The Religion of LifeSarah WalshLabel: University of Pittsburgh PressDescription: The Religion of Life examines the interconnections and relationship between Catholicism and eugenics in early-twentieth-century Chile. Specifically it demonstrates that the popularity of eugenic science was not diminished by the influence of Catholicism there. In fact both eugenics and Catholicism worked together to construct the concept of a unique Chilean race la raza chilena. A major factor that facilitated this conceptual overlap was a generalized belief among historical actors that male and female gender roles were biologically determined and therefore essential to a functioning society. As the first English-language study of eugenics in Chile The Religion of Life surveys a wide variety of different materials (periodicals newspapers medical theses and monographs) produced by Catholic and secular intellectuals from the first half of the twentieth century. What emerges from this examination is not only a more complex rendering of the relationship between religion and science but also the development of White supremacist logics in a Latin American context.
Sarah Walsh's "The Religion of Life" is ideal for those interested in exploring a philosophical, spiritual guide.
