Piety, Power, And Politics
Subtitle: Religion and Nation Formation in Guatemala, 1821-1871 (Pitt Latin Amercian Studies)
Publisher: University of Pittsburgh Press
Published: June 4, 1998
Language: eng
Format: Hardcover
Number of pages: 200
ISBN-13: 9780822940579
Subjects: American history: c 1800 to c 1900; Nationalism; Roman Catholicism, Roman Catholic Church; c 1800 to c 1900; Central America - History; Church And Government; History; History - General History; Politics/International Relations; Latin America - Central America; Carrera, Rafael; Religion / Catholicism; Christianity - History - General; 1821-1945; 19th century; Catholic Church; Church and state; Guatemala; Politics and government
Description: Douglass Sullivan-Gonzalez examines the influence of religion on the development of nationalism in Guatemala during the period 1821-1871, focusing on the relationship between Rafael Carrera and the Guatemalan Catholic Church. He illustrates the peculiar and fascinating blend of religious fervor, popular power, and caudillo politics that inspired a multiethnic and multiclass alliance to defend the Guatemalan nation in the mid-nineteenth century.

Sullivan-Gonzalez shows that religious discourse and ritual were crucial to the successful construction and defense of independent Guatemala. Sermons commemorating independence from Spain developed a covenantal theology that affirmed divine protection if the Guatemalan people embraced Catholicism. Sullivan-Gonzalez examines the extent to which this religious and nationalist discourse was popularly appropriated.

Though populist and antidemocratic, the historic legacy of the Carrera years is the Guatemalan nation. Sullivan-Gonzalez details how theological discourse, popular claims emerging from mestizo and Indian communities, and the caudillo's ability to finesse his enemies enabled Carrera to bring together divergent and contradictory interests to bind many nations into one.