This episode will cover three new directions at the intersection of religion & Latinx traditions. First, panelists will reflect on politics and voting, offering insight from the 2024 election. Second, they will discuss emerging patterns in religious conversion or switching. Finally, the panelists will offer insight into new research directions in the field of US Latinx religion. Join us for an enlightening conversation where we explore Religion & Latinx Traditions.

Lloyd Barba is Assistant Professor of Religion and Core Faculty in Latinx and Latin American Studies at Amherst College. Along with Sergio González of Marquette University, he is the co-writer and co-host of the recently released, seven-episode podcast series Sanctuary: On the Border of Church and State. He is the author of the award-winning book Sowing the Sacred: Mexican-Pentecostal Farmworkers in California (Oxford University Press, 2022; paperback 2023) and editor of the newly-released volume Latin American and US Latino Religions in North America (Bloomsbury, 2024).

Jonathan Calvillo is Assistant Professor of Latinx Communities at Emory University’s Candler School of Theology. His work examines how distinct Latine populations build communities of belonging through faith and creativity, often amidst systemic exclusion. As a sociologist and ethnographer, his expertise resides at the intersections of Latine lived religion, ethnoracial formation, civic engagement, urban migration, and grassroots creative movements. Calvillo has published three books: The Saints of Santa Ana: Faith and Ethnicity in a Mexican Majority City, In the Time of Sky-rhyming: How Hip Hop Resonated in Brown Los Angeles, and When the Spirit Is Your Inheritance: Reflections on Borderlands Pentecostalism.

Gastón Espinosa is Arthur V. Stoughton Professor of Religious Studies at Claremont McKenna College. He has directed nine major surveys on Latino religions, politics, and activism from 1998–2022. He is the author or co-author of nine books; fifty refereed articles, book chapters, and reviews; sixty encyclopedia entries; 200 scholarly keynotes and presentations around the world; has made numerous television, radio, and media appearances; and has served as the director of eight major conferences.

Sujey Vega is Associate Professor of American Studies and Women and Gender Studies at Arizona State University. Trained as an applied anthropologist, Vega’s publications range from ethno-religious belonging, addressing the needs of Latina domestic violence survivors, and amplifying the voices of Latina/o Midwestern communities. Her first book, Latino Heartland (2015) earned honorable mention by the Gloria E. Anzaldúa Book Prize committee. Her forthcoming book, Mormon Barrio: Latinx Belonging in the Church of Latter Day Saints, historically locates the growth of Latina/o LDS members in the Phoenix area and the role the LDS church plays in the lives of current Latino Mormons.

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