America. Religion is treated seriously, by authors who really understand it. The book also brings fresh research and a long view to bear on its examination of civil violence and rights. Scholars and students in a range of disciplines—history, anthropology, sociology, political science, and religion—will find this book of great value." —Frances Hagopian, Harvard University
Alexander Wilde is a senior research scholar in residence at the Center for Latin American and Latino Studies, American University. He is co-editor (with Scott Mainwaring) of The Progressive Church in Latin America (University of Notre Dame Press, 1989).
List of Abbreviations
List of Illustrations
Preface and Acknowledgments
Introduction by Alexander Wilde
1. The Evolution of the Theory and Practice of Rights in Latin American Catholicism by Daniel H. Levine
2. Violence and Everyday Experience in Early Twenty-First-Century Latin America by Robert Albro
Part 1. Rethinking Religious Contributions to Human Rights
3. Human Rights and Christian Responsibility: Transnational Christian Activism, Human Rights, and State Violence in Brazil and Chile in the 1970s by Patrick William Kelly
4.Church Responses to Political Violence in Central America: From Liberation Theology to Human Rights by Virginia Garrard-Burnett
5.The Institutional Church and Pastoral Ministry: Unity and Conflict in the Defense of Human Rights in Chile by Alexander Wilde
6. Violent Times: Catholicism and Dictatorship in Argentina in the 1970s by María Soledad Catoggio
7. Transformations in Catholicism under Political Violence: Córdoba, Argentina, 1960–1980 by Gustavo Morello, S.J.
8. Religion Meets Legal Strategy: Catholic Clerics, Lawyers, and the Defense of Human Rights in Brazil by Rafael Mafei Rabelo Queiroz
Part 2. Contemporary Ministries Responding to Violence
9. Building Peace and Dignity: Jesuit Engagement in Colombia’s Magdalena Medio by Elyssa Pachico
10. From Preaching to Listening: Extractive Industries, Communities, and the Church in Rural Peru by Javier Arellano-Yanguas
11. Violence and Pastoral Care in Putumayo, Colombia by Winifred Tate
12. Violence, Religion, and Institutional Legitimacy in Northern Central America by Robert Brenneman
13. The Politics of Presence: Evangelical Ministry in Brazilian Prisons by Andrew Johnson
14. “Fui migrante y me hospedaron”: The Catholic Church’s Responses to Violence against Central American Migrants in Mexico by Amelia Frank-Vitale
15. From Guns to God: Mobilizing Evangelical Christianity in Urabá, Colombia by Kimberly Theidon
Afterword by Alexander Wilde
About the Contributors
Index