Crossing Swords: Politics and Religion in Mexico - Hardcover

Camp, Roderic Ai

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0195107845 ISBN 13: 9780195107845

Publisher: OUP USA, 1997

Synopsis

Based on a decade of field research, this work is the first book-length, scholarly examination in English of the role of Catholicism in Mexican society since the 1970s through 1995, and the increasing political activism of the Catholic church and clergy. It is also the first analysis of church-state relations in Latin America that incorporates detailed interviews of numerous bishops and clergy and leading politicians about how they see each other and how religion influences their values. It is also the first analysis of the Mexican Catholic Church which uses national survey research to examine Mexican attitudes toward religion, Christianity, and Catholicism, and provides the first inside look at the decision-making process of bishops at the diocesan level.

About this title

About the Author

Roderic Ai Camp is Philip M. McKenna Professor of the Pacific Rim at Claremont McKenna College and serves on the Advisory Board of the Mexican Institute at the Woodrow Wilson Center for International Scholars in the Smithsonian Institution. His books include Politics in Mexico (OUP 2006) and The Metamorphosis of Leadership in a Democratic Mexico (OUP 2010).

From the Back Cover

Based on a decade of field research, Crossing Swords is the first book-length, scholarly examination in English of the role of Catholicism in Mexican society from the 1970s to 1995, and the increasing political activism of the Catholic church and clergy. The book provides the first analysis of church-state relations in Latin America that incorporates detailed interviews with numerous bishops and clergy and leading politicians about how they see each other and how religion influences their values. Camp offers an inside look at the decision-making process of bishops at the diocesan level and draws on national survey research to examine prevailing Mexican attitudes toward religion, Christianity, and Catholicism both before, during, and after Mexico's constitutional changes on church-state relations. Incorporating comparative literature from the United States and Europe, Crossing Swords reaches a number of challenging conclusions about the interlocking relationship between religion and politics, casting light on both general theoretical arguments and on the peculiarities of the Mexican case. A comprehensive and original look at a topic of importance well beyond Mexico, this book will be essential reading for scholars and students of religion generally as well as those involved with Latin America.

Edition details

• Publisher: OUP USA
• Publication date: 1997
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0195107845
• ISBN 13: 9780195107845
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 352