Bridging the Gaps

Tara Hefferan is visiting assistant professor of anthropology at Central Michigan University. Julie Adkins is an instructor in anthropology at Southern Methodist University. Laurie Occhipinti is associate professor of anthropology at Clarion University of Pennsylvania.

This edited collection provides an in-depth study of faith-based development organizations in Latin America and the Caribbean. With both analytical rigor and ethnographic awareness, the essays explore faith-based organizations as a possible model for economic development.

Chapter 1 Faith-Based Organizations, Neoliberalism, and Development: An Introduction 2 Waging the War on Drugs: Neoliberal Governance and the Formation of Faith-Based Organizations in Urban Mexico 3 Fighting for "Livity": Rastafari Politics in a Neoliberal State 4 Encouraging Development "Alternatives": Grassroots Church Partnering in the U.S. and Haiti 5 Searching for Solidarity in Nicaragua: Faith-Based NGOs as Agents of Trans-cultural Voluntourism 6 Beyond Development and "Projects": The Globalization of Solidarity 7 How Is Your Life Since Then? Gender, Doctrine, and Development in Bolivia 8 "God Wants Us to Have a Life That Is Sustainable": Faith-Based Development and Economic Change in Andean Peasant Communities 9 A Chilean Faith-Based NGO's Social Service Mission in the Context of Neoliberal Reform 10 Faith-Related Education NGOs in Latin America: The Case of Fe y Alegria in Peru 11 Soka Gakkai in Brazil: Buddhism, Recruitment, or Marketing? 12 Faith, Hope, Charity: Catholic Development Organizations in Argentina 13 The Salesian Missions of Ecuador: Building an Anti-Neoliberal Nation through the Cultural and Political Construction of the Indigenous Movement