Bonar Hernández Sandoval

I am a historian of religion, politics, and social movements in Latin America. I received my Ph.D. in Latin American History from the University of Texas at Austin.

I am the author of "Guatemala’s Catholic Revolution," a book that chronicles the resurgence of Catholicism among Maya communities, employing a transnational approach that incorporates elite and popular notions of religiosity by drawing on documents housed in Guatemala, the United States, and the Vatican. It traces the emergence of progressive Catholic communities in Guatemala and beyond during the Cold War. My current research examines how Maya communities in rural, civil war-torn Guatemala developed a religious and political identity that drove the formation of several popular organizations. These groups became a nucleus for radical forms of activism, solidarity, and mobilization among urban and rural peoples. My articles and book chapters have appeared in several top-rated publications, including "The Americas," "The Oxford Handbook of Central American History," and "The Cambridge History of Religion in Latin America."

My research and training have been funded by various sources, including the Social Science Research Council, the Center for Latin American and Caribbean Studies at the University of Wisconsin, Milwaukee, and the Center for the Excellence of the Arts and Humanities at Iowa State University.