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Dr. Samuel Silva-Gotay

Personal Information

Samuel Silva-Gotay was born in Ponce, Puerto Rico in 1935. He is married to Mrs. Jovita Caraballo Mangual, has three children and eight grand-children. He is the recipient of the distinguished Professor Award from the University of Puerto Rico in 2007.

Early years: From Ponce to the University of Puerto Rico, Rio Piedras

In his early years he was influenced by the Evangelical movement in Puerto Rico, and became involved in the World Student Christian Federation. He holds degrees from the University of Puerto Rico, Yale Divinity School, and a PhD from the Universidad Autónoma de Méjico.

He is the foremost scholar and researcher in the history and sociology of religion in the Americas. His academic work has been translated into German, English, French, Portuguese, and Italian. He is considered one of the contemporary voices in Liberation theology in the Americas His work on liberation theology has been translated into local languages in India and used in the Methodist Seminaries.

Dr. Silva-Gotay was very active in the Christian student movement Christian Student Fellowship during his youth. As a result by the time he began his studies at the University of Puerto Rico, he was convinced that his path was to serve the needy, and to bring truth to power. He combined his deep desire to serve the poor, the windows, the orphans, and the unenpowered through voluntarism, and academic research. He channeled his energies through the Fraternidad de Universitarios Evangelicos, and the World Student Christian Federation.

He began his career as an Instructor in the Social Sciences, in the Faculty of General Studies of the University of Puerto Rico. He wanted to explore his calling more deeply, and was invited to attend Yale Divinity School, in New Haven Connecticut. By the time he was ready to return to Puerto Rico, he had married, and had developed a deep knowledge and experiences with migrant workers in the southeast Connecticut.

Return to Puerto Rico: And what do I do now?

Upon his return to Puerto Rico in 1963, he was invited to be the Chaplain for the University of Puerto Rico and the Director of the Work Study program of the Evangelical Council of Puerto Rico. In this position he provided advice, counsel, and spiritual direction to hundred of students. Many of these studies have pursued career in the ministry, and service to the people of Puerto Rico. By, 1967, Prof Silva-Gotay decided that with the evolving situation of the Island, he too had to become an active multiplier in the awakening of indigenous leadership in the poor communities of the Island. He served as the Executive Director of the Foundation of Community Development of Puerto Rico; with it’s two hundred plus volunteers, called “Volunteers In Service to Puerto Rico” (VESPRA) across the Island. His efforts, leadership, and guidance lead to the “First Poor Peoples Congress”, and to a massive awakening amongst committees of poor people to challenge the governmental offices with truth and power. His model was replicated in several organizations in the United States and the Caribbean.

He returned to the University of Puerto Rico this time as Associate and Interim Dean of Students, of the University of Puerto Rico, Rio Piedras. These were challenging and unsettled years at the University that required patience, wisdom, and the parsimony to mediate between groups that were dear to his heart. The University community recognized Dr. Silva Gotay during this unsettling period. As he reflected on the day to day events, he began to experience that the church was sleeping, and not serving those most in need: the poor, the hungry, the disenfranchised. He was motivated by some of the powerful voices of the time to seek a sabbatical from the University of Puerto Rico to pursue doctoral studies in Mexico, where he was able to study and research on the condition of the poor and the church in Spanish speaking America. As a result he was deeply involved in liberation theology translated into Portuguese and German, while it was evolving: how did you bring the words of Jesus, who spoke of liberation to reality of the day .

Return to Puerto Rico: Mia fo̱ní̱ fo̱názei :̱ « Sti̱n éri̱mo (A voice that cries in the desert)

His return to the University of Puerto Rico was the continuation of research and scholarship, now more focused on explaining “liberation”: to the people. His most recent research report include a desk research for the book Sex in the Church. He has developed eighteen advanced courses social changes, and political systems in Puerto Rico and Latin America. Most of these courses have been taught in the Graduate Program in History at the University of Puerto Ricoo, International Studies Institute, Mexico, or the Center for Advanced Studies of Puerto Rico and the Caribbean. Has lectured in over 50 international forums on topics related to religion, social sciences, and liberation theology. In the last ten years he ahs published over fifty papers in refereed journals and has served as a keynote speaker in over one hundred international conferences . As a researcher he has been the Principal Investigator in sixteen studies, over one hundred desk research projects, and has directed over two hundred doctoral and masters thesis. He has organized Congress and Conferences related to: (1) history and sociology of Catholicism in Puerto Rico, (2) sociology and Protestantism, and (3) history and sociology of Puerto Rico. Most recently he was part of a consortia of international scholars to plan the writing of a book entitled: “A social History of the Churches in the third World” in Geneva.

Books Published

Silava-Gotay, S.(2014). (Ed.) Mas alla del saber esta el amor: Dr. Carlos Albizu Miranda, artifice de la psicologia multicultural. San Juan, P.R.: Universidad Carlos Albizu y Publicaciones Gaviota. Silva-Gotay, S. (2015). Desarrollo de la dimensión religiosa del nacionalismo en Puerto Rico: 1898-1989. Rio Piedras, P.R.: Universidad de Puerto Rico. Estudios Interdisciplinarios de America Latina y del Caribe. 1(1). Silva-Gotay, S. (2005). Catolicismo y política en Puerto Rico bajo España y Estados Unidos: Siglos XIX y XX. Río Piedras, Puerto Rico: Editorial Universidad de Puerto Rico . Silva-Gotay, S. (1997). Protestantismo y política en Puerto Rico: 1898-1930- Hacia una historia del protestantismo evangélico en Puerto Rico. Silva Gotay, S. (1985). Social history of the churches in Puerto Rico, preliminary notes. Towards a History of the Church in the Third World, 53-80.

Honors and Awards

Distinguished Professor of Social Sciences, University of Puerto Rico at Rio Piedras, P.R., 2007. Awarded the first prize in Children’s Literature for the novel “Juan Cecilio in the lost city” from the Institute of Culture of Puerto Rico Foundation 2011

Testimonials

(1) His research and scholarship on the Revolutionary Christian thoughts in Latin America is a fundamental study in understanding the genesis of theology in Latin Americas. Dr. Luis Rivera Pagan Profesor Emeritus of Religion, Princeton University (2) His empowerment of indigenous leaders in poor communities has been a fundamental addition to current community mobilization programs around the world. Dr. Joseph O. Prewitt Diaz, Recipient of the 2008 APA International Humanitarian Award. (3) His inspirational speeches and action steps, over 50 years of struggles in defense of students, the university, and the civil society have led to hundreds of leaders in Puerto Rico and the Americas taking on the cause of the poor and unenpowered. Dr. Horacio Cerutti Goldberg, Professor of Latin American Studies UNAM, and Dr. Fray Mario A. Rodriguez Leon O.P. Director del Insituto de Arizmendi.

Bibliography

Following articles from Wikipedia articles also mention Samuel Silva-Gotay's work: 1. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Protestantism_in_Puerto_Rico 2. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sovereignty_of_Puerto_Rico_during_the_Cold_War 3. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joseph_O._Prewitt_D%C3%ADaz 4. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Jones_(bishop)