Political interpretations of the Sandinista Revolution have varied to the point of extreme polarization, both inside and outside Nicaragua. This ambiguity has attracted the attention of scholars for two decades. One of the many aspects of the Sandinista Revolution that continues to interest researchers is the role religion has played in shaping or inhibiting social and political change in Nicaragua. During the 1980s, as part of its ideological war with the Sandinistas, the Reagan administration insisted that the revolution was hostile to religious institutions and that the regime persecuted the clergy. But scholars have demonstrated that a much more complex and nuanced relationship existed between church and state (and within the Roman Catholic Church) during those highly conflictual years.
One of the most interesting stories of the Sandinista years is the struggle of Christians within the Catholic Church to reconcile religious beliefs and values with the revolution. This struggle proved...
