“I want to try a new step forward in Mestizo Christianity, looking at cultural dialogue and cultural difference that brings the traditions from the past … into conversation with Latino theology,” said Peter Casarella, associate professor of theology at the University of Notre Dame and a fellow at the University’s Institute for Latino Studies and Kellogg Institute for International Studies.

Casarella has published nearly 50 essays in scholarly journals on topics such as contemporary theological aesthetics, medieval Christian Neoplatonism, and the Hispanic/Latino presence in the United States Catholic Church.

His current research project focuses on the Latino theology of God. “What is the idea of God that emanates from grassroots when we look at Latin America, when we look at Latino communities in the United States?” said Casarella. “How is that rooted in biblical realities? How is that rooted in sacramental realities?”

Casarella was recently named a Henry Luce III Fellow in Theology and received the Louisville Institute’s Sabbatical Grant for Researchers. Both awards will support Casarella’s research and writing of God of the People: A Latino/a Theology.

You can also watch this video on YouTube.

Originally published by Todd Boruff at al.nd.edu on July 09, 2014.