Resisting the Commodification of Religion: Faith, Heritage, and the Future of Vernacular Catholicism in Hispano Northern New Mexico

What does it take for a vernacular Christianity to remain relevant into the 21st century? What is at stake when local religious practices and materialities, seen as vital manifestations of cultural memory, undergo “heritagization” and commodification for the cultural tourism circuit? This paper is based on long-term ethnographic research. I examine vernacular Catholicism and tensions surrounding religious futures in and around Chimayó, a Hispano community in northern New Mexico. This region is awash in the materialities of vernacular Catholicism – carved saints, colonial-era altar screens, ex-votos, and roadside shrines. Material religion is engaged as an anchor for Nuevomexicano identity and supports a flagging economy, yet local people also contest its commodification for cultural outsiders. I argue that the navigation of the line between embracing and resisting heritagization can produce ambivalence but also potentiates a nuanced, active engagement of vernacular religion as a culturally-grounded resource for contemporary and future generations.