One of two book projects to come out of the Hispanic Churches in America Public Life project (HCAPL), this project seeks to examine the impact of religion on political and civic engagement in the Latino community. This volume presents sixteen new essays addressing important issues, personalities, and movements in Latino religions in America. The authors' purpose is to overthrow the longstanding stereotype that Latinos are politically passive and that their churches have supported the status quo, failing to engage in or support the struggle for civil rights and social justice. Individual essays explore such varied topics as "The Mysticism and Social Action of Cesar Chavez," "The Challenges of Being Latina, Catholic, and Feminist," "Hispanic Churches in Faith-Based Community Organizing," and "The Mexican American Cultural Center and the Politics of Cultural Empowerment."

This volume presents sixteen new essays addressing important issues, personalities, and movements in Latino religions in America. The authors' purpose is to overthrow the longstanding stereotype that Latinos are politically passive and that their churches have supported the status quo, failing to engage in or support that struggle for civil rights and social justice. Individual essays explore such varied topics as "The Mysticism and Social Action of Cesar Chavez," "The Challenges of Being Latina, Catholic, and Feminist," "Hispanic Churches in Faith-Based Community Organizing," and "The Mexican American Cultural Center and the Politics of Cultural Empowerment." The first anthology of its kind, the book will be an invaluable resource for scholars in a wide range of disciplines, as well as serving as an introductory or supplemental text for courses in religion, politics, and Latino/Chicano studies.

It can come as no surprise that the ethnic makeup of the American population is rapidly changing. In this volume, John Francis Burke offers a "mestizo" theory of democracy and traces its implications for public policy.

Mestizo, meaning "mixture, " is a term from the Mexican socio-political experience. It represents a blend of indigenous, African, and Spanish genes and cultures in Latin America. This mixture is not a "melting pot" experience; rather, the influences of the different cultures remain identifiable but influence each other in dynamic ways.

Burke analyzes democratic theory and multiculturalism to develop a model for cultivating a community that can deal effectively with its cultural diversity. He applies this model to official language(s), voting and participation, equal employment opportunity, housing, and free trade.

Burke concludes that in the United States we are becoming mestizo whether we know it or not and whether we like it or not. By embracing this, we can forge a future together that will be greater than the sum of its parts.

Our Lady of Guadalupe is the most important religious symbol of Mexico and one of the most powerful female icons of Mexican culture. In this study, based on research done among second-generation Mexican-American women, Rodriguez examines the role the symbol of Guadalupe has played in the development of these women. She goes beyond the thematic and religious implications of the symbol to delve into its relevance to their daily lives.

Rodriguez's study offers an important reinterpretation of one of the New World's most potent symbols. Her conclusions dispute the common perception that Guadalupe is a model of servility and suffering. Rather, she reinterprets the symbol of Guadalupe as a liberating and empowering catalyst for Mexican-American women.