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Religion, Culture, and Society: the Case of Cuba libro_Cuba_ok 1/12/03 6:09 PM Page i RELIGION, CULTURE, AND SOCIETY: THE CASE OF CUBA Woodrow Wilson Center Reports on the Americas • # 9 libro_Cuba_ok 1/12/03 6:09 PM Page ii Printed in Argentina Designed milstein)ravel www.milsteinravel.com.ar ©2003 Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars, Washington, D.C. www.wilsoncenter.org libro_Cuba_ok 1/12/03 6:09 PM Page iii RELIGION, CULTURE, AND SOCIETY: THE CASE OF CUBA W oodrow Wilson Center Reports on the Americas • # 9 A Conference Report Conference Organizer & Editor Margaret E. Crahan with the assistance of Elizabeth Bryan Mauricio Claudio & Andrew Stevenson Latin American Program libro_Cuba_ok 1/12/03 6:09 PM Page iv THE WOODROW WILSON INTERNATIONAL CENTER FOR SCHOLARS Lee H. Hamilton, Director BOARD OF TRUSTEES Joseph B. Gildenhorn, Chair; David A. Metzner, Vice Chair. Public Members: James H. Billington, Librarian of Congress; John W. Carlin, Archivist of the United States; Bruce Cole, Chair, National Endowment for the Humanities; Roderick R. Paige, Secretary, U.S. Department of Education; Colin L. Powell, Secretary, U.S. Department of State; Lawrence M. Small, Secretary, Smithsonian Institution; Tommy G. Thompson, Secretary, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Private Citizen Members: Joseph A. Cari, Jr., Carol Cartwright, Donald E. Garcia, Bruce S. Gelb, Daniel L. Lamaute, Tamala L. Longaberger, Thomas R. Reedy WILSON COUNCIL Bruce S. Gelb, President. Diane Aboulafia-D'Jaen, Elias F. Aburdene, Charles S. Ackerman, B.B. Andersen, Cyrus A. Ansary, Lawrence E. Bathgate II, John Beinecke, Joseph C. Bell, Steven Alan Bennett, Rudy Boschwitz, A. Oakley Brooks, Melva Bucksbaum, Charles W. Burson, Conrad Cafritz, Nicola L. Caiola, Raoul L. Carroll, Scott Carter, Albert V. Casey, Mark Chandler, Peter B. Clark, Melvin Cohen, William T. Coleman, Jr., Michael D. DiGiacomo, Sheldon Drobny, F. Samuel Eberts III, J. David Eller, Mark Epstein, Melvyn J. Estrin, Sim Farar, Susan Farber, Joseph H. Flom, John H. Foster, Charles Fox, Barbara Hackman Franklin, Norman Freidkin, Morton Funger, Gregory M. Gallo, Chris G. Gardiner, Steven J. Gilbert, Alma Gildenhorn, David F. Girard-diCarlo, Michael B. Goldberg, Gretchen M. Gorog, William E. Grayson, Ronald Greenberg, Raymond A. Guenter, Edward L. Hardin, Jr., Jean L. Hennessey, Eric Hotung, John L. Howard, Darrell E. Issa, Jerry Jasinowski, Brenda LaGrange Johnson, Shelly Kamins, Edward W. Kelley, Jr., Anastasia D. Kelly, Christopher J. Kennan, Michael V. Kostiw, Steven Kotler, William H. Kremer, Raymond Learsy, Abbe Lane Leff, Perry Leff, Dennis LeVett, Francine Levinson, Harold O. Levy, David Link, Frederic V. Malek, David S. Mandel, John P. Manning, Jeffrey A. Marcus, Jay Mazur, Robert McCarthy, Linda McCausland, Stephen G. McConahey, Donald F. McLellan, J. Kenneth Menges, Jr., Philip Merrill, Kathryn Mosbacher, Jeremiah L. Murphy, Martha T. Muse, Della Newman, John E. Osborn, Paul Hae Park, Gerald L. Parsky, Michael J. Polenske, Donald Robert Quartel, Jr., J. John L. Richardson, Margaret Milner Richardson, Larry D. Richman, Carlyn Ring, Edwin Robbins, Robert G. Rogers, Otto Ruesch, B. Francis Saul, III, Alan Schwartz, Timothy R. Scully, J. Michael Shepherd, George P. Shultz, Raja W. Sidawi, Debbie Siebert, Thomas L. Siebert, Kenneth Siegel, Ron Silver, William A. Slaughter, James H. Small, Thomas F. Stephenson, Norma Kline Tiefel, Mark C. Treanor, Anthony G. Viscogliosi, Christine M. Warnke, Ruth Westheimer, Pete Wilson, Deborah Wince- Smith, Herbert S. Winokur, Jr., Paul Martin Wolff, Joseph Zappala, Nancy M. Zirkin, Richard S. Ziman. ABOUT THE CENTER The Center is the living memorial of the United States of America to the nation’s twenty-eighth president, Woodrow Wilson. Congress established the Woodrow Wilson Center in 1968 as an international institute for advanced study, “symbolizing and strengthening the fruitful relationship between the world of learn- ing and the world of public affairs.” The Center opened in 1970 under its own board of trustees. In all its activities the Woodrow Wilson Center is a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization, supported finan- cially by annual appropriations from Congress, and by the contributions of foundations, corporations, and individuals. Conclusions or opinions expressed in Center publications and programs are those of the authors and speakers and do not necessarily reflect the views of the Center staff, fellows, trustees, advi- sory groups, or any individuals or organizations that provide financial support to the Center. | iv | libro_Cuba_ok 1/12/03 6:09 PM Page v TABLE OF CONTENTS Executive Summary VII Introduction XIII Part I Religion, Culture, and Society:Theoretical, Methodological, and Historical Perspectives Chapter 1 3 Theoretical and Methodological Reflections about the Study of Religion and Politics in Latin America Daniel H. Levine, University of Michigan. Chapter 2 17 Civil Society in Cuba: A Conceptual Approach Ariel Armony,Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars & Colby College. Chapter 3 37 Cuban Diasporas: Their Impact on Religion, Culture, and Society Margaret E. Crahan, Hunter College and The Graduate Center, City University of New York. Chapter 4 55 The Evolution of Laws Regulating Associations and Civil Society in Cuba Alfonso Quiroz,Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars & Baruch College & The Graduate Center,City University of New York. Chapter 5 69 Foreign Influence through Protestant Missions in Cuba, 1898-1959: A Quaker Case Study Karen Leimdorfer, University of Southhampton Chapter 6 79 The Jewish Community in Cuba in the 1990s Arturo López Levy,Columbia University | v | libro_Cuba_ok 1/12/03 6:09 PM Page vi Part II Religion, Culture, and Society:Transnational Perspectives Chapter 7 93 The Catholic Church and Cuba’s International Ties Thomas E. Quigley, United States Conference of Catholic Bishops Chapter 8 103 Religion and the Cuban Exodus: A Perspective from Union City, New Jersey Yolanda Prieto, Ramapo College of New Jersey Chapter 9 115 Cuba’s Catholic Church and the Contemporary Exodus Silvia Pedraza, University of Michigan Chapter 10 123 God Knows No Borders:Transnational Religious Ties Linking Miami and Cuba Katrin Hansing & Sarah J. Mahler, Florida International University Conclusion 131 Agenda 137 Biographies of Participants 141 | vi | libro_Cuba_ok 1/12/03 6:09 PM Page vii EXECUTIVE SUMMARY MARGARET E. CRAHAN HUNTER COLLEGE AND THE GRADUATE CENTER, CITY UNIVERSITY OF NEW YORK he Latin American Program of the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars hosted a seminar entitled T Religion, Culture, and Society on January 21-22, 2003 with special emphasis on the case of Cuba. Participants included scholars, as well as policymakers and practitioners. In an effort to better understand the interaction of religion, culture and society in Cuba, as well as else- where, the participants explored the applicability of the predominant ana- lytical models used to comprehend the interaction of these three elements. This was accompanied by a parallel exploration of concepts of civil socie- ty in both socialist and non-socialist societies, together with a review of the history of associationalism in Cuba and the impact of diasporas on Cuban identity. The impact of transnational links, both past and present, on the role of religions in Cuba was also analyzed in several presentations. This was particularly useful given the degree of permeability Cuban cul- ture and society have traditionally evidenced. While the seminar focused primarily on Catholicism, attention was also paid to Protestantism, Judaism and Spiritism given their contributions to the molding of Cuban culture and society. Among the principal issues discussed were: • How the study of the interaction of religion, culture and society in any country challenges existing theoretical and methodological models to define the units of analysis and locate each development, process, individual and group within a broader context in order to assess their actual impact. • To date five theoretical and methodological models have been widely employed in the study of the interaction of religion, culture and society: the institutional, popular (or Gramscian), phenomenological, rational choice and ideal interest (or Weberian). The logic of each helps determine the nature of the data sought, as well as the analytical approach. The institutional and rational choice approaches tend to focus on institutions and their drive to maintain influence and meet their goals, | vii | libro_Cuba_ok 1/12/03 6:09 PM Page viii Margaret E. Crahan both transcendental and material. Rational choice also assumes that reli- gious behavior is influenced by individual and group interests. The popular and phenomenological approaches tend to analyze the interaction of reli- gion, society and culture in terms of processes of social and political trans- formation which create new norms and actors that go beyond institutional needs. The phenomenological, in particular, examines concurrent cultural and institutional changes that may generate new capacities and modes of action that are reflected in such phenomena as increased activism. The ideal interest approach challenges rational choice by suggesting that religiously motivated behavior can reflect ideological and faith convictions that priori- tize the common good over individual or group interests. The most insight- ful analyses generally employ a combination of approaches. • In any analysis, it is essential to recognize the power of ideas and beliefs and their role in
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