The Catholic Church in Pará , by Carujo, invites the reader to an immersion in the history of the religious institution in this State, from Colonial Brazil to the 21st Century. The author unveils the multiple facets of the Church s role in the region. The reader is guided from the arrival of the first missionaries and the complex relationship with the indigenous peoples, through the consolidation of Pará identity in the 19th Century, to the transformations driven by the Second Vatican Council and Liberation Theology in the 20th Century. The Catholic Church in Pará also addresses the contemporary challenges faced by the Church in adapting to new realities. This book is indispensable reading for anyone wishing to understand the complex relationship between religion, society and culture in the Amazon.
