Description
Book SynopsisToday 12.5 million U.S. Latinos self-identify as Protestant, and Assemblies of God is the destination for one out of four converts. Gastón Espinosa reveals the church’s struggle for indigenous leadership, racial equality, women in the ministry, and immigration reform and shows why “Silent Pentacostals” are an activist voice in Evangelical politics.
Trade ReviewThis magnificently researched book about the Latino contribution to the American Assemblies of God brings to public consciousness a minority whose history has been overlain by what Gastón Espinosa calls the European-American history of Pentecostalism in North America, including Puerto Rico. -- David Martin * Church Times *
This is an excellent study of the Latino movement within the Assemblies of God (AG) denomination… This is finely crafted denominational history and, given the size and importance of Hispanics in the AG and in American Pentecostalism generally, it is an important resource for understanding the future of Christianity in North America. -- D. Jacobsen * Choice *
Those interested in the religious experience of Latinos or in the history of Pentecostalism will find Espinosa’s study to be both informative and useful. -- John Jaeger * Library Journal *
Espinosa has provided a powerful history of the Latino Assemblies of God. Marshaling rich and often untapped sources, he rewards the reader with a wonderful tapestry of the religious lives and struggles of an important movement and people. -- Efraín Agosto, New York Theological Seminary
Espinosa’s magisterial study of Latino Pentecostalism will be the most authoritative work on this subject in the field of Latino history and religion for years to come. -- Mario T. Garcia, University of California, Santa Barbara
This is by far the best researched and most provocative study on the origins and history of U.S. Latino Pentecostalism. It destroys so many common misconceptions that reading it is an absolute necessity for anyone claiming to know anything about the subject. -- Justo L. González, author of
The Story of ChristianityLatino Pentecostals in America is a landmark study that will be the gold standard on the topic for years to come. -- Jesse Miranda, Director, Miranda Center for Hispanic Leadership, Vanguard University
This illuminating history of Latino Pentecostalism’s largest denomination and its social and political effect on the broader society is an invaluable contribution to the study of religions in the United States and Latino history. -- Mayra Rivera, Harvard Divinity School, Harvard University
Latino Pentecostals in America is a provocative, myth-busting, and truth-telling work. Espinosa’s placing of the story of the Latino Assemblies of God within a larger sociocultural framework is groundbreaking, relevant, and prophetic. A must-read! -- Eldin Villafañe, Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary
