Latinos and Religion to Be Focus of Study

A Southern California theologian has received a $1.3-million grant to head a groundbreaking three-year national study on Latinos and religion.

Gaston Espinosa, assistant professor of religious studies at Westmont College in Santa Barbara, was named director of the Hispanic Churches in American Public Life Program. The study will examine the impact of Roman Catholic, mainstream Protestant, Pentecostal and new religious communities on civic engagement in politics, education, business, social programs and community activism.

The project, funded by the Pew Charitable Trusts, is said to be the largest and most comprehensive study ever conducted on the impact of religion in the Latino community.

Leaders of political and social movements such as Cesar Chavez and Dolores Huerta, as well as the Puerto Rican nationalists, all drew on religious imagery, symbols and rhetoric. Despite that, little research has analyzed the relationship between faith and political engagement in the Latino movement.

Researchers plan to conduct a national survey of 2,100 religious and civic leaders and interview key leaders in seven major cities, including Los Angeles, San Antonio, New York, Chicago, Miami and San Juan, Puerto Rico. Additionally, 12 scholarly papers will be commissioned on the impact of Latino religious communities on political and civic engagement over the past 30 years. Several conferences will be held around the country, with a national three-day conference in Washington, D.C.

In addition to Espinosa as director, Jesse Miranda, associate dean of the Haggard School of Theology at Azusa Pacific University, and Father Virgilio Elizondo of the Mexican American Cultural Center in San Antonio will serve as principal investigators.

The Tomas Rivera Policy Institute will conduct the national random survey of 2,100 leaders.