The Journey and Legacy of US Protestant Latinx Theological Movement

“This research proposes a historical narrative of the emergence, development, consolidation, and contributions of the Protestant Latinx academic movement and its theology in the environment of graduate theological education in the USA. ”

Team Members/Contributors

Luis R Rivera Garrett-Evangelical Theological Seminary Contact Me

About this sabbatical grant for researchers

The establishment of graduate theological education and scholarship in the USA has changed profoundly with the presence and contributions of minoritized theological scholars, educators, and administrators, among them people of multiple Latinx descents. We have witnessed the emergence and consolidation of US Latinx theologies since the 1970s. This ecumenical, intergenerational, and diverse theological movement is still evolving and under-represented in US graduate theological education. At present, there is no comprehensive study on the historical development and impact of either the Catholic and Protestant Latinx theology movements. This research wants to produce a historical narrative of the emergence, development, and consolidation of Protestant Latinx academic theology and its impact on the environment of graduate theological education in the USA. The study uses insights from social movement theories to focus on the social agency, organizational work, mentoring practices, and intellectual production of networks of Latinx Protestant theologians, educators, and leaders. They articulated a vision, experimented with practices, and negotiated with institutional allies (e.g. denominations, schools, foundations, professional associations, publishers) the social spaces and financial resources to develop and sustain a theological movement that remains vital and vibrant to churches and the academy. This study ends with the visions for the transformation of graduate theological education that these leaders are proposing. The future and quality of graduate theological education in the USA demands both acknowledgement and critical engagement with the challenges and contributions generated by Latinx and other minoritized theological scholars and educators. Ignoring these histories and legacies is an epistemic and ideological stance of ignorance or amnesia revealing postures of resistance, privilege, exclusion, and shortsightedness in the face of future trends before us.