Foreword INDIES Book of the Year FinalistInterest in and awareness of the demand for social justice as an outworking of the Christian faith is growing. But it is not new.For five hundred years, Latina/o culture and identity have been shaped by their challenges to the religious, socio-economic, and political status quo, whether in opposition to Spanish colonialism, Latin American dictatorships, US imperialism in Central America, the oppression of farmworkers, or the current exploitation of undocumented immigrants. Christianity has played a significant role in that movement at every stage.Robert Chao Romero, the son of a Mexican father and a Chinese immigrant mother, explores the history and theology of what he terms the "Brown Church." Romero considers how this movement has responded to these and other injustices throughout its history by appealing to the belief that God's vision for redemption includes not only heavenly promises but also the transformation of every aspect of our lives and the world. Walking through this history of activism and faith, readers will discover that Latina/o Christians have a heart after God's own.

Robert Chao Romero (PhD, University of California at Los Angeles; JD, University of California at Berkeley) is associate professor in the Departments of Chicana/o Studies and Asian American Studies at the University of California at Los Angeles. He is the author of the award-winning The Chinese in Mexico, 1882-1940, Jesus for Revolutionaries: An Introduction to Race, Social Justice, and Christianity, and Mixed Race Student Politics.

Acknowledgments Introduction:Brown Church 1. El Plan Espiritual de Galilee 2. Las Casas, La Virgen de Guadalupe, and the Birth of the Brown Church 3. Multicultural Voices of Colonial Resistance:Garcilaso de la Vega el Inca, Guaman Poma, and Sor Juana Inés de la Cruz 4. Padre Antonio José Martínez, the US-Mexico War, and the Birth of"Brown" 5. The Spiritual Praxis of César Chávez 6. Social Justice Theologies of Latin America:Liberation Theology and Misión Integral 7. Liberation Theology in Practice:Archbishop Oscar Romero of El Salvador 8. Recent Social Justice Theologies of US Latinos:Latina/o Theology, Mujerista Theology, and Latina/o Practical Theology Conclusion:The Brown Church Today and Tenets of a"Brown Christian" Identity Bibliography Author and Subject Index Scripture Index