ABSTRACT
Much of the literature on the history of religion in Latin America, particularly books and articles published prior to the 1960s, concerns itself with the institutional history of the Catholic church, or the role of clerics as movers in history. Examples include studies that focus on the priests who staffed the frontier missions throughout the region, or organized the early evangelization of the Indian populations in the core areas such as Mexico or Peru in the 16th century. A second topic that has received attention is the ideological content of the worldview of early Catholic missionaries in the Americas. Numerous books and articles are examples of church self-history, which generally lack objectivity.
