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The War of Gods: Religion and Politics in Latin America
The War of Gods traces the intimate relationship between religion, politics and social issues in Latin America over the last three decades, as liberation theology has reinterpreted the vocation of the Catholic Church and as Protestantism has made inroads on traditional Catholic strongholds.
In the 1960s liberation theology addressed itself to the problems of a continent racked by poverty and oppression. Comprising a network of localized communities and pastoral organizations, it soon became something much more than a doctrinal current. Liberationist Christianity defined itself in a multitude of social struggles, particularly in Brazil and Central America. Many of the most momentous events in the continent’s recent history—the Nicaraguan revolution, the development of the PT (Workers’ Party) in Brazil, the tortuous ascent of President Aristide in Haiti and the uprising in Chiapas—have borne witness to the influence of a distinctive liberationist Christianity. Michael Löwy proposes here a new interpretation—inspired by the sociology of culture—both of liberation theology and of the rival religious projects in Latin America.
In the 1960s liberation theology addressed itself to the problems of a continent racked by poverty and oppression. Comprising a network of localized communities and pastoral organizations, it soon became something much more than a doctrinal current. Liberationist Christianity defined itself in a multitude of social struggles, particularly in Brazil and Central America. Many of the most momentous events in the continent’s recent history—the Nicaraguan revolution, the development of the PT (Workers’ Party) in Brazil, the tortuous ascent of President Aristide in Haiti and the uprising in Chiapas—have borne witness to the influence of a distinctive liberationist Christianity. Michael Löwy proposes here a new interpretation—inspired by the sociology of culture—both of liberation theology and of the rival religious projects in Latin America.
176 pages, Paperback
First published July 1, 1996
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About the author
Michael Löwy
177 books118 followersFrench-Brazilian Marxist sociologist and philosopher. He is presently the emerited research director in social sciences at the CNRS (French National Center of Scientific Research) and lectures at the Ecole des Hautes Etudes en Sciences Sociales (EHESS; Paris, France). Author of books on Karl Marx, Che Guevara, Liberation Theology, György Lukács, Walter Benjamin and Franz Kafka, he received the Silver Medal of the CNRS in 1994.
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
January 14, 2022
Ótimo; conhecimento imenso de Löwy aliado a pesquisa. Bom documento histórico.
August 7, 2022
все очень хорошо интересно научно исследовано, правда чуть-чуть неакутально (только до 90-х). немного захотелось стать католиком. теперь нужно собственно их теологические тексты почитать.
May 1, 2011
Liberation theology brief book.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews