Acting on Faith Religious Development Organizations in Northwestern Argentina

by Occhipinti, Laurie A.

• ISBN13: 9780739111109
• ISBN10: 0739111108
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2005-10-24
• Publisher: Lexington Books

Summary

Acting on Faith deftly examines the role of religious discourse in processes of economic development by exploring a case study based on twelve months of intensive qualitative research examining the role of small, Catholic non-government organizations (NGOs) in indigenous communities in northwest Argentina. The difficulty facing the communities and their associated NGOs is how to create conditions that ameliorate poverty, without undermining cultural values.

Author Biography

Laurie A. Occhipinti is Assistant Professor in the Department of Anthropology, Geography, and Earth Science at Clarion University

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments	xi
Introduction	xv
The World of NGOs	xvi
The Setting: Argentina	xix
Methodology	xxi
Chapter One Iruya and OCLADE	1	(18)
History, Geography, and Ethnography of Iruya	1	(10)
OCLADE	11	(4)
Conclusion	15	(4)
Chapter Two Los Blancos and Fundapaz	19	(24)
Ethnography of the Western Chaco	20	(2)
History of the Wichi	22	(11)
The Wichi Communities near Los Blancos	33	(4)
Fundapaz	37	(3)
Conclusion	40	(3)
Chapter Three Development Discourse	43	(44)
The Discourse of Development	43	(11)
Creating "Development": Studies from the Field	54	(29)
Conclusion	83	(4)
Chapter Four Religious Idioms of Development	87	(32)
The Discourse of Liberation Theology	87	(6)
Catholicism in Iruya	93	(5)
OCLADE: Enacting a Religious Discourse	98	(9)
Fundapaz: Secularization	107	(8)
Conclusion	115	(4)
Chapter Five Land and Its Uses	119	(30)
Indigenous Cultures and the Natural Environment	119	(3)
Local Perceptions of Land in Iruya	122	(9)
The Wichi and Their Land	131	(12)
Conclusion	143	(6)
Chapter Six Claiming Property in Two Communities	149	(42)
Argentina: Land and Peoples	150	(8)
Claiming Land in Iruya	158	(15)
Los Blancos Case Study	173	(13)
Conclusion	186	(5)
Conclusion	191	(6)
Bibliography	197	(12)
Index	209	(4)
About the Author	213