Review by Choice Review
Until recently, scholarly interest in contemporary Latin American religion focused almost exclusively on liberation theology; the rapid growth of evangelical Protestantism has been either ignored or denounced as a US-financed attempt to undermine revolutionary movements. Stoll, an anthropologist, rejects such simplistic explanations. He views the growth of theologically conservative Protestantism as a genuinely popular movement among the poor, one that responds to their needs better then liberation theology. This, he argues, is what accounts for a growth rate that would make evangelical Protestants a majority in Brazil and Honduras and a very substantial minority in many other countries by 2010. His case is enhanced with a wealth of field observations gathered in Guatemala, Nicaragua, and Ecuador. Stoll documents with alarm the attempts by Oliver North and the Reagan administration to manipulate evangelicals in Latin America, but he also argues that the growth of the movement is "giving Latin Americans a new form of social organization and a new way to express their hopes." In other words, the growth of conservative Protestantism in Latin America could work both ways. Enthusiastically recommended. -G. E. Paul, Gustavus Adolphus College
Copyright American Library Association, used with permission.
Review by Choice Review
