Faces Of Latin American Protestantism

Miguez reflects on Latin American Protestantism, considering the liberal, evangelical, and pentecosal facets, and then explores theologically the tasks of unity and mission still before Latin American Protestant churches.

Ryan R. Gladwin provides a cogent introduction to Latin American Protestant Theology (LAPT) for students and scholars alike. The text offers a lucid analysis of the landscape of LAPT through an in-depth historical-theological engagement of the three dominant theological streams (Liberal, Evangelical, and Pentecostal) and how these streams understand themselves through the primary lens of ‘mission.’

The contributors to New Face of the Church in Latin America provide firsthand accounts and insider perspectives on such issues as Protestant evangelism and base communities, Catholic renewal efforts, Native American inculturation, and new developments in liberation theology.

Examines the phenomenal growth of Protestantism in Latin America and how a new politics of redemption is transforming the religious landscape of these countries.

The diverse case studies in this volume explore facets of the Protestant movement in Central and South America, such as the role of women, the connection with Catholic mysticism, the politics of supposedly conservative evangelical misssionaries, and the implications for existing patterns of authority.

Berryman writes against the background of the rise of "megacities" - the sprawling urban centers that are the home of most of Latin America's population. In that context he contrasts Sao Paulo and Caracas. The Catholic Archdiocese of Sao Paulo, under Cardinal Arns and progressive Catholics, was a major point of resistance to military dictatorship. It is also a city in which Protestant Pentecostal churches especially have enjoyed explosive growth. Berryman's sure-footed feel for what is happening gives the reader a concrete feel for what is happening in both Protestant and Catholic communities. Caracas, Berryman shows, is a very different kind of megacity, one that a Protestant missionary called "the Secular City", a place where the relative wealth and consumer lifestyle make it hard for the Gospel to take hold. Catholic and Protestant churches in Caracas face challenges quite different from those of Sao Paulo. Religion in the Megacity explores those similarities and differences within the respective cities and between them. Berryman breaks new ground in showing the way in which Catholics and Protestants face similar situations, and he does so in a dynamic, readable style that gives the reader insights from knowledgeable men and women on the ground who show that facile stereotypes about what is happening in Latin America today need to be corrected.