Gianna Ledesma
Research Mentor: Rebecca Irvine
Mentor Department: Not Available, ART
Author(s): Gianna Ledesma, Rebecca Irvine
Session: Session 3 (11:00 AM – 11:50 AM)
Presentation Type: Poster 141
Abstract
Decolonial scholarship has consistently evaluated the economic and political ties of colonialism in Latin America, but there has been less research explaining the role religious institutions have had in shaping spirituality and knowledge. Catholicism has historically been a tool of material and spiritual conquest in Mexico, and modern indigenous and feminist movements attempt to challenge these power dynamics. This paper touches on the gaps addressing how institutional religious authority functions to maintain structures of Catholicism, through control of theology and religious practice, and how this is related to efforts decolonizing spirituality. When researching, papers that contained qualitative analysis of historical records, theological scholarship, ethnographic studies, and contemporary decolonial and feminist theological literature were prioritized. The sources contain accounts of colonial evangelization, analysis of indigenous spiritual movements, feminist theological critiques, studies of liberationist and inculturation practices within the Catholic Church. Through synthesizing interdisciplinary scholarship, this paper addresses transformations in Catholic institutional authority from the colonial period to the present. Through analysis, it is clear that the Catholic Church has regulated religious knowledge and practice in ways that have marginalized indigenous and feminist spirituality and knowledge. Liberation theology and indigenous inculturation methods have created minor openings for intercultural discussion, these attempts at reform have remained constrained by Catholic authority, limiting autonomy in decolonial efforts. Catholic institutional structures remain to produce hierarchical structures rooted in colonial epistemologies. Consequently, religious institutions are central within the contemporary struggle over decolonization in Mexico. Acknowledging Catholicism’s role in shaping cosmological and epistemological authority reveals why indigenous and feminist decolonial efforts still face structural constraint to this day.
