Maya and Catholic Cultures in Crisis
In his most recent book, The Maya and Catholicism: An Encounter of Worldviews, John Early examined the relationship between the Maya and the Catholic Church from the sixteenth century through the colonial and early national periods. In Maya and Catholic Cultures in Crisis, he returns to delve into the changing worldviews of these two groups in the second half of the twentieth century—a period of great turmoil for both.
Drawing on his personal experiences as a graduate student, a Roman Catholic priest in the region and his extensive archival research, Early constructs detailed case histories of the Maya uprisings against the governments of Guatemala and Mexico, exploring Liberation Catholicism’s integral role in these rebellions as well as in the evolutions of Maya and Catholic theologies. His meticulous and insightful study is indispensable to understanding Maya politics, society, and religion in the late twentieth century.
Early does an admirable job synthesizing the complicated history of how Maya and Catholic worldviews have overlapped, converged, and been in tension with each other, and even those well-versed on the subject will find new information or perspectives that makes this book a welcome new source.’—Anthropological Quarterly
Early, a former Catholic priest himself, brings to his long account an insider’s eye for the Catholic side of the story and for the personalities and careers of priests who struggled for decades to both reform Catholicism and find ways to empower Mayan Christians.’—Choice
Wide ranging, well informed, and even-handed.’—American Anthropologist
John D. Early, professor emeritus of anthropology at Florida Atlantic University, is the author of The Maya and Catholicism and coauthor of several books, including The Xilixana Yanomami of the Amazon.
