Expert in Latino Studies to Visit Perkins on Oct. 19

Dr. Daniel Ramírez will share his expertise on Latino/a Pentecostalism in a lecture sponsored by the Mexican American and Hispanic-Latino/a Church Ministry Program.

DALLAS (SMU) – Dr. Daniel Ramírez, Assistant Professor of Latino Studies at the University of Michigan, will share his expertise on Latino/a Pentecostalism in a lecture Monday, Oct. 19, sponsored by the Mexican American and Hispanic-Latino/a Church Ministry Program at Perkins School of Theology.

The lecture is scheduled to begin at 6 p.m. in Room 100 of Elizabeth Perkins Prothro Hall, 5901 Bishop Blvd. in Dallas, with a reception planned for 5:30 p.m. in the same location.

Dr. Ramírez’s forthcoming book, Migrating Faith: Pentecostalism in the United States and Mexico in the Twentieth Century, is available for purchase in a paper or e-book format on the UNC Press website.

A synopsis of the book follows:

Daniel Ramírez's history of twentieth-century Pentecostalism in the U.S.-Mexico borderlands begins in Los Angeles in 1906 with the eruption of the Azusa Street Revival. The Pentecostal phenomenon – characterized by ecstatic spiritual practices that included speaking in tongues, perceptions of miracles, interracial mingling, and new popular musical worship traditions from both sides of the border – was criticized by Christian theologians, secular media, and even governmental authorities for behaviors considered to be unorthodox and outrageous. Today, many scholars view the revival as having catalyzed the spread of Pentecostalism and consider the U.S.-Mexico borderlands as one of the most important fountainheads of a religious movement that has thrived not only in North America but worldwide.

Ramírez argues that, because of the distance separating the transnational migratory circuits from domineering arbiters of religious and aesthetic orthodoxy in both the United States and Mexico, the region was fertile ground for the religious innovation by which working-class Pentecostals expanded and changed traditional options for practicing the faith. Giving special attention to individuals' and families' firsthand accounts and tracing how a vibrant religious music culture tied transnational communities together, Ramírez illuminates the interplay of migration, mobility, and musicality in Pentecostalism's global boom.


The Mexican American and Hispanic-Latino/a Church Ministry Program (MAP) was founded in 1974 as the Mexican American Program, to prepare church leaders with knowledge and skills for effective ministry in Spanish-speaking contexts and cultures. MAP remains committed to recruiting, preparing, and providing continuing education for people in ministry with Hispanics-Latino/as.

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Perkins School of Theology, founded in 1911, is one of five official University-related schools of theology of The United Methodist Church. Degree programs include the Master of Divinity, Master of Sacred Music, Master of Theological Studies, Master of Arts in Ministry, Master of Theology, Doctor of Ministry, and Doctor of Pastoral Music (June 2016) as well as the Ph.D., in cooperation with The Graduate Program in Religious Studies at SMU’s Dedman College of Humanities and Sciences.