Rendering unto Caesar: The Catholic Church and the State in Latin America - Softcover

Gill, Anthony

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0226293858 ISBN 13: 9780226293851

Publisher: University of Chicago Press, 1998

Synopsis

Nowhere has the relationship between state and church been more volatile in recent decades than in Latin America. Anthony Gill's controversial book not only explains why Catholic leaders in some countries came to oppose dictatorial rule but, equally important, why many did not. Using historical and statistical evidence from twelve countries, Gill for the first time uncovers the causal connection between religious competition and the rise of progressive Catholicism. In places where evangelical Protestantism and "spiritist" sects made inroads among poor Catholics, Church leaders championed the rights of the poor and turned against authoritarian regimes to retain parishioners. Where competition was minimal, bishops maintained good relations with military rulers. Applying economic reasoning to an entirely new setting, Rendering unto Caesar offers a new theory of religious competition that dramatically revises our understanding of church-state relations.

About this title

From the Author

An Economic View of Church and State in Latin America
Rendering Unto Caesar is a unique work that applies microecomic theory to understand how church-state relations in Latin America have evolved over the past several decades. It is a timely book for understanding church-state relations in Russia and Eastern Europe as well. This work draws upon the "new economics of human behavior" school pioneered by Gary Becker. It also uses the insights developed by Rod Stark, William Sims Bainbridge, Larry Iannaccone, and Roger Finke. If you enjoyed Stark's THE RISE OF CHRISTIANITY or Finke and Stark's THE CHURCHING OF AMERICA, you will find this book to your liking. It also examines the rise and influence of evangelical Protestantism in Latin America since the early 1900s.

Synopsis

Nowhere has the relationship between state and church been more volatile in recent decades than in Latin America. This book explains why Catholic leaders in some countries came to oppose dictatorial rule and, equally important, why many did not. Using historical and statistical evidence from 12 countries, Gill for the first time uncovers the causal connection between religious competition and the rise of progressive Catholicism. In places where evangelical Protestantism and "spiritist" sects made inroads among poor Catholics, Church leaders championed the rights of the poor and turned against authoritarian regimes to retain parishioners. Where competition was minimal, bishops maintained good relations with military rulers. Applying economic reasoning to an entirely new setting, the book offers a theory of religious competition that dramatically revises our understanding of church-state relations.

Edition details

• Publisher: University of Chicago Press
• Publication date: 1998
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0226293858
• ISBN 13: 9780226293851
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 283