Convictions of the Soul : Religion, Culture, and Agency in the Central America Solidarity Movement

Many U.S. Christians were profoundly moved by the liberation struggles in Central America in the 1980s. Most learned about the situation from missionaries who had worked in the area and witnessed the repression firsthand. These missionaries, Sharon Erickson Nepstad shows, employed the institutional and cultural resources of Christianity to seize the attention of American congregations and remind them of the moral obligations of their faith. Drawing on archival data and in-depth interviews with activists in ten separate solidarity organizations around the country, Nepstad offers a rich analysis of the experiences of religious leaders and church members in the solidarity movement. She explores the moral meaning of protest and the ways in which clergy used religious rituals, martyr stories, and biblical teachings to establish a link between faith and activism. She looks at the factors that transformed missionaries into skilled leaders who were able to translate the Central American conflicts into Christian themes and a religious language familiar to U.S. congregations. She also offers insights into the unique challenges of organizing on the transnational level and shows how the solidarity movement made U.S. policy towards Central America one of the most hotly contested issues in American politics during the 1980s. Unpacking the implications of her study for the field of collective action, Nepstad stresses the importance of the individual human agents who shape, and are shaped by, the structures and cultures in which they operate. She argues that working in and through the church gave supporters of solidarity moral credibility as well as a rich source of symbolic, human, and material resources that enabled them to reach across national boarders, motivating others to act upon their deeply held moral convictions. Shedding new light on the genesis and evolution of this important activist movement, Convictions of the Soul will be of interest to students and scholars of social movements, religion, and politics. "Many U.S. Christians were profoundly moved by the liberation struggles in Central America in the 1980s. Most learned about the situation from missionaries who had worked in the area and witnessed the repressions first-hand. These missionaries, Sharon Erickson Nepstad shows, employed the institutional and cultural resources of Christianity to seize the attention of American congregations and remind them of the moral obligations of their faith." "Drawing on archival data and in-depth interviews with activists in ten separate solidarity organizations around the country, Nepstad offers an analysis of the experiences of religious leaders and church members in the solidarity movement. She explores the moral meaning of protest and the ways in which clergy used religious rituals, martyr stories, and biblical teachings to establish a link between faith and activism. She looks at the factors that transformed missionaries into skilled leaders who were able to translate the Central American conflicts into Christian themes and a religious language familiar to U.S. congregations. She also offers insights into the unique challenges of organizing on the transnational level and shows how the solidarity movement made U.S. policy toward Central America one of the most hotly contested issues in American politics during the 1980s." "Shedding new light on the genesis and evolution of this important activist movement, Convictions of the Soul will be of interest to students and scholars of social movements, religion, and politics."--Jacket Contents......Page 7 1 Culture, Agency, and Religion in Social Movements......Page 14 2 The Origins of Central America’s Civil Wars......Page 41 3 Leadership and the Formation of Solidarity......Page 64 4 Biography and Recruitment Receptivity......Page 87 5 Martyr Stories......Page 106 6 Making Politics Personal......Page 127 7 Rituals and Emotional Rejuvenation......Page 148 8 Agency and Transnational Movements......Page 168 Appendix 1. List of Central America Solidarity Organizations......Page 178 Appendix 2. List of Interviews......Page 180 Notes......Page 182 Bibliography......Page 196 E......Page 208 R......Page 209 Z......Page 210 ## Abstract This book examines the Central American solidarity movement based on the cultural-agency approach. It also explores the challenges of organizing at the transnational level. People of faith were at the center of this movement, determined to change President Reagan’s foreign policy towards Nicaragua, El Salvador, and Guatemala. To achieve this goal, some petitioned Congress to stop aid to those responsible for human rights violations in the region. Many attended protests, marches and commemorative vigils. Many U.S. Christians were profoundly moved by the liberation struggles in Central America in the 1980s. Drawing on in-depth interviews with 50 activists in eight separate solidarity organizations around the country, Nepstad offers an analysis of the experiences of religious leaders and church members in the solidarity movement "Shedding new light on the genesis and evolution of this important activist movement, Convictions of the Soul will be of interest to students and scholars of social movements, religion, and politics."--Résumé de l'éditeur In the early 1980s, Jeff was preparing for the priesthood.