Examines the relations between the state and the church in the Dominican Republic during three distinct phases. Relations during the First Republic from 1844 to 1861; Spanish annexation 1861-1865; Early period of the Second Republic from 1865 to 1879; Policy implications.;
Argues that although evangelical Christianity involves a variety of beliefs that are incompatible with a strong ethnic identity, this religion also includes a range of ideas and practices that nourish rather than corrode black identity.
