Professor Gaston Espinosa Edits New Book On Latino Religions and Civic Activism

Gaston Espinosa's new co-edited Latino Religions and Civic Activism in the United States (Oxford University Press, 2005) challenges a number of prevailing stereotypes about U.S. Latino religions and political activism. The book explores the critical role that institutional, popular, and civil religion has played in Latino political, civic, and social activism during the past 150 years. Special attention is paid to Roman Catholics, Mainline Protestants, and Evangelicals, and to the work of Cesar Chavez in California, the Sanctuary movement along the U.S.-Mexican border, the Elian Gonzalez controversy in Florida, the Vieques controversy in Puerto Rico, and the recent Bush-Kerry 2004 presidential election.
James Cone, the Briggs Distinguished Professor of Theology at the Union Theological Seminary, New York, calls the book a "must-read for anyone interested in the relationship between Latino religions and the struggle for justice in U.S. society." Otto Maduro, professor of Latin American Christianity at Drew University, adds that Latino Religions is "predestined to become a classic in its field," while political science professor David Leege of the University of Notre Dame praises its "scholarly examination of the pervasive influence of religion on the political and civic actions of Hispanics in the U.S."
In December, Espinosa spoke at the National Press Club on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C., on the Cultural Influences of Latino Religions and Politics, examining demographic shifts in the area of Latino politics and religion in the United States.
For book information: http://www.us.oup.com/us/catalog/general/subject/ReligionTheology/American/?ci=0195162277&view=usa.