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What drives religious people to act in politics? In Latin America, as in the Middle East, religious belief is a primary motivating factor for politically active citizens. Edward Lynch questions the frequent pitfall of Latin American scholarship--categorizing religious belief as a veil for another interest or as a purview just of churchmen, thereby ignoring its hold over lay people. Challenging this traditional view, Lynch concludes that religious motivations are important in their own right and raises important questions about the relationship between religion and politics in Latin America. Looking at the two most important Catholic lay movements, Liberation Theology and Christian Democracy, Lynch uses Nicaragua and Venezuela as case studies of how religious philosophy has fared when vested with political power. This timely study describes the motivations driving many important political actors.
Divided into two parts, Ideologies In Theory and Ideologies In Practice, this volume features a discussion of the theoretical background of two Catholic philosophies. Using Nicaragua and Venezuela as case studies, Lynch finds that Liberation Theology and Christian Democracy are not as different as many scholars think; in fact, there are many parellels. He concludes that both philosophies face their strongest challenge from a revitalized orthodox Catholic social doctrine.
List of contents
Introduction
The Ideologies in TheoryMarx, Engels, and Religion
Liberation Theology and Marxism: The Limits of Comparison
The Roots of Christian Democracy
Jacques Maritain and the Problems of Communism
Latin American Christian Democracy
The Ideologies in PracticeLiberation Theology in Nicaragua: Radicalizing the Opposition
Christian Democracy in Venezuela: The Politics of Accommodation
Christian Democracy in Nicaragua: The Limits of Accommodation
Liberation Theology in Venezuela: Catholic Social Thought Dominant
Church and State in Nicaragua: Catholic Social Thought Resurgent
Selected Bibliography
Index
About the author
EDWARD A. LYNCH is an Assistant Professor of Political Science at Villanova University. He teaches Latin American politics and political theory on both the graduate and undergraduate levels. Dr. Lynch has conducted extensive research, and he has published articles in
Terrorism: An International Journal,
blius,
This World and The Journal of Defense and Diplomacy.
