ReligionLink

With the astounding growth of Hispanics in the United States comes the fact that the overwhelming majority consider themselves Christian. That’s created a huge need for Hispanic church leaders, and churches – from Roman Catholic to evangelical and mainline Protestant to Pentecostal – have responded by aggressively recruiting and developing lay leaders and clergy. Some, in turn, are engaging in civic and political life. Experts say that makes churches an important training ground for a new generation of leaders who may greatly influence life beyond their congregations as the Hispanic population swells in numbers and political might.

At more than 37 million, Hispanics are now the largest minority group in the nation, and they are growing fast. They are also a diverse group, making them a tricky target for Democrats and Republicans courting votes for 2004. In surveys they self-identify as heavily Democrat, although they tend not to support Democratic stands on moral and church-state issues. Just before the 2000 election, one study found that a whopping 37 percent identified their party affiliation as independent. They are mostly Roman Catholic, but many of those also consider themselves Charismatic or born-again. As a group, Hispanics’ religious and political involvement varies according to the language they speak, their country of origin, age and other factors.

One common thread is that more than 90 percent call themselves Christians. A survey found that they attend worship more and give religion more importance in their lives than do whites. That’s great incentive for churches to train and nurture Hispanic leaders, whether it’s done on a denominational or local level. Those leaders, in turn, take their callings beyond sanctuaries, into neighborhoods and communities with complex issues. And solving those issues can lead to political involvement.

Questions for reporters

• Who are the Hispanic leaders in your community, in churches and in civic life?

• What leadership qualities do Hispanic social and political leaders say they learned through their church?

• What do Hispanic religious leaders say they see as their role in their community’s social and political life?

• What kind of issues are local Hispanic churches or clergy championing?

• What skills and talents do Hispanic clergy say they use in ministering to congregants in their neighborhoods?

• What role do Hispanic political and social leaders say churches can and/or should play in developing community leaders?

• What kind of leadership training do churches and seminaries in your area offer specifically for Hispanics?

• How has the Hispanic makeup of your area or state changed?

• Who is leading churches that have large numbers of Hispanics in them?

Why it Matters

The Hispanic population is expected to continue its fast growth. With churches actively developing leaders for growing Hispanic flocks, the faith of clergy and church members is likely to play a strong role in communities, politics and public life.

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National sources

ACADEMIC

• Gaston Espinosa is assistant professor of religious studies at Claremont McKenna College in Claremont, Ca. He was the project director for the HCAPL study, which looked at Hispanics and how their religious views play out in civic activism and politics in the United States. Contact 909-621-8395, gaston.espinosa@claremontmckenna.edu. Read a FACSNET.org article based on Espinosa’s June 3, 2003, presentation at a FACS seminar in Dallas.

• Edwin I. Hernandez is director of the University of Notre Dame’s Center for the Study of Latino Religion. Contact 574-631-4440, Edwin.I.Hernandez.77@nd.edu.

• Roberto Suro is director of the Pew Hispanic Center, a Washington-based nonpartisan research center established in 2001. Its mission is to improve understanding of the diverse Hispanic population in the United States and to chronicle Latinos’ growing impact on the nation. Contact 202-292-3300, info@pewhispanic.org.

ROMAN CATHOLIC

• Ronaldo Cruz is director of the U.S. Council of Catholic Bishops’ Secretariat for Hispanic Affairs, whose mission is to assist the Catholic Church in its efforts to serve the large Hispanic population in the United States. Contact 202-541-3154, rcruz@usccb.org.

• The Rev. Miguel Solorzano, pastor of St. Philip of Jesus Church in Houston, is spokesman for the National Association of Hispanic Priests. Contact 713-672-6141.

• The Mexican American Cultural Center is a national Catholic institute for the preparation of leaders who can respond to the religious and social needs of Hispanic communities. Contact its president, Sister María Elena González, 210-732-2156.

PROTESTANT AND PENTECOSTAL

• The Rev. Esdras Betancourt, a Pentecostal minister, is chairman of the Hispanic commission for the National Association of Evangelicals. Contact 423-478-7164.

• Albert L. Reyes is president of the Hispanic Baptist Theological School in San Antonio, which has produced nearly three-quarters of the pastors in Hispanic Baptist churches in Texas. The 56-year-old school, associated with the moderate Baptist General Convention of Texas, was certified this year to grant bachelor’s degrees. Contact 210-924-4338, alreyes@hbts.edu.

• Marigene Chamberlain is director of the Office of Hispanic Ministries of the General Board of Discipleship in the United Methodist Church. The office, based in Nashville, Tenn., works to develop leaders for church and community ministries. Contact 615-340-1706, mchamberlain@gbod.org.

• The Hispanic Theological Initiative in Princeton, N.J., helps support and train Hispanics to teach and lead church institutions. Contact director Joanne Rodríguez, 609-252-1721, joanne.rodriguez@ptsem.edu.

POLITICAL

• Larry Gonzalez directs the Washington, D.C., office of the National Association of Latino Elected and Appointed Officials. The group works to empower Latinos to participate in the political process, from citizenship to public service. Contact 202-546-2536, lgonzalez@naleo.org.

• The Congressional Hispanic Caucus Institute offers emerging leaders an opportunity to interact with national leaders and provides continuous leadership training. Contact Mimi Aledo, 202-543-1771, maledo@chci.org.

MUSLIM

• Hispanic converts make up an increasing number of the U.S. Muslim population, and they are building organizations, both national and local, to serve their needs, giving Latinos opportunities for leadership. Juan Galvan, vice president of the 6-year-old Latino American Dawah Organization, and president of the LADO-Texas, can talk about their role. Read an article he wrote about Latino Muslims. Contact ladotx@yahoo.com.

Background

A March 2002 report from the U.S. Census Bureau found that Hispanics are now the largest minority group in the nation, with a population of 37.4 million. An update of the report found that between April 1, 2000, and July 1, 2002, the Hispanic population grew by 9.8 percent, while the rate of growth for the population as a whole was 2.5 percent. Other highlights of the report include:

• Most Hispanics in the nation, more than 44 percent, live in the West. The number of Hispanics living in the South is rising rapidly, with almost 35 percent of all Hispanics living in the region.

• The fewest number of Hispanics, almost 8 percent, live in the Midwest.

• Of the Hispanic population, about 67 percent are of Mexican origin.

The 2002 National Survey of Latinos, sponsored by the Pew Hispanic Center and Kaiser Family Foundation, looked at issues of identity, assimilation, discrimination and government, among others. It includes a large section on religion and beliefs, with findings and tables on differences in beliefs according to country of origin and other factors. (See Page 54).

A 2003 report from Hispanic Churches in American Public Life examines the impact of religion on political and civic engagement in the Hispanic community. Among the findings:

• The vast majority of Hispanics, 70 percent, are Catholic, while 23 percent are Protestant

• Of the Latinos surveyed, 50 percent say religious leaders should try to influence public affairs.

• When asked whether they had ever been asked by their church or one of its leaders to engage in activities on behalf of specific social, educational or political issues, 78 percent said no.

• In fall 2000, 49 percent of Latinos said they considered themselves Democrat, 14 percent Republican and 37 percent independent.

 

Regional sources

IN THE NORTHEAST

• Carol Hardy-Fanta is director for The Center For Women In Politics & Public Policy and is a member of the Mauricio Gastón Institute for Latino Community Development and Public Policy, both at the University of Massachusetts at Boston. She is co-editor of the book Latino Politics in Massachusetts: Struggles, Strategies and Prospects (Routledge, 2002). Contact 617-287-5546, hardyfanta@umbsky.cc.umb.edu.

• Adrian D. Pantoja is an assistant professor of political science and Puerto Rican/Latino studies at the University of Connecticut in Storrs. His areas of expertise include Latino political behavior. He co-authored “Citizens by Choice, Voters by Necessity: Patterns in Political Mobilization by Naturalized Latinos,” which appeared in Political Research Quarterly. Contact 860-486-5683, adrian.pantoja@uconnvm.uconn.edu.

IN THE EAST

• Anthony Stevens-Arroyo is a professor at Brooklyn College and co-founder and director of the Program for the Analysis of Religion Among Latinos. Contact 718-951-3121, astevens@brooklyn.cuny.edu.

• Clara E. Rodriguez is a professor of sociology at Fordham University in New York City. She is the author of Changing Race: Latinos, the Census and the History of Ethnicity in the United States (New York University, 2000). Contact 212-636-6335, crodriguez@fordham.edu.

• The Latino Pastoral Action Center is a nonprofit dedicated to educating, equipping and empowering people – particularly Latino urban clergy – to serve in church and in society. Contact 718-681-2361.

IN THE SOUTHEAST

• Teresa Berger is associate professor at the Divinity School at Duke University in Durham, N.C. She is an expert on Hispanics and religion in the United States. Contact 919-660-3464, tberger@div.duke.edu.

• Nathan J. Kelly is a Raymond Dawson Fellow at the department of political science at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. He co-authored the paper “Religion and Latino Politics in the United States.” Contact 212-287-0050, njkelly@email.unc.edu.

• Manuel Vasquez is an associate professor of religion at the University of Florida in Gainesville. He specializes in U.S. Latinos. Contact 352-392-1625, ext. 229, mvasquez@religion.ufl.edu.

IN THE SOUTH

• Ken Hinze is a sociology professor at Louisiana State University Shreveport. He has studied Hispanic immigrants in Louisiana. Contact 318-797-5333, khinze@pilot.lsus.edu.

• Annette Watters is assistant director for the Center for Business and Economic Research at the University of Alabama. She has been tracking the growing Hispanic population in her state. Contact 205-348-6191, awatters@cba.ua.edu.

IN THE MIDWEST

• The Latino Leadership Foundation, based in Chicago, helps develop the leadership of Latino men and women in ministry so that they may, in turn, help their communities and help develop other leaders. Contact president Noel Castellanos, 312-850-1650, noel@latinolf.org.

• Hector Avalos is associate professor of religious studies at Iowa State University in Ames. Avalos specializes in Latinos and their political impact on the nation. Contact 515-294-0051, havalos@iastate.edu.

• Roberto S. Goizueta is an associate professor of theology at Loyola University in Chicago. He is an expert on Hispanic theologies and social justice. Contact 773-508-2366, rgoizue@luc.edu.

• Robin Amonker is a professor of sociology at Southwest Missouri State University. He has studied Hispanic immigration and immigrants in Missouri. Contact rga748f@smsu.edu.

IN THE SOUTHWEST

• Jeannie Trevino-Teddie is director of Mexican American Program at Perkins School of Theology at Southern Methodist University in Dallas, Texas, which seeks to develop Hispanic leaders for church and community. Contact 214-768-2768, jtrevted@smu.edu.

• Josephine Mendez-Negrete is assistant professor of bicultural-bilingual studies at the University of Texas at San Antonio. She specializes in Latino leadership and activism in urban communities. Contact 210-458-2637, jmendezn@utsa.edu.

• Milagros Pena is associate professor of sociology and anthropology at New Mexico State University. Her research interests include religion among Hispanics in the United States. Contact mipena@nmsu.edu.

• Gregory G. Rocha is chairman of the Political Science Department at the University of Texas at El Paso. He teaches a course in Chicano politics. Contact 915-747-7977, grocha@utep.edu.

IN THE WEST/NORTHWEST

• Roberto Lint-Sagarena is assistant professor of religion at the University of Southern California in Los Angeles. His research interests include Latino religious history. Contact 213-740-0270, lint@rcf.usc.edu.

• Jose Carrasco is a professor of social sciences at San Jose State University in California. He also is a member of the university’s Mexican-American Studies Department and an expert in community organizing among faith groups. Contact 408-924-5583, carrasco@email.sjsu.edu.

• Rudy Busto is an assistant professor of religious studies at Stanford University. He specializes in religious traditions among ethnic minorities in the United States and teaches courses in American religion and evangelical Christianity. Contact 650-723-0465, rude@leland.