The Catholic Church and democracy in Chile and Peru /

Fleet and Smith, well-respected scholars with long track records in studying religion and politics in Chile and Peru, have produced a major comparative historical analysis of Catholicism and politics in Latin America. It is a work of extraordinary depth. Besides understanding the concerns of the Church at all levels and being sensitive to the multiple levels at which Church and state interact, they are informed by survey and other data, some of which is presented for the first time and represents a great scholarly resource on this topic. They present specific hypotheses on the interaction of Church and state and the shaping of contemporary politics, and their major contention is that the Church's role in political life stems from its moral authority. They present compelling reasons why Church-state relations are likely to continue down the path followed during the past two decades, rather than change dramatically, and why the increasingly conservative orientation of the hierarchy will have only limited impact on the Church's political relations. The authors' social science jargon and style of argument may challenge general readers, but the clearly written case studies will be well worth the effort. Highly recommended to anyone interested in a fresh analysis of Church-state relationships in Latin America in light of the new democratic regimes emerging in the past decade. Of interest to scholars of Latin American politics, religion, and social change, and of political socialization. Upper-division undergraduate through professional. B. T. Froehle; Georgetown University