Anna L. Peterson 
Martyrdom and the Politics of Religion 
Progressive Catholicism in El Salvador’s Civil War

Martyrdom and the Politics of Religion explores the ways that Salvadoran Catholics sought to make sense of political violence in their country in the 1970s and 1980s by constructing a theological ethics that could both explain repression in religious terms and propose specific responses to violence. Drawing on extensive fieldwork, the book highlights the ways that progressive Catholicism offered a justification and tools for political resistance in the face of extraordinary destruction. Using the case of Catholicism in El Salvador, the book explores the nature of religious responses to social crisis and the ways that ordinary believers construct and strive to live by ethical systems. By highlighting the importance of theological belief, of narrative, and of religious rationality in political mobilization, it touches questions of general interest to readers concerned with the social role of religion and ethics.

Table of Content

Acknowledgments

Abbreviations

Glossary of Spanish and Salvadoran Terms

Map of El Salvador

Methodology and Sources

1. Introduction

2. El Salvador

3. Progressive Catholicism in El Salvador

4. Sacrifice, History, and Ritual

5. The Martyrs

6. Reasons for Martyrdom

7. The Fruits of Martyrdom

8. Conclusions: Religion and Political Protest

Bibliography

Index

About the author

Anna L. Peterson is Assistant Professor in the Religion Department of the University of Florida, Gainesville.