ABSTRACT
In this chapter, the authors assume a historical stance to forward an alternative analysis of the relationship between religion and development. They focus on how the involvement of religious people and institutions in social and political initiatives aimed at the promotion of justice, the eradication of poverty, the defence of human rights, and the protection of the environment has changed religion itself, catalyzing profound institutional, spiritual, and theological transformations. The authors then analyze the historical transformation of the Catholic Church. They argue that until recent decades, Catholicism enjoyed the monopoly of religion and was internally monolithic. Church agents quickly realized that peasants and indigenous populations strongly embraced the idea of God as the creator and champion of the environment, because it reconnected religion with the defence of their livelihood and traditional spirituality. The authors show how the history of Latin American societies cannot be fully grasped without considering the social, political, and economic role of religion and its institutions.
