Religion and Society in Latin America: Ambivalence and Advances
Author(s)
Peterson, Anna
Abstract
Studies of religion and society in Latin America have broadened in scope to include the more personal and diverse relationship between religion, social change and social control, but are still over-reliant on functional approaches to religion and institutional focuses. Such studies tend to over-contextualize religion in a given society, sometimes at the expense of novel theoretical approaches that recognize religion as an independent phenomenon that both shapes and is shaped by society. Twelve books addressing religion and society in Latin America are discussed.
