1.

Record Nr.

UNINA9910810225703321

Autore

O'Neill Kevin Lewis <1977->

Titolo

Secure the soul : Christian piety and gang prevention in Guatemala / / Kevin Lewis O'Neill

Pubbl/distr/stampa

Oakland, California : , : University of California Press, , 2015

©2015

ISBN

0-520-27849-6

0-520-96009-2

Descrizione fisica

1 online resource (301 p.)

Disciplina

364.4

Soggetti

Gang prevention - Guatemala - Guatemala

Church and social problems - Guatemala - Guatemala

Lingua di pubblicazione

Inglese

Formato

Materiale a stampa

Livello bibliografico

Monografia

Note generali

Description based upon print version of record.

Nota di bibliografia

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Nota di contenuto

Front matter -- Contents -- Illustrations -- Prologue -- Introduction -- Forgiveness -- 1. Insecurities -- Hamsters -- 2. Reality -- Pangs -- 3. A Calling -- Service -- 4. Left Behind -- Captivity -- 5. Forsaken -- Adrift -- Epilogue -- Acknowledgments -- Appendix: Notes on Research -- Notes -- Reference List -- Index

Sommario/riassunto

"I'm not perfect," Mateo confessed. "Nobody is. But I try." Secure the Soul shuttles between the life of Mateo, a born-again ex-gang member in Guatemala and the gang prevention programs that work so hard to keep him alive. Along the way, this poignantly written ethnography uncovers the Christian underpinnings of Central American security. In the streets of Guatemala City-amid angry lynch mobs, overcrowded prisons, and paramilitary death squads-millions of dollars empower church missions, faith-based programs, and seemingly secular security projects to prevent gang violence through the practice of Christian piety. With Guatemala increasingly defined by both God and gangs, Secure the Soul details an emerging strategy of geopolitical significance: regional security by way of good Christian living.