Religion and Latin America in the Twenty-First Century Libraries Reacting to Social Change
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Religion and Latin America in the Twenty-First Century Libraries Reacting to Social Change SEMINAR ON THE ACQUISITION OF LATIN AMERICAN LIBRARY MATERIALS XLII HAROLD B LttUOnMn- UNlVhRSin BRIGHAM YOUNG PROVO. UTAH Religion and Latin America in the Twenty-First Century SALALM Secretariat Benson Latin American Collection The General Libraries The University of Texas at Austin Religion and Latin America in the Twenty-First Century: Libraries Reacting to Social Change Papers of the Forty-Second Annual Meeting of the SEMINAR ON THE ACQUISITION OF LATIN AMERICAN LIBRARY MATERIALS Rockville, Maryland May 17-21, 1997 Mark L. Grover Editor SALALM Secretariat Benson Latin American Collection The General Libraries The University of Texas at Austin ISBN: 0-917617-59-2 Copyright © 1999 by SALALM, Inc. All rights reserved Printed in the United States of America HAROLD B Let LIBRARY ^ BRIGHAM YOUNG UNIVERSITY PROVO. UTAH 1 Contents Preface ix The Catholic Church in Latin America 1. Crisis, Conflict, and Change: Contemporary Latin American Catholicism Edward L. Cleary 3 Catholicism and Politics 2. José Martí: Political Philosophy and the Catholic Church Jack A. Siggins 15 3. El rol de Evita en las relaciones del régimen peronista con la Iglesia Católica argentina Eudoxio Paredes-Ruiz 22 4. The Mythology of Eva Perón: Saint or Sinner Donna Canevari de Paredes 38 5. All Humankind Is One: Archbishop Claret and Racism in Nineteenth-Century Cuba Rafael E. Tarrago 45 Protestantism in Latin America 6. "Like a Mighty Pushing Wind": The Growth of Protestantism in Contemporary Latin America Virginia Garrard-Burnett 61 7. La Iglesia Evangélica en el Perú: una aproximación socio-política Carlos A Iberto Acuña Ramos 7 8. Three Mennonite Colonies and the Indigenous Communities in the Central Chaco Georgette M. Dom 78 9. Documents of Protestant Religious Missions to Latin America: Their Potential for Nonrehgious Research Karen Lindvall-Larson 85 vi Contents Religion in Mexico 10. Hacia una tipología de la participación política de los evangélicos mexicanos Rubén Ruiz Guerra 93 11. TESIUNAM: A Database for Supporting Scholarly Research in Religion Filiberto Felipe Martinez-Arellano 104 Religion in Brazil 12. The Use of Media by Jewish Communities in Brazil Frida Garbati 111 13. A religião dos pioneiros norte-americanos no Brasil Sónia T. Dias Gonçalves da Silva 122 Religion in the English-Speaking Caribbean 14. Changing Patterns of Denominational Affiliation in the Christian Church in Trinidad and Tobago Margaret D. Rouse-Jones 151 15. An Evaluation of BibUographical Materials of Nontraditional Religions in Jamaica: Revival and Rastafari Dorothy M. Palmer 168 Afro-Brazilian Religions 16. Forbidden Love: The Turbulent Relationship between the Roman CathoUc Church and African BraziUan Religion Mike Weems 185 17. El papel de la mujer en el candomblé Malgorzata Oleszkiewicz 193 18. The Power of Axé: Trends and Sources in Afro-Brazilian ReUgious Studies Eileen Oliver 201 Contents vü Religious Syncretism and the Latin American Indian 19. Transculturación y sincretismo religioso en la poesía quechua colonial Ángel Esteban 213 20. Manifestaciones de fondo y forma en la religión prehispánica y la católica Elsa Barberena B. 227 The Library of Congress and Global Resources 21. The Library of Congress Brazil Field Office: Past Accomplishments and New Challenges Pamela Howard-Reguindin 241 22. Pushing the Envelope: Beyond Acquisitions Terry C. Peet 245 23. Back to the Future: An Immodest Proposal Terry C. Peet 250 Latin American Biography and Collections 24. Gabriel Rene Moreno, BoHvian BibHographer Nelly S. Gonzalez 253 25. Diplomacy in the Service of the Arts: Manoel de Oliveira Lima and the Musical Materials at the Oliveira Lima Library Marcelo Campos Hazan 257 26. Preservation Microfilming of the Colección Lafragua in the Biblioteca Nacional de México Carl Deal 261 Contributors 267 Conference Program 269 Preface Few regions of the world have undergone dramatic and major change to the extent that Latin America has during the past few years. As a result of political reform, military dictatorships have given way to democracies in many countries of the region. Economic adjustments have led to unprecedented growth and development and greater participation in the world economy. And emerging social movements have the potential to significantly alter Latin American cul- ture and society. In addition, unexpected change has occurred in the area of rehgion in Latin America. In a region long considered predominantly CathoUc, Indian and Afri- can reUgions are becoming more prominent than ever before. Folk Catholicism, historically an indication of rehgious pluralism, is gaining attention. But by far the most significant change in Latin American religion during the past twenty years has been the growth of Evangelical Protestantism and its Catholic counter- part, the Charismatic movement. Within a few years, Evangelical Protestants will likely outnumber Catholics in many Latin American countries. The challenge for librarians is to meet the needs of patrons doing research about a region that is undergoing such rapid change. Historically, there has been a lag of several years between events in Latin America and library resources pertaining to those events. Despite the increasing availability of electronic re- sources, most of the work being published in the United States on Latin Ameri- can religion is based on research conducted at least ten years ago. Given this time lag, how can Ubraries provide patrons with the research materials they need in order to understand contemporary events in Latin America? The forty-second annual meeting of SALALM, held in May 1997 in Rockville, Maryland, focused on rehgion in Latin America. The participants ex- amined Catholicism, Protestantism and EvangeUcalism, Afro-Latin reUgions, and indigenous reUgions. A common theme of the presentations was that Latin America is indeed pluralist when it comes to reUgion. As Dr. Edward Cleary, one of the keynote speakers, has pointed out, the reUgious change that is occur- ring in Latin America is neither simply the expansion of Protestant religion nor losses by the Catholic church but a reorganization of religion that cuts across organiza- tional lines in response to structural changes. Religion grows or declines IX . X Preface or reshapes itself in a context of changing socioeconomic conditions and poUtical arrangements.' The common assumption has been that as Latin America modernized, religious fervor and faith would diminish. The responses to a 1997 survey in Brazil suggest that modernization has had the opposite effect. According to the survey results, 99 percent of all Brazilians believe in a God, and 43 percent of those questioned had actually gone to some type of church, temple, or religious center during the week before the survey.^ Recent studies in Mexico and other parts of Latin America show similar results. The papers in this volume reflect the rapidly changing nature of the study of religion in Latin America. The papers examine the changing political rela- tionships between church and state; the present-day role of Evangelical churches in the political arena; historical Protestantism; new religions that challenge the system; and religious syncretism. Several papers emphasize the need for librar- ians to stay in touch with events in Latin America. I am indebted to the committee chairs and panel organizers for their help in organizing a successful meeting. I am immensely grateful to the six host in- stitutions: the Library of Congress Hispanic Cultural Society, Hispanic Divi- sion, and Directorate of Acquisitions; the Oliveira Lima Library of The Catholic University of America; Maryland College Park Libraries; and the Latin Ameri- can Studies Center, University of Maryland. I would like to express particular appreciation to Terry C. Peet, chair of the Local Arrangements Committee, and to the members of his committees. The success of SALALM XLII was due in large part to their hard work and dedication. A final note of thanks to my chil- dren, Tony and Sylvia, for their understanding. Mark L. Grover NOTES 1 Edward L. Cleary, "Evangelicals and Competition in Guatemala," in Edward L. Cleary and Hannah Stewart-Gambino, eds., Conflict and Competition: The Latin American Church in a Changing Environment (Boulder, Colo.: Lynne Rienner Publishers, 1992), p. 167. 2. "Crer em Deus, hoje," Veja (April 2, 1997), pp. 96-100. The Catholic Church in Latin America 1. Crisis, Conflict, and Change: Contemporary Latin American Catholicism Edward L. Cleary Attending the Latin American Studies International Congress for the first time in 1972 was a profound personal disappointment. I found virtually no presen- tations on Latin American religion. Cole Blasier, later Chief of the Hispanic Division of the Library of Congress and then my mentor, explained that for so- cial scientists to be interested in a topic, it had to be able to change. Catholi- cism was considered a monolith and unchanging, and Protestantism in Latin America was regarded as insignificant. Twenty-five years later, as we approach a new century, countless books and periodicals have traced changes in Latin American religion. This paper em- phasizes four themes: the vitality of religion; the special case of Mexico; reU- gion, democracy, and the economy; and Cathohc-non-Catholic relations. Vitality of Religion Anticlericalism, the withdrawal of Spanish clergy after independence in the 1820s, and the lack of native clergy left an apparently dying church