Intro -- Critical Currents in Latin American Perspective -- Title Page -- Copyright Page -- Dedication -- Table of Contents -- List of Tables -- Acknowledgments -- Abbreviations -- Introduction -- CHAPTER ONE - Development of the Dominican Catholic Church: A Comparative Perspective -- The Latin American Church and Politics -- Church-State Ruptures -- Church and State Integration -- Church Subordination to the State -- The Dominican Church under Colonial Rule -- The Dominican Church under the Haitian Occupation, 1822-1844 -- Portes and the Search for a National Church, 1844-1858 -- From Colonial Rule to Institutional Crisis, 1861-1884 -- Meriño and the Development of a Dominican Clergy, 1885-1906 -- Nouel and the Development of a Dependent Church, 1906-1931 -- The Church and the Trujillo Dictatorship -- The Concordat and the End of the Trujillo Dictatorship -- The Conflict between Trujillo and the Church -- Conclusions -- Notes -- CHAPTER TWO - Church and Politics in Four Latin American Nations -- Church and Politics in Latin America after Vatican II -- Pope John Paul II and the Conservative Shift in Church Mission -- Case Studies of the Latin American Catholic Church and Politics -- Conclusions -- Notes -- CHAPTER THREE - Finding a New Role in Society -- The Dominican Church and Post-Trujillo Society, 1961-1966 -- The Church and Post-Trujillo Society, 1966-1978 -- Conclusions -- Notes -- CHAPTER FOUR - Mediator par Excellence -- The Dominican Transition to Democracy -- Institutional Expansion of the Catholic Church -- The Church, Political Parties in Government, and Financial Resources -- The Emergence of the Church as Mediator par Excellence -- Conclusions -- Notes -- CHAPTER FIVE - Building a New Relationship with Society -- The Development of Social Pastoral Programs -- Cáritas Dominicana and the Social Pastoral Work.

Cedail, Social Pastoral Work, and Human Rights -- Conclusion -- Notes -- CHAPTER SIX - Evangelicals and Politics: Challenges and Opportunities -- Changes in the Latin American Religious Field -- Evangelicals and Politics in the Dominican Republic -- Incorporation of Evangelicals into Dominican Politics -- Evangelicals and the Search for Influence in Society -- Conclusions -- Notes -- General Conclusions -- Bibliography -- Index -- About the Author.

The Catholic Church acted as a mediator during social and political change in several Latin American countries from the 1960s through the 1990s: the Dominican Republic, Bolivia, Guatemala, Nicaragua, and El Salvador. Although the Catholic clergy was called to mediate in political crises in all five countries, in the Dominican Republic the Church's role as mediator was eventually institutionalized. A historical examination of church-state relations and case study of the Dominican Republic leads into important regional comparisons that broaden our understanding of the Catholic Church in the whole of Latin America.

Description based on publisher supplied metadata and other sources.

Electronic reproduction. Ann Arbor, Michigan : ProQuest Ebook Central, 2018. Available via World Wide Web. Access may be limited to ProQuest Ebook Central affiliated libraries.