Description

Established and supported through a series of Luce Foundation grants, the central mission of the Center for the Study of Latino/a Christianity and Religions is “to promote deeper understanding of the varieties of religious life experiences and expression within Latino/a communities in the United States and Latin America.” The work of the Center builds upon a history of support for underrepresented groups at SMU’s Perkins School of Theology. Hispanic students enrolled in the School to pursue degrees as early as the 1930s, and in the late 1960s Perkins held a consultation to discuss issues related to Mexican Americans, which resulted in the development of a series of programs, eventually leading up to the Center’s launch in 2007. Since its launch, the Center has hosted visiting scholars, sponsored doctoral fellowships for students enrolled in the Graduate Program in Religious Studies at Southern Methodist University, and supported faculty research related to Hispanic Christianity, religion, and ministry. Research produced through the Center has resulted in a series of published books, and Center faculty have developed a range of working relationships with scholars and religious leaders in the United States and Latin America, in part through the regular organization of faculty immersion trips (including visits to Argentina, Brazil, Costa Rica, Cuba, Ecuador, El Salvador, and Peru). The Luce Foundation’s most recent grant (a June 2015 grant of $500,000) provided scholarships for the first cohort of students at Perkins School of Theology to pursue the Master of Theology (Th.M.) degree in Spanish, helping Perkins establish this new program, which responded to a demand for an advanced theological degree taught completely in Spanish. With the support of a COVID Emergency Grant, Perkins School of Theology will seek to help meet needs within Latinx and other vulnerable communities in the areas of food, healthcare, housing, or partial salary help for front-line personnel who are meeting the needs of a community altered because of the pandemic. In order to provide such direct support, Perkins proposes to issue two types of small grants: First, Perkins will invite several regional United Methodist Annual Conferences to submit proposals for up to $15,000 to help meet the needs of one or more organizations in their sphere of influence. The Conferences invited will include: North Texas (DFW area), Rio Texas (Austin, San Antonio, and the Valley), Texas (Houston area), Louisiana, Arkansas, and Missouri. Second, Perkins will award a series of small grants to local organizations with which the school has contact or partnerships through the Center for the Study of Latino/a Christianity and Religions. Provision of these grants will be streamlined through targeted invitations and online applications, and in conjunction with the application all grantees will be asked to provide some documentary (video, oral history, or artistic) expression of the voices and struggles within their communities. These will be collected and preserved through SMU’s Bridwell Library.