“When you come to Puerto Rico remember…
that long before the Pilgrims knelt to thank God for their
safe arrival, we were praying in churches almost a century old…”
–Extract from a publicity pamphlet given to visitors
Representation matters. However, too often, when the histories of people of color finally get a chance to be taught, they are misrepresented or not represented at all. That is why, for instance, there are courses on American Church History that blatantly ignore the history of the African American church. Or courses on Latin American Church History with no required readings on the topic. Our histories are part of who we are, of our identity. When they are misrepresented, we are. When they are ignored, we are.
Here I share 15 books on Latin American church history written mainly by Latin Americans.
González, Justo L. and Ondina E. González. Christianity in Latin America: A History. New York, NY: Cambridge University Press, 2008, 344 pp.
Dussel, Enrique, ed. The Church in Latin America: 1492-1992. Maryknoll, NY: Orbis Books, 1992, 512 pp.
Dussel, Enrique, ed. Resistencia y Esperanza: Historia del Pueblo Cristiano en América Latina y el Caribe. San José, Costa Rica: CEHILA, 1995.
Cruz, Joel M. The Histories of the Latin American Church: A Brief Introduction. Minneapolis: Fortress Press, 2014, 120 pp.
Míguez Bonino, José. Faces of Latin American Protestantism. Grand Rapids, MI: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Co. 1997, 158 pp.
Este libro fue publicado originalmente en español bajo el título Rostros del Protestantismo Latinoamericano.
Silva Gotay, Samuel. Protestantismo y Política en Puerto Rico, 1898-1930: Hacia una Historia del Protestantismo Evangélico en Puerto Rico. San Juan, PR: Editorial de la Universidad de Puerto Rico, 1997, 375 pp.
González, Justo L. and Ondina E. González. Nuestra Fe: A Latin American Church History Sourcebook. Nashville, TN: Abingdon Press, 2014, 304 pp.
Núñez C., Emilio Antonio and William D. Taylor. Crisis and Hope in Latin America: An Evangelical Perspective. Pasadena, CA: William Carey Library, 1996, 528 pp.
Hartch, Todd. The Rebirth of Latin American Christianity. New York, NY: Oxford University Press, 2014, 304 pp.
Koschorke, Klaus, Frieder Ludwig, and Mariano Delgado, eds. A History of Christianity in Asia, Africa, and Latin America, 1450-1990: A Documentary Sourcebook. Grand Rapids, MI: Wm. Eerdmans Publishing Co., 2007, 464 pp.
Rivera Pagán, Luis N. A Violent Evangelism: The Political and Religious Conquest of the Americas. Louisville, KY: Westminster-John Knox Press, 1992, 376 pp.
Este libro fue publicado originalmente en español bajo el título Evangelización y Violencia: La Conquista de América. San Juan, PR: Editorial CEMI, 1991.
Cardoza-Orlandi, Carlos F. and Justo L. González. “Missions in Latin America.” In To All Nations from All Nations: A History of the Christian Missionary Movement. Nashville, TN: Abingdon Press, 2013: 361-431.
Salinas, J. Daniel. Taking Up the Mantle: Latin American Evangelical Theology in the 20th Century. UK: Langham Global Library, 2017, 216 pp.
Scatena, Silvia, Jon Sobrino, and Luiz Carlos Susin. Fathers of the Church in Latin America. London: SCM Press, 2009, 150 pp.
Pérez Esquivel, Adolfo. Christ in a Poncho: Testimonials of the Nonviolent Struggles in Latin America. Maryknoll, NY: Orbis Books, 1983, 150 pp.
[1] Wilfred Scopes, editor, The Christian Ministry in Latin America and the Caribbean (New York, NY: Commission on World Mission and Evangelism of the World Council of Churches, 1962), 60.
Featured image: Sugar Cane by Diego Rivera
Glocal Theology 