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- Title
Presbyterians in the Revolution: An American Missionary Church and the Challenge of Castro's Cuba, 1959–1970.
- Authors
CORSE, THERON
- Abstract
This article examines the history of the Presbyterian Church in Cuba from the beginning of the 1959 Revolution to 1970. At the start of this period, the Presbyterian Church in Cuba, a product of U.S. missionary efforts, was a small but prominent church, with a strong school system and a history of social activity. Although its administrators and pastors were all Cuban, it was highly dependent for money on the U.S. church. With the aid of U.S. money, the Cuban Presbyterians initiated an ambitious program of evangelization and social welfare work in the first two years of the Revolution. However, the breakdown in U.S.-Cuban relations and the ensuing embargo resulted in an exodus of large numbers of Presbyterians, put tremendous strains on the relationship between Cuban and U.S. Presbyterians, and created a growing financial crisis for the church. The exodus of Presbyterians was exacerbated by an ideological rift between those opposed to the revolutionary government and those who sought to work with it, a rift that contributed to many pastors choosing exile. Although the U.S. Presbyterians remained committed to supporting their Cuban brethren, by 1967 these problems had forced the Cuban church to become independent, with full financial independence coming in 1970.
- Subjects
UNITED States; PRESBYTERIAN Church -- History; CUBAN Revolution, 1959; SOCIAL services -- History; PRESBYTERIANS; FINANCIAL crises; CHURCH; TWENTIETH century; HISTORY
- Publication
Cuban Studies, 2000, Vol 31, p1
- ISSN
0361-4441
- Publication type
Article