The Evolution of Marian Devotionalism within Christianity and the Ibero-Mediterranean Polity

Religious involvement and depressive symptoms among Mexican‐origin adults in California

“…Thus, a handful of works have attempted to distinguish between common versus unique facets of religiousness and spirituality (e.g., Krause, 2004). This could be especially profitable among Latino/a samples, for whom Marian imagery and the Virgin of Guadalupe, beliefs in saints and angels, and various other popular religious and nonorganizational beliefs and practices (including some that are intertwined with vestiges of Mexican culture) may be particularly important (DiazStevens & Stevens-Arroyo, 1998;Pena & Frehill, 1998;Stevens-Arroyo, 1998). Given the apparent growth of evangelical Protestantism among Hispanic populations that once were monolithically Catholic (e.g., Diaz-Stevens & Stevens-Arroyo, 1998), it could be valuable to explore Catholic-Protestant differences in-and the effects of religious conversion on-religious coping, religious networks, spiritual experiences, and other psychosocial resources.…”

“…First, researchers have commented at length on the widespread prominence of Marian imagery among various Hispanic populations, suggesting that the veneration of the Virgin Mary may offer a sense of spiritual status and personal empowerment to women in these communities (Diaz-Stevens, 1993;Pena & Frehill, 1998;Stevens-Arroyo, 1998). It has been hypothesized that religious faith in general, and Marian imagery in particular, may take on special importance for many Latinas because other aspects of cultural tradition and social and family circumstances (e.g., patriarchy, discrimination, poverty) can be marginalizing or disempowering for women.…”

The Contribution of Catholic Orthodoxy to Caribbean Syncretism: The Case of la Virgen de la Caridad del Cobre in Cuba

“…A more telling religious perspective for syncretism is to consider its operation outside the confines of rigid class structures. I maintain that during the baroque, Christianity "knit together disparate class and racial groups" particularly by developing Marian devotionalism (Stevens-Arroyo, 1998a). Can this premise be applied in the Caribbean ?…”

“…During the baroque, the protections of lex gentium were shifted from the feudal conception of the "natural lord" and were given over to a more abstract "sovereignty of peoples." Because sovereignty resided with the people, Francisco Suárez, SJ, (1548-1617) argued that the nation's customs and traditions took precedence over the positive law promulgated by the monarch (see Stevens-Arroyo, 1998a). In the Iberian context, Catalonia, Castile and Portugal were different nations with ancient local laws governing inheritance, jurisprudence and the like, which Suárez insisted were beyond the ordinary scope of royal decrees.…”

“…Some 15 years after testimony by Juan Moreno, Fonseca reinterprets the original version by attributing the decision to a celestial instruction. The choice of a young girl as spokesperson for Our Lady is also part of this trope of Marian revelation (see Christian, 1981;Stevens-Arroyo, 1998a).…”