Book Reviews

Abstract

Resurgent Voices in Latin America offers an important examination of the role religion has played in the creation and advancement of indigenous political and social movements in Latin America. Over the past decade, a growing body of scholarly literature in political science, sociology, and anthropology has examined the emergence of powerful indigenous movements throughout Latin America. While existing literature on these movements has examined the importance of secular advocates and nongovernmental organizations for indigenous politics, relatively little attention has been given to the role of religious institutions in fostering indigenous political action. The contributors to this edited volume provide a broad view of the historical and contemporary activities of Christian institutions and theologies in that arena. Drawing on case studies of Bolivia, Ecuador, Guatemala, Mexico, Paraguay, and Peru, these authors argue that religious institutions have strengthened indigenous identities and advanced indigenous rights in these countries. Each of the chapters presents one of these case studies (except chapter 3, a comparison of two countries, Bolivia and Peru). As Cleary and Steigenga explain in the introduction, the advantage of this approach is that each chapter provides a rich, in-depth examination of the interaction between indigenous politics and religion in specific political and historical contexts. At the same time, these case studies contribute to the volume’s overarching thesis that Catholic and Protestant institutions, beliefs, and religious practices in Latin America have affected and been affected by indigenous activism. They do this in three main ways (pp. 18–20). Religious syncretism and hybridity have played important roles in the development of indigenous theologies that support indigenous activism. Christian institutions have contributed important resources to indigenous activism, particularly education and organizational training. Indigenous peoples themselves, furthermore, have contributed to changes in Catholic and Protestant theologies and religious practices. In chapter 2, “From Civil Society to Collective Action: The Politics of Religion in Ecuador,” Allison Brysk convincingly argues that religious institutions’ changing relationship to state power in that country has