Course finder

Semester 1

Christianity and Politics in Latin America, 1800 to the present (DIVI10104)

Subject

Divinity

College

CAHSS

Credits

20

Normal Year Taken

3

Delivery Session Year

2023/2024

Pre-requisites

Visiting students should have completed at least 3 Divinity/Religious Studies courses at grade B or above. We will only consider University/College level courses.

Course Summary

This course examines the historical and contemporary relationship between Christian movements and politics in Latin America. Special attention is given to the political implications of religious revivals, the changing forms of church-state relations, the forms of Christian activism that emerged in the continent, and the construction of civil society since 1800.

Course Description

Academic Description: The politicisation of religion in Latin America has attracted a good deal of scholarly and public attention in recent decades. At least since the 1970s the evangelical eruption into state politics and the activism of progressive Catholics have demonstrated the public vigour of movements of religious renewal. The projection of religious energies in the continent's public sphere, however, has longer historical roots, and it is the goal of this course to examine the dynamic relationship between Christianity and politics in Latin America over the past two centuries. Students will evaluate the political significance of religious practices and mobilisations and how Christian actors and organisations navigated turbulent processes of socio-political change. The course considers the shifting involvements between churches and the state, their role in the construction of civil society, the Christian forms of grassroots activism, and the churches' ideological discourses. Lectures and seminars will analyse the sweeping religious transformations reframing the political contours of the continent by looking at an array of case studies. Outline Content: The course will be divided in four main units: 1) The session 'Catholics and Protestants in the Emerging Nation States' concentrates on the transformations experienced by the Catholic Church under the new independent nations, especially the rise of Romanised Catholicism, and the earliest wave of evangelical expansion between 1800-1930. Case studies will be taken from Guatemala, Brazil, and Chile. 2) The next unit on 'Religious Conflict and Rebellion' examines church-state conflicts and grassroots messianic movements in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. Case studies: the Canudos War in Brazil (1895-8) and the Cristero Rebellion in Mexico (1926-9). 3) The session 'Christian Political Thought and Action Before Liberation Theology' explores the local embodiments of the transnational movement Catholic Action and the implications of Protestant ecumenism in Peru, Mexico, and Brazil. 4) The final block on 'Authoritarian Rule and Democracy Since 1960' turns to contemporary issues, examining the ambiguous relationship of the Catholic Church with the repressive military regimes of the southern cone and evangelical politics. Student Learning Experience: Each weekly session will start with a one-hour lecture followed by a student presentation and a seminar discussion. There will be a list of essential and recommended readings for each week and students are expected to read the texts before lectures, so they can take part in the seminar discussions. Readings set for each week will combine primary historical sources and specialised secondary literature. In the mid-semester assessment students will write a 1000-word review of 3-4 book chapters or articles on a topic chosen from a pre-circulated list. The final assessment will consist of a 2500-word essay on one of the topics of the course.

Assessment Information

Written Exam 0%, Coursework 90%, Practical Exam 10%

view the timetable and further details for this course