Landscapes of Liberation: Mission and Development in Peru's Southern Highlands, 1958 - 1988

Landscapes of Liberation explores how Catholic mission in Latin America was influenced by geopolitical upheaval, church reform, and the critique of colonial power. It examines how a transnational network of pastoral agents and laypeople in Peru's southern highlands claimed mission and development as intertwined tenets of spiritual and social life during three decades of agrarian reform, activism, and social conflict.

Format: Hardback
Length: 250 pages
Publication date: 12 July 2023
Publisher: Leuven University Press

The Catholic mission in the mid-20th century faced a complex web of challenges, including geopolitical upheaval, church reform, and the growing critique of the colonial power matrix to which the Church was intertwined. At the same time, missionary movements to Latin America coincided with visions for a progressive, radically transformative church. Landscapes of Liberation is a groundbreaking work that delves into the reception of liberation theology in Andean America and critically examines the interplay between the Catholic Church as a global institution and parishes as local actors.

Drawing on a wealth of source material from both sides of the Atlantic, the book charts how a transnational network of pastoral agents and laypeople in Peru's southern highlands claimed mission and development as intertwined tenets of spiritual and social life throughout three decades of agrarian reform, activism, and social conflict. The author argues that transformative theories for rural development yield contingent transformations: concrete change, yet contested liberation.

Landscapes of Liberation is a valuable addition to the field of religious studies, offering a fresh perspective on the complex relationship between religion, power, and social change. It will be of interest to scholars, students, and anyone interested in the intersection of religion, politics, and development in Latin America and beyond.

The book is freely available at OAPEN Library, JSTOR, Project Muse, and Open Research Library.

Dimension: 234 x 156 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9789462703742