‘I’m not perfect, ‘ Mateo confessed. ‘Nobody is. But I try.’
Secure the Soul shuttles between the life of Mateo, a born-again ex-gang member in Guatemala and the gang prevention programs that work so hard to keep him alive. Along the way, this poignantly written ethnography uncovers the Christian underpinnings of Central American security. In the streets of Guatemala City—amid angry lynch mobs, overcrowded prisons, and paramilitary death squads—millions of dollars empower church missions, faith-based programs, and seemingly secular security projects to prevent gang violence through the practice of Christian piety. With Guatemala increasingly defined by both God and gangs,
Secure the Soul details an emerging strategy of geopolitical significance: regional security by way of good Christian living.
Tabella dei contenuti
List of Illustrations
Prologue
Introduction
Forgiveness
1. Insecurities
Hamsters
2. Reality
Pangs
3. A Calling
Service
4. Left Behind
Captivity
5. Forsaken
Adrift
Epilogue
Acknowledgments
Appendix: Notes on Research
Notes
Reference List
Index
Circa l’autore
Kevin Lewis O’Neill is Associate Professor in the Department for the Study of Religion and the Centre for Diaspora and Transnational Studies, University of Toronto. He is the author of City of God: Christian Citizenship in Postwar Guatemala.
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