Introduction

This introduction presents an overview of key concepts discussed in the subsequent chapters of this book. The book discusses the current global dialogue between science and religion both by portraying some aspects of the current situation of Latin America and also by presenting the work of Latin American scholars to the English-speaking academy. It presents catholic, existentialist, theology of liberation, and a historical perspective on methodological issues on science and religion. Chilean theologian Juan Alejandro Navarrete Cano presents a survey of what Latin American liberation theologies have to say on the relations between the contemporary natural sciences and theology. The book presents the study of historical cases in Latin America on science and religion, starts with Mexican historian Jesus Galindo Trejo's work on astronomy, the alignment of buildings and religiosity of Mesoamerican pre-Hispanic societies. It finally brings some reflections on the reception of Darwinism in Latin America by the end of the nineteenth century.