Edward L. Cleary, The Rise of Charismatic Catholicism in Latin America (Gainesville, FL: University Press of Florida, 2011), pp. xii+308, $74.95, hb.

Abstract

Edward Cleary's broad-ranging text on the 'Charismatic Renewal' in Latin America represents one of the first English-language efforts to describe the appearance of the movement in the region. While substantial work in theology and religious studies, and to a lesser extent in sociology and political science, has emerged in Spanish or Portuguese, relatively little has been written about charismatic Catholicism in English, making this text a welcome addition to the canon. Cleary was a Dominican priest and a prominent scholar of Catholicism in Latin America; here he provides a rich historical account of the key figures involved in the rise of charismatic Catholicism in selected countries in the region. The book, published shortly before his death in November , benefits from his long insight but ultimately does not live up to the standard set by his previous work. Cleary knew Latin America's rich religious history well. He sets the stage for his analysis by pointing out the poverty of available information regarding the charismatic Catholic renewal, a movement with an estimated  million adherents. The rise of Pentecostalism and other forms of evangelical Protestantism have rightly commanded much attention throughout the region, but Cleary argues that the largest and most important shift in the region has taken place within the Catholic Church via the rise of the charismatic renewal movement. Most of the chapters each investigate one selected country, primarily in South America, providing matter-of-fact descriptions of the appearance of the movement there. Cleary focuses on describing the movement's differences across countries; for example, did the movement appear from the lower classes? Was there widespread consensus or conflict within the Catholic Church regarding the movement? Did conflict with competing religions appear (for example, with Protestantism and Pentecostalism)? Did the movement appear slowly, in short bursts or in a strong surge? The countries selected for case analysis appear to be those in which the movement was strongest, based on a rough approximation of the percentage of charismatic Catholics in each country, the percentage of charismatic Catholic priests and the percentage of charismatic Catholics per million inhabitants. However, the selection rationale is not clear. The charismatic Catholic movement in Latin America is one that, although steadily growing in popularity, has been more successful in some countries than others. Cleary moves through his analysis by outlining the general strength of the movement in each nation. This approach has positive and negative aspects. For example, Cleary is interested in whether the charismatic Catholic movement was imposed on the local context from above, by episcopal fiat, or whether it developed via lay initiative from below. Looking in depth at these case studies allows us to see that in Bolivia and Colombia, for example, the movement is not externally imposed on the local context but rather led by adherents who join the movement. Cleary also shows ...