Die Geschichte des Christentums in Lateinamerika
Die Geschichte des Christentums in Lateinamerika ... . By Prien, Hans-Jurgen. ... . Pp. ... . Cloth. ... Hispanic American Historical Review (1979) 59 ( ...
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Book Review\|February 01 1979

# Die Geschichte des Christentums in Lateinamerika

_Die Geschichte des Christentums in Lateinamerika_

. By Prien, Hans-Jurgen.

Göttingen, Germany

,

1978

.

Vandenhoeck und Ruprecht

.

Tables. Illustrations. Map. Appendix. Notes. Bibliography. Indexes

. Pp.

1302

. Cloth.

[Robert J. Knowlton](javascript:;)

Robert J. Knowlton

University of Wisconsin, Stevens Point

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Hispanic American Historical Review (1979) 59 (1): 124–125.

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Robert J. Knowlton; Die Geschichte des Christentums in Lateinamerika. _Hispanic American Historical Review_ 1 February 1979; 59 (1): 124–125. doi: [https://doi.org/10.1215/00182168-59.1.124](https://doi.org/10.1215/00182168-59.1.124)

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This is an ambitious work. The scope is staggering; the wealth of information is impressive. In nearly 1200 pages of small-print text, the author traces the history of Christianity in all of Latin America from the discovery to the present. Approximately two-thirds of the text are devoted to the national era, with emphasis on the twentieth century. For each historical period and country treated, Prien describes political, economic, and social conditions and dominant ideas, as a foundation for the ensuing examination of ecclesiastical matters.

Although Catholicism and the Catholic Church receive primary attention, everything and everyone imaginable related to religion are touched upon. The space allotted to a particular country, issue, or individual varies with its importance. Coverage ranges from old liberalism to positivism to theology of liberation, from the Council of Trent to Vatican II, from colonial provincial councils to Medellín, from Bartolomé de las Casas and Juan de Zumárraga to Camilo Torres and Hélder Câmara, from religion and the Church in social revolutions to the Church under rightist dictatorships, from the _patronato real_ to separation of Church and state, from the regulars and colonial missionary activities to twentieth-century evangelism, Protestantism, and folk religion. One of Prien’s few apparent omissions is his failure to offer a comparative summary of Church–state relations in the nineteenth century which might make comprehensible the wide variation in the relations between the Church and Latin American governments.

The bibliography of periodical and monographic literature, primarily in German, English, Spanish, Portuguese, and French, reflects the breadth of Prien’s scholarship and his thoroughness. However, a specialist in the history of a specific country, topic, or period may find some fault with sources and interpretations. In the case of Mexico, for example, some significant works are missing from the bibliography, such as Robert Quirk, _The Mexican Revolution and the Catholic Church, 1910-1929_, and Daniel Cosío Villegas, _Historia moderna de México_, while others, unimportant for the study, are included. Extensive reference to J. Lloyd Mecham’s _Church and State in Latin America: A History of Politico-Ecclesiastical Relations_ is understandable, but there also seems to be excessive reliance on John Fagg’s textbook, _Latin America: A General History_. The use of such a source accounts, perhaps, for the occasional distorted or dated interpretations and inaccurate information. But fortunately these criticisms do not seem to apply to material related to the book’s major themes.

Considering Prien’s monumental goal, the results do not disappoint. This encyclopedic, balanced, and objective work should be a useful reference for a long time; it deserves wide circulation in the academic community.

Copyright 1979 by Duke University Press

1979

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