Supplicating Santa Muerte: Fierce Female Folk Saint as Source of Empowerment for Mexican Indigenous Women

Last updated on: March 27, 2019 at 1:59 pm By Andrew Chesnut

By Kate Kingsbury The Mexican State’s relationship with the region of Oaxaca, is tenuous, unlike the Catholic Church whose rapport with locals has long had importance in the region despite its troubling history. Yet Indigenous Oaxacans, far from following the Church’s edicts rigorously, continue to adapt and adopt Catholicism in their own unique ways, in forms that speak to their pre-Hispanic past but also reflect the present difficulties they face in the post-colony. Santa Muerte is a sui generis sacred... Read more

The Sensational Saints of Folklore Thursday

Last updated on: March 15, 2019 at 2:53 pm By Andrew Chesnut

Folklore Thursday is one of my favorite twitter accounts, which true to its name curates tweets on folklore-related topics. Last Thursday’s theme was saints and miracles, so as an unabashed hagiophile I have collected the top tweets on Catholic saints…. Bone and Sickle‏ @boneandsickle Mar 14 “Cephalophores” (head-carriers) are a class of saints said to walk about after martyrdom by decapitation. France has St. Denis, UK St. Edmund (whose bodiless head was guarded by wolves). Hear more starting with John the... Read more

La Iglesia Mexicana Reprende al Santo Niño Huachicolero, Patrono de los Ladrones de Gasolina, Como Peor que la Santa Muerte

Last updated on: February 26, 2019 at 10:31 am By Andrew Chesnut

Co-autoria por la Dra. Kate Kingsbury* y el Dr. Andrew Chesnut. Traducido del ingles por la Dra. Fabiola Chesnut, Jefa del Departamento de Artes Finas en Huguenot High School en Richmond, Virginia. Solo apareció hace dos años, pero la iglesia católica en México ya está condenando al santo popular más nuevo de México por ser peor que la Santa Muerte. El Santo Niño Huachicolero apareció de la nada en las redes sociales en 2016 y ha causado tal consternación que tanto... Read more

Mexican Church Rebukes Holy Child of Huachicolero, Patron Saint of Gas Thieves, as Worse than Santa Muerte

Last updated on: February 9, 2019 at 12:41 pm By Andrew Chesnut

Co-authored by Dr. Kate Kingsbury* and Dr. Andrew Chesnut He only appeared two years ago but Mexico’s newest folk saint is already being condemned by the Catholic Church in Mexico as worse than Santa Muerte. The Holy Child of Huachicolero (Santo Niño Huachicolero) appeared out of nowhere on social media in 2016 and has caused such consternation that both the Archbishop of Puebla and more recently, the Archdiocese of Mexico have rebuked the surreal folk saint as worse than Santa... Read more

President Lopez Obrador and Mexico’s New Religious Diversity

Last updated on: January 28, 2019 at 10:35 am By Andrew Chesnut

By Guest Columnist Ezer R. May May* and translated from the original Spanish by Dr. Andrew Chesnut Currents of spirituality and religion have always coursed through the Latin American body politic. And now the dynamics of religious identity are having a major impact in Costa Rica, Guatemala, Nicaragua, Bolivia, Brazil, and Mexico. We saw Jair Bolsonaro win the presidential elections in Brazil with strong support from the Universal Church of the Kingdom of God (IURD) as well as the coalition... Read more

Des Catholiques Tentés par L’Évangile de la Prospérité

Last updated on: January 20, 2019 at 5:30 pm By Andrew Chesnut

Kate Kingsbury et Andrew Chesnut A travers le monde des Catholiques sont de plus en plus tentés par L’évangile de la prospérité, surtout en Afrique et en Amérique Latine. En Afrique, les messes catholiques prennent des allures de cérémonies pentecôtistes durant lesquelles il est fait l’apologie de la théologie de la prospérité. Lors de cette nouvelle liturgie inconnue de la majorité des catholiques, les paroissiens sont exhortés à faire des dons. Plus important est le don, plus importante sera la récompense.... Read more

Derrotando al Diablo ¿Que Hay detras del Boom Global del Exorcismo?

Last updated on: January 16, 2019 at 12:03 pm By Andrew Chesnut

Co-autoria por la Dra. Kate Kingsbury* y el Dr. Andrew Chesnut. Traducido del ingles por la Dra. Fabiola Chesnut, Jefa del Departamento de Artes Finas en Huguenot High School en Richmond, Virginia. A partir de las últimas décadas, está claro que el clero católico está presenciando una creciente demanda de exorcismos. Un número asombroso de personas se liberan de las fuerzas demoníacas todas las semanas, no solo en los paises en via de desarrollo sino también en Gran Bretaña y los... Read more

Presidente AMLO y la Nueva Diversidad Religiosa en Mexico

Last updated on: December 18, 2018 at 3:53 pm By Andrew Chesnut

Por Ezer R. May May* Vientos de espiritualidades y religiosidades han soplado atravesando los discursos y las formas de hacer política en Latinoamérica. No es nuevo – las dinámicas de las identidades e identificaciones religiosas en el espacio público son los ingredientes que están modificando el ambiente que estamos observando, como en Costa Rica, Guatemala, Nicaragua, Bolivia, Brasil y México. Hemos observado la victoria presidencial de Jair Bolsonaro respaldada por la Iglesia Universal del Reino de Dios (IURD) liderada por... Read more

15 Fascinating Facts About the Virgin of Guadalupe

Last updated on: December 8, 2018 at 10:05 pm By Andrew Chesnut

Co-authored by Dr. Kate Kingsbury* and Dr. Andrew Chesnut Mexicans will tell you that they are 90 percent Catholic but 100 percent Guadalupan. While the numbers aren’t entirely accurate anymore, it is definitely the case that the Virgin of Guadalupe has been a constituent part of Mexican national identity, reflected in the fact that millions of both women and men are named Guadalupe, many going by the nickname “Lupe,” such as a colleague at the University of Houston, Dr. Guadalupe... Read more

Brazilian President-Elect Jair Messias Bolsonaro as Messiah for Evangelicals and Conservative Catholics

Last updated on: November 28, 2018 at 6:30 am By Andrew Chesnut

Co-authored by Dr. Ana Keila Mosca Pinezi* and Dr. Andrew Chesnut Two factors were decisive in the election of army captain, Jair Messias Bolsonaro, to the presidency – the attack by a knife-wielding assailant and the support of Bishop Edir Macedo, the head of Brazil’s second largest Pentecostal denomination, the Universal Church of the Kingdom of God. The Evangelical vote, as well as that of conservative Catholics, made the difference in the recent run-off election. With the slogan “Brazil above... Read more