Christianity in Latin America: A History

From the arrival of the conquistadores in the fifteenth century to the spread of the Pentecostal movement today, Christianity has moulded, coerced, refashioned, and enriched Latin America. Likewise, Christianity has been changed, criticized, and renewed as it crossed the Atlantic. These changes now affect its practice and understanding, not only in South and Central America and the Caribbean, but also - through immigration and global communication - around the world. Focusing on this mutually constitutive relationship, Christianity in Latin America presents the important encounters between people, ideas, and events of this large, heterogeneous subject. In doing so, it takes readers on a fascinating journey of explorers, missionaries, farmers, mystics, charlatans, evangelists, dictators, and martyrs. This book offers an accessible and engaging review of the history of Christianity in Latin America with a widely ecumenical focus to foster understanding of the various forces shaping both Christianity and the region.

Ondina E. Gonzalez is an independent scholar who has been a visiting professor at Agnes Scott College and Emory University Justo L. Gonzalez has taught historical theology at various institutions, including the Evangelical Seminary of Puerto Rico, Candler School of Theology at Emory University, and Columbia Theological Seminary