Philosophical Feminism in Latin America and Spain: An Introduction

Introduction to the special cluster of feminist philosophy papers from Spain and Latin America.     

Mormon Fertility in Latin America

While previous research has identified religion as an influence of fertility, how context changes the nature of that relationship remains little understood. Using census data from Brazil, Chile and Mexico, this study examines whether the high fertility pattern of one pronatalist, American-born religion (The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints [LDSs]) translates to the Latin American context. Results indicate that it does, but only among a subgroup as the pronatalist pattern is masked by member’s educational attainment and mixed religion marriages. When these attributes are accounted for LDS fertility is high in Latin America, especially among the more educated. This study highlights both the importance of member characteristics in influencing fertility and the role of selective recruiting in determining how and whether these characteristics vary by context.     

Ideology,modernization and politico-economic development in Latin America

The authors state that social and political processes are continuously interrelated and modify each other in a circular fashion. The economic variable seems to be the most independent and strategic one in the complex and circular causal process of contemporary history. Its importance is due to the fact that economic forces have become the means that contribute the most to the attainment of varied social and political goals. holding appointments in the Department of International Relations, Economics, Political Science and Sociology/Anthropology. He is also a Senior Research Scholar at the University of Miami’s Graduate School of International Studies. He has been a Senior Fellow at Brookings Institution and is presently a staff member there. He has published more than thirty books and over one hundred articles.     

Expressions of Evangelism in Latin America

The purpose of this article is to explore the expressions of evangelism that are emerging in Latin America within the Evangelical‐Pentecostal context of the continent. We will do this by approaching our subject from the perspective of change, religious mutation and transformational change: we will first refer to the shift in evangelism and mission perspective in Latin America. We will explore the shift in numerical growth, then will deal with the shift in the concept and praxis of evangelism. This will be followed by a discussion on the shift from Western forms in church liturgy, music and hymnology to more contextual and indigenous expressions. Finally, I will refer to the shift toward holistic practices in times of turmoil and violence.     

Review Essay Ethnicity, Identity and Nationality in Latin America

This essay surveys recent scholarship on the history of ethnicity in Latin America and the Atlantic World, exploring ways in which Jewish, Japanese and Middle Eastern minorities have transacted nationhood, identity and integration. This historiography of ethnicity offers compelling paths for understanding how transnational identities are negotiated. These include the analysis of patterns of slaveholding by Jewish communities on both sides of the Atlantic and the ways in which these communities understood blackness; the use of memory in understanding experiences of immigration; the relationships between national foreign policy and domestic ethnic politics; and the extent to which the issues of negotiating identity and asserting ethnicity are shared by a variety of immigrant ethnic groups. Together, this body of literature reflects the substantial ways in which ethnic histories interplay with other facets of national histories and with the process of historical analysis.     

Religious Engagement,Civic Skills,and Political Participation in Latin America

To what extent has the growth of Evangelicalism in Latin America contributed to political participation across the region? A number of scholars of religion and politics in the United States have suggested that Evangelicalism promotes the development of civic skills necessary for political engagement, while the Catholic Church, due to its hierarchical structure, provides fewer opportunities for skill acquisition. In this paper, we apply this debate to Latin America to test whether civic skills developed in Catholic and Protestant church activities lead to differential participation rates in 18 countries. We utilize the 2014 Pew Religion in Latin America survey to test these effects, and find that Protestant churches do indeed promote skill-developing activities at higher rates, but that Catholics, when involved, are more likely to translate this religious participation into political action. We conclude that political scientists must better understand the organizational role of religion in promoting political engagement worldwide.     

Happiness, Markets, and Democracy: Latin America in Comparative Perspective

The literature on subjective well-being highlights the role of relative income differences, an issue which is particularly salient for the emerging market countries. We explore the demographic determinants of happiness in 17 countries in Latin America, as well as the effects of macroeconomic trends and attitudes about the market on happiness. We provide comparative reference with data from Russia and the United States. We find that the determinants of happiness in Latin America are remarkably similar to those in the advanced industrial countries. We also find a marked and negatively skewed perceptions gap between individuals' objective economic situations and their subjective evaluations in both Latin America and Russia. That gap, in turn, has negative effects on happiness. Inflation and unemployment have negative effects on happiness in both contexts, while pro-market attitudes and preference for democracy have positive effects.     

Medical ethics in Latin America: a new interest and commitment.

Recent visits to five Latin American nations indicate that some medical professionals are eager to increase the role of bioethics in their countries. Conversations with key figures there point up similarities and differences among Latin nations, and between Latin countries and the United States, in their approaches to ethics. Opportunities exist for U.S. bioethicists to help get bioethics teaching and research off the ground in Latin America.     

Counseling: a new priority in Latin America

Despite burgeoning enthusiasm in Latin American countries for educational guidance and vocational counseling, Latin American efforts in these areas are not often mentioned in the U.S. professional literature. This brief survey with an annotated bibliography is an effort to inform counselors about some of the recent developments in Latin America that relate to their profession. The article explains some of the underlying social, cultural, and educational conditions that have helped shape recent trends, and the authors sketch the increasing use of innovative apprenticeship training and student loan programs, which have greatly increased demands for the provision of guidance services in recent years. Despite the problem of underprofessionalization, the field of vocational guidance and counseling is growing in importance in the Latin American countries.