Overview

This global archival collaboration documents the history of Latin American evangelicalism through the translation of carefully selected primary sources, providing readers with direct access to the perspectives and deliberations of the first generations of evangelicals in Latin America. The documents are framed by substantive introductions from leading scholars within the region, situating local stories and voices within the wider demographic and conceptual transformations reshaping Christianity worldwide. The volume shifts the focus of mission and belief studies away from English-language centered narratives and highlights the complex interplay of local and global forces as they unfold in the lives of the movement's newest members. From accounts of the Pentecostal revival in Chile, to shifting notions of religious liberty in nineteenth-century Nicaragua, to evangelization efforts among Indigenous groups in Ecuador, and the first Spanish-language evangelical newspaper in Argentina, this work offers a deeper look at the nascent effervescence of Latin America's growing religious minority.

Full Product Details

Author:   Pedro Feitoza (University of Edinburgh) ,  Joseph Florez (California State University, Bakersfield)
Publisher:   Cambridge University Press
Imprint:   Cambridge University Press
ISBN:  

9781009640428

ISBN 10:   1009640429
Pages:   366
Publication Date:   07 May 2026
Audience:   General/trade ,  General
Format:   Paperback
Publisher's Status:   Forthcoming
Availability:   Not yet available, will be POD  
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Table of Contents

Forward David Bebbington; Introduction Pedro Feitoza and Joseph Florez; Part I. Conversion: 1. In Luther's path: a historical conversion letter and sermon in México by Manuel Aguas, 1871 Carlos Martínez García; Primary source: excerpt from El Monitor Republicano (México DF), 1871; 2. Two evangelical converts build their own church in Buenos Aires: Matías Fernández Quinquela and Carlota Lusbin (1900–1904) Paula Seiguer Primary sources: excerpts from the South American Missionary Magazine, 1900; and La Reforma (Buenos Aires), 1904; 3. A rural leader who became an evangelical Christian in the Evangelical Missionary Union Church of Colombia Pablo Moreno Palacios; Primary source: autobiographical story written by Pedro Antonio Aguirre Molina, manuscript archived at Unibautista University library, Cali, Colombia; 4. The origins of Pentecostalism in Puerto Rico: a historiographical look at the memories of Juan León Lugo Maricelis Nogueras Colón; Primary source: Juan L. Lugo, Pentecostés en Puerto Rico: o la vida de un misionero, 1951; Part II. New Religious Sensibilities: 5. Protestantism and secularization in Río de la Plata, 1870–1900: the disenchantment of the 'Catholic world' Norman Rubén Amestoy; Primary sources: excerpts from El Estandarte (Buenos Aires), 1889; El Atalaya (Montevideo), 1902; and El Evangelista (Montevideo), 1877 and 1880; 6. Echoes of the awakening: a first-hand account of Sister Elena's visit to the methodist churches of Santiago, 1909 Juan Sepúlveda; Primary source: excerpt from Chile Evanjélico (Concepción), 1909; 7. Life and health: Adventist print media in Brazil Karina Kosicki Bellotti; Primary sources: excerpts from Revista Vida e Saúde, 1939; Part III. Negotiating Social, Political, and Everyday Life: 8. Renacimiento: the construction of Peru's evangelical identity Juan Fonseca; Primary sources: excerpts from Renacimiento (Lima), 1921 and 1927; 9. Flag, faith, and nationalism: Protestantism, modernization, and political fiefdom in the Brazilian backlands in the early twentieth century David Nogueira Da Silva; Primary sources: excerpts from A República (Teresina), 1908 and 1909; and O Jornal Baptista (Rio de Janeiro), 1908; 10. Protestant expansion in Nicaragua: an analysis of La Libérrima (1893) Ligia Madrigal Mendieta Primary sources: articles from the 'Libérrima' constitution of 1893 and the Reform of 1896 (Nicaragua), and La Antorcha: Revista Mensual de la Convención Bautista (Managua), 1941; 11. Operation auca: contact and evangelization of the Waorani Indians in Ecuador Susana Andrade; Primary source: Elisabeth Elliot, Through Gates of Splendor, 1956; Epilogue Véronique Lecaros.

Reviews

'This unique volume is the first to bring together annotated primary documents exclusively related to the history and practice of evangelical religion in Latin America. Here, South America's leading scholars of religion have carefully curated a remarkably cohesive and lively collection of contextual essays and primary documents. Drawn from newspapers, missionary papers, religious tracts, instructive brochures, magazines, personal letters, and even sermons, most of these are available for the first time here in English. This collection will be invaluable in the classroom, and to anyone interested in exploring how and why evangelical religion has become such a dynamic force in contemporary Latin America.' Virginia Garrard, Emerita Professor of History and Religious Studies, University of Texas at Austin 'In recent decades, scholars of world Christianity have heralded its global shift southward. This collection acquaints readers with early generations of that shift in Latin America between the 1870s and 1950s, highlighting both regional and denominational diversities.' Ronald J. Morgan, Abilene Christian University

Author Information

Pedro Feitoza is Lecturer in Latin American Christianity at the University of Edinburgh. He is the author of Propogandists of the Book: Protestant Missions, Christian Literacy, and the Making of Brazilian Protestantism. Joseph Florez is Associate Professor of Religious Studies at California State University, Bakersfield. He is the author of Giving Life to the Faith: Lived Religion, Pentecostalism, and Social Activism in Authoritarian Chile.

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