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Shifts in Latinx/a/o Religiosity

Submitted to Program Units
1: Religions in the Latina/o Americas Unit and Sociology of Religion Unit

Israel Dominguez, University of North Carolina At Chapel Hill, Presiding

Abstract for Online Program Book (maximum 150 words)

Latinx religion in the world is shifting in response to the proliferation of what Ann Swidler once called "unsettled lives." In this co-sponsored session of the Sociology of Religion and Religion in the Latina/o Americas, panelists will explore the dimensions of this unsettling of Latinx religion across the U.S., its borderlands, Latin America and Europe. Panelists will interrogate the literary tradition of Santa Muerte, how faith-based actors engage with Latin American queer refugees in Spain and the U.S., and how Latino Christians have integrated into the New Apostolic Reformation and its Christian nationalist support for Donald Trump.

Papers

  • Zachary Schwarze, Rice University

    YERBERÍA BOOKS: THE LITERARY TRADITION OF THE RELIGION OF SANTA MUERTE

    Abstract

    This paper will examine a genre of literature which I term “yerbería books,” with respect to the growing religion of Santa Muerte. I define the genre as a type of book sold in metaphysical shops of Latine communities (yerberías). They usually contain (1) biographical information on divinities, (2) prayers, and (3) ritual procedures. I will argue that this body of literature has been historically underexamined in scholarship despite being a fixture among devotees. In Section I, I will show how the yerbería literature produces specialized biographies of Santa Muerte which cater to the needs of devotees. In Section II, I will examine continuities in prayers derived from Roman Catholic models. In Section III, I will examine common ritual procedures, which usually take the form of hechizos (spells). In the conclusion, I will show how these elements document the religion’s historical and practical concerns over the past thirty years.

  • Ernesto Fiocchetto, Florida International University

    Faith Actors and Latin American Queer Refugees in Spain and the US: Sociological Conceptual Categories to Analyze their Role in Forced Migration Contexts

    Abstract

    How do FAs act in the reception and integration of Latin American queer refugees in Spain and the US? This presentation focuses on how the intersections of forced migration, religion, and SOGIESC can be addressed from a sociological perspective to understand FAs’ role comprehensively. The paper elaborates on conceptual categories that make a sociological approach to FAs’ agency feasible. It discusses how they enable and constrain diverse aspects of the reception and integration of Latin American queer forced migrants by (in)visibilizing SOGIESC and religion in their narratives about their agency.

  • Matthew D. Taylor, Institute for Islamic, Christian, and Jewish Studies

    Pressing Beyond the “White Christian Nationalism” Framework: Latinx Christian Trump Advisers and Apostolic Christian Internationalism

    Abstract

    The predominant academic framework for understanding Donald Trump’s Christian support (and the Christian manifestations during the January 6th Capitol Riot) is “white Christian nationalism.” But what about non-white Christians who were closely involved in the Trump administration and January 6th? This paper highlights a particular set of Latino/a Christian leaders who were advisers to the Trump administration and many of whom helped mobilize Christians for the Capitol Riot. Strikingly, nearly all of the Latino/a Christian leaders in Trump’s orbit came from a particular strand of modern Christianity sometimes labeled the Apostolic and Prophetic Movement. This diffuse neo-charismatic movement forms transnational apostolic networks of nondenominational churches intent upon “discipling nations” through evangelizing/collaborating with like-minded national leaders. Though not directly part of white Christian nationalism, we can understand these leaders as participating in an aggressive form of Christian internationalism, which sometimes dovetails with American white Christian nationalist interests.

Audiovisual Requirements

Resources

LCD Projector and Screen
Podium microphone

Full Papers Available

No
Program Unit Options

Session Length

2 Hours

Schedule Preference Other

Not Sunday Afternoon
Schedule Info

Monday, 9:00 AM - 11:00 AM

Tags

#Latin America #Forced Migration #Queer Refugees #Sociology
#Latin America #New Religious Movements
Donald Trump
# whitechristiannationalism
New Apostolic Reformation
Latinx
#Pentecostalism

Session Identifier

A25-131