This book analyzes the rise of evangelical Christians in Latin American electoral politics, comparing six Latin American countries.

In Latin America, evangelical Protestantism poses an increasing challenge to Catholicism's long-established religious hegemony. At the same time, the region is among the most generally democratic outside the West, despite often being labeled as 'underdeveloped.' Scholars disagree whether Latin American Protestantism, as a fast-growing and predominantly lower-class phenomenon, will encourage a political culture that is repressive and authoritarian, or if it will have democratizing effects. Drawing from a range of sources, Evangelical Christianity and Democracy in Latin America provides case studies of five countries: Brazil, Peru, Mexico, Guatemala, and Nicaragua. The contributors, mainly scholars based in Latin America, bring first hand-knowledge to their chapters. The result is a groundbreaking work that explores the relationship between Latin American evangelicalism and politics, its influences, manifestations, and prospects for the future. Evangelical Christianity and Democracy in Latin America is one of four volumes in the series Evangelical Christianity and Democracy in the Global South, which seeks to answer the question: What happens when a revivalist religion based on scriptural orthodoxy participates in the volatile politics of the Third World? At a time when the global-political impact of another revivalist and scriptural religion - Islam - fuels vexed debate among analysts the world over, these volumes offer an unusual comparative perspective on a critical issue: the often combustible interaction of resurgent religion and the developing world's unstable politics.

The global expansion of evangelical Christianity is one of the most important religious developments in recent decades, but its political dimension is little studied by the comparative literature on religion and world politics. Paul Freston's book is a pioneering comparative study of the political aspects of the new mass evangelical Protestantism of sub-Saharan Africa, Latin America and parts of Asia. The book examines twenty-seven countries from the three major continents of the Third World, burrowing deep into the specificities of each country's religious and political fields, but keeping in view the need for cross-continental comparisons. The conclusion looks at the implications of evangelical politics for democracy, nationalism and globalisation. This unique account of the politics of global evangelicalism will be of interest across disciplines and in many different parts of the world.

Protestants are making phenomenal gains in Latin America. This is the first general account of the evangelical challenge to Catholic predominance, with special attention to the collision with liberation theology in Central America. David Stoll reinterprets the "invasion of the sects" as an evangelical awakening, part of a wider religious reformation which could redefine the basis of Latin American politics. This title is part of UC Press's Voices Revived program, which commemorates University of California Press's mission to seek out and cultivate the brightest minds and give them voice, reach, and impact. Drawing on a backlist dating to 1893, Voices Revived makes high-quality, peer-reviewed scholarship accessible once again using print-on-demand technology. This title was originally published in 1990. Protestants are making phenomenal gains in Latin America. This is the first general account of the evangelical challenge to Catholic predominance, with special attention to the collision with liberation theology in Central America. David Stoll reinterpret

Evangelical and Catholic groups are transforming Brazilian politics. This book asks why, and what the consequences are for democracy.

Latin American states took dramatic steps toward greater inclusion during the late twentieth and early twenty-first Centuries. Bringing together an accomplished group of scholars, this volume examines this shift by introducing three dimensions of inclusion: official recognition of historically excluded groups, access to policymaking, and resource redistribution. Tracing the movement along these dimensions since the 1990s, the editors argue that the endurance of democratic politics, combined with longstanding social inequalities, create the impetus for inclusionary reforms. Diverse chapters explore how factors such as the role of partisanship and electoral clientelism, constitutional design, state capacity, social protest, populism, commodity rents, international diffusion, and historical legacies encouraged or inhibited inclusionary reform during the late 1990s and early 2000s. Featuring original empirical evidence and a strong theoretical framework, the book considers cross-national variation, delves into the surprising paradoxes of inclusion, and identifies the obstacles hindering further fundamental change.

A thorough overview of Latin America's history, culture, social reality, & spiritual dynamics from an evangelical point of view. The challenges of post-conciliar Roman Catholicism, liberation theology, the charismatic movement contextualization, & social responsibility are explored. Taylor examines the implications of this information for missions in Latin America.