Who Counts As Catholic? Central American Proxy Wars and the Battle for Catholic Identity

Join us for a lecture presented by Theresa Keeley, Ph.D., University of Louisville.

Much of today’s conversation about U.S. Catholics and politics centers on so-called “culture war” issues, but in the 1970s and 1980s, Catholics sparred over foreign policy in Central America. Behind the political debate was one about the meaning of Catholic identity. By highlighting this transnational debate, we can see how contesting Catholic views shaped U.S. Cold War policy and how U.S. foreign policy aggravated divisions among Catholics from the U.S. and Central America.