Introducing Latino/a Theologies. By Miguel A. De La Torre and Edwin David Aponte. Maryknoll, NY: Orbis, 2001. Pages, xiii + 209. Paper, $20.00. ISBN: 1570754004

Reviewed by: Eduardo C. Fernandez, S.J. and Nancy Pineda-Madrid

Noting that there are few introductory texts to U.S. Latino/a Christianity, the authors have written a basic text “to introduce Christian concepts from the perspectives of Latinas/os in the United States and provide a foundation for more specific and advanced study of Hispanic Christian theology, culture, and religion” (2). The book contains an introduction, six chapters, a select annotated bibliography, and an index.

In the introduction, the authors share accounts of their journeys into Latino/a theology and offer their readers a glimpse of their rich personal histories: de la Torre is an exilic Cuban who was a former practitioner of Santería and Aponte is a Puerto Rican who was born and raised in Connecticut. Throughout the book, the writers bring a much-needed Caribbean flavor, unlike some of the previous writings, which focused heavily on the Mexican American Southwest. Both identify as North American Protestants.

In chapter one, “U.S. Hispanics: Who Are They?” the authors set the aim of the book, namely, to “explore how the dominant culture ‘sees’ Latinos/as, how Hispanics ‘see’ themselves, and more importantly, how Latinas/os ‘see’ the Divine, the biblical texts, their churches, and their rituals” (11). This chapter examines some stereotypes and their sources, the terms used to identify Latinas/os, the demographic makeup of Latinos/as, the diverse religious background of Latinos/as, and the notion of mestizaje.

“Common Cultural Themes within a Community-Based Theology” (chapter two) posits that U.S. Latino/a theology originates from the cultural, social, political, historical, and religious roots of Latinos/as, a seemingly obvious claim. However, the authors point out that the established “authorities” in the field of theology have typically assumed an ahistorical, universal point of departure for their work. This chapter examines specific areas of Latino/a experience deemed significant for the shape of U.S. Latino/a theology.

In their third chapter, “Theological Perspectives,” De la Torre and Aponte present a “brief systematic approach to theological concepts developed by Hispanics during the last twenty-five years” (72). It begins by naming teología en conjunto, that is, theology done collaboratively, as the primary method employed by Latino/a theologians. Next, the chapter explores a number of theological topics (sin, christology, salvation, ecclesiology, mission, pneumatology, marianism, eschatology), drawing sharp distinctions between a Euroamerican and a Hispanic approach.

Chapter four, “Historia: Reflections on the Latino/a Story,” recounts some of the stories and theological offerings that mark the historical development of U.S. Latino theology. Here the authors include the work of, not only the more widely recognized authors, namely, those writing over the past three decades (Ana Maria Díaz-Stevens, Anthony Stevens-Arroyo, Virgilio Elizondo, Allan Figueroa Deck, Justo González, Orlando Costas, Gloria Loya, Ada María Isasi-Díaz, María Pilar Aquino, and Ana María Pineda), but also a few stories of struggle that date from the mid-nineteenth century.

In “Popular Religion and Alternative Traditions" (chapter five) the writers explore the difference between how, on the one hand, ordinary Hispanic folk in the pew understand the experience of God's action in their lives, and how, on the other hand, the official leaders of the church arrive at theological truth. This chapter asks such questions as: what is popular religion? What are the alternative religious expressions found among the Hispanic people? How should these expressions be understood and treated?

In their final chapter, “Emerging Theological Concepts,” the authors “peer into the immediate future by examining the changing ethos of today's Latina/o community ... [and] attempt to identify the emerging perspectives that are being constructed to meet these new challenges” (138). This chapter highlights a wide spectrum of evolving social concerns. The book concludes with a twenty-four page selected annotated bibliography that represents the width and diversity currently present in U.S. Latino/a theology.

From the outset, despite the book’s many qualities, we hesitate to recommend it as a text for beginners. In many ways, it suffers from gross overgeneralizations. For example, in chapter three, while accurately stressing the variety found among the Hispanic communities in the United States, it does not extend the same sensitivity to “Euroamericans” as they are all lumped together into one category. In the case of theology, as in any field, this overgeneralization makes for negligent scholarship because the work of individual “Eurocentric” theologians is not specified in the treatment of the topics of systematic theology. This omission results in a polemic caricature of “Eurocentric” theology which is ultimately more harmful than helpful. For example, the authors write “Hispanic theologies are community-based [while] Eurocentric theologies reject this proposition and claim some sort of objectivity, which divorces their theological perspectives from their social location” (69). Such statements ignore the crucial role which tradition has played in the formation of these theologies. Is this not communal? If this was the first theological work an individual read (as it could well be for many undergraduates), judging from the way it has been presented, would that individual ever want to read any “Eurocentric” theology?

Another matter which is of concern to us is several statements throughout the book which are misleading or even false. For example, in discussing homosexuality (158-159), the authors comment, “Even though several Hispanic theologians are gay or lesbian, the adage, ‘Se dice nada, se hace todo’ (Say nothing, do everything) remains an accepted norm of the Hispanic theological community” (158). Not only is the phrase mistranslated, a more accurate rendering of the phrase being “nothing is said, all is done,” it also unwittingly implies that gay or lesbian Hispanic theologians are all sexually promiscuous. We feel that this kind of generalization promotes all the worst stereotypes. Additionally, there are a number of notable errors in the book. For example, in the annotated bibliography, the now classic work, Mañana is erroneously attributed to Roberto Goizueta, not Justo González. There are other similar mistakes in this section. Similarly, in chapter four’s discussion of Latina theologians, Ana María Pineda is falsely identified as a Latina feminist theologian, a label she has never used to identify her own work. In our opinion errors and generalizations, such as those we have identified, create significant problems in an undergraduate classroom, requiring from the instructor a great deal of energy to correct these distortions.

Nonetheless, we find several aspects of the book noteworthy. The work is an example of “teología en conjunto.” The writing is personal and reflective of a communal spirit which, at the same time, acknowledges much diversity among the various Latino/a communities found in the United States. An example of this collaborative spirit is a survey sent to various members of the Latino/a theology community. Another positive aspect of the work is that it identifies many of the central issues and concerns crucial to the ongoing development of Latino/a theology. The first and last chapters are particularly good in this regard. The style is simple and easy to grasp, quite accessible for university undergraduates. At times, the authors do a good job of taking very abstract concepts and explaining them in a lucid fashion. In addition, their approach is ecumenical and interdisciplinary, thus providing various important lenses for studying this complex reality. Overall, they describe a theological method employed by Latinas/o theologians who take seriously political and socio-economic realities. They are prophetically aware of the danger which some Latino/a intellectuals experience, specifically, overlooking the primacy of a preferential option for the poor. In conclusion, despite our misgivings about this work, we acknowledge how difficult it is to write an introductory book of this nature, one which attempts to present a complex reality in a form accessible to novices. We commend Aponte and de la Torre in their efforts to do so.