Latino Christians are often discussed as a voting bloc. Rev. Dr. Cristal Silva-McCormick and Dr. Daniel Montañez explain why that misses much of what is actually happening.
Silva-McCormick, a professor at Austin Presbyterian Theological Seminary who researches Latino Christianity and Christian Zionism, and Montañez, founder and executive director of the Center for Public Theology and Migration, examine how theology, migration history, church authority, national identity, and the search for belonging shape Latino political life.
The conversation explores why some Latino Christians have supported Donald Trump, how Pentecostal and evangelical theology can influence political identity, the role churches play in attitudes toward immigration, and how Christian Zionism has spread within Latino Christian communities. They also discuss biblical interpretation, undocumented immigrants who understand their own migration through the language of sin, the difference between what is legal and what is just, and why the idea of a single "Latino vote" obscures a much more complicated reality.
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Rev. Dr. Cristal Silva-McCormick is Assistant Professor of Missions and Evangelism and Director of Latinx Studies at Austin Presbyterian Theological Seminary. Her work examines Latino and Latin American Christianity, migration, Christian Zionism, missions, and the relationship between theology and political life. Her forthcoming book with Orbis Books develops research from interviews with Latino Christians about Israel, Palestine, faith, and solidarity.
Dr. Daniel Montañez is founder and executive director of the Center for Public Theology and Migration. His scholarship focuses on theology, ethics, migration, Latino Pentecostalism, and the experiences of undocumented pastors. He holds a PhD from Boston University School of Theology and co-edited The Church and Migration: A Theological Vision for the People of God.
