Santa Muerte devotion : vulnerability, protection, intimacy / Wil G. Pansters.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Pansters, W. G. (Wil G.), author.

Series:

Cambridge elements. Elements in new religious movements, 2635-232X.

Cambridge elements. Elements in new religious movements, 2635-232X

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Santa Muerte (Mexican deity)--Cult--Customs and practices.

Santa Muerte.

Idols and images--Mexico.

Idols and images.

Death--Mexico--Religious aspects.

Death.

Mexico--Religious life and customs.

Mexico.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (81 pages) : digital, PDF file(s).

Edition:

1st ed.

Place of Publication:

Cambridge : Cambridge University Press, 2025.

Summary:

In recent decades the cult of Santa Muerte has become a remarkable phenomenon in Mexico's popular religious landscape, from where it has migrated abroad. Due to the uncommon iconography of the robed skeleton and the association with criminality, the Santa Muerte cult has been the object of public controversy. This Element deconstructs mainstream views of Santa Muerte devotion by privileging the voices and practices of devotees. Counterintuitively, Santa Muerte devotion is about assuring a good life in health, work, love, justice, and security. Notwithstanding the cult's rapid growth and public visibility since 2000, it is deeply embedded in Mexico's religious and cultural history. The analysis of material culture, theology, and ritual demonstrates the importance of devotional intimacy. This Element also studies how gender, family, leadership, and political relations intersect with the cult. Santa Muerte popular religiosity is examined in terms of socioeconomic vulnerabilities, ineffective social protections, exclusion, and existential insecurities.

Notes:

Title from publisher's bibliographic system (viewed on 25 Feb 2025).

Description based on publisher supplied metadata and other sources.

ISBN:

1-009-44662-2

1-009-44664-9

1-009-44663-0

OCLC:

1574116546