scholarly journals The Revolution and the Virgin Mary: Popular Religion and Social Change in Nicaragua

1998 ◽  
Vol 3 (2) ◽  
pp. 1-11 ◽  
Author(s):  
S. Linkogle
Keyword(s):  
Latin America ◽  
Social Change ◽  
Catholic Church ◽  
Vatican Ii ◽  
Social Transformation ◽  
Popular Religion ◽  
Virgin Mary ◽  
Religious Practices ◽  
Religious Festival

This article is concerned with analysing the role of popular religion in social transformation in Nicaragua from 1979 to the present, focusing in particular on popular religious practices, as spaces in which gender, political and religious identities are shaped and contested. It explores the elements of Nicaraguan popular religion that were constitutive of a religious and often gendered ‘common sense’ which fostered identification with specific political projects. My aim is two-fold. Firstly, I am concerned to examine some general issues around popular religion in Latin America and its relationship to the practice and pronouncements of the Catholic church. To this end, I begin my analysis of popular religion in Nicaragua with an exploration of some of the general themes which dominate considerations of popular culture and popular religion. I next examine how the issue of popular Catholicism has been taken up both by the ‘official’ church, particularly in the wake of Vatican II, and by liberation theologians. This discussion leads to a more specific focus on popular religion in Latin America. Secondly, I explore ‘Marianism’ and the Nicaraguan popular religious festival La Purísima. Here I focus on the competing gender discourses which are worked through different representations of ‘the Virgin Mary’. These competing discourses are often also linked to different versions of an ‘ideal’ society. Finally the article concludes by outlining how an analysis of popular religious practices can inform a sociological understanding of contradictory processes of social change.

scholarly journals The Metamorphosis of Written Devotion in the Age of Vatican II (c. 1948–c. 1998) in Hungary—Guestbooks in Hungarian Marian Shrines

Religions ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (4) ◽  
pp. 235
Author(s):  
Krisztina Frauhammer
Keyword(s):  
20Th Century ◽  
Vatican Ii ◽  
Virgin Mary ◽  
Combined Effect ◽  
Public Realm ◽  
The Public ◽  
Written Form ◽  
Personal Prayer ◽  
The Church

This article presents the Hungarian manifestations of a written devotional practice that emerged in the second half of the 20th century worldwide: the rite of writing prayers in guestbooks or visitors’ books and spontaneously leaving prayer slips in shrines. Guestbooks or visitors’ books, a practice well known in museums and exhibitions, have appeared in Hungarian shrines for pilgrims to record requests, prayers, and declarations of gratitude. This is an unusual use of guestbooks, as, unlike regular guestbook entries, they contain personal prayers, which are surprisingly honest and self-reflective. Another curiosity of the books and slips is that anybody can see and read them, because they are on display in the shrines, mostly close to the statue of Virgin Mary. They allow the researcher to observe a special communication situation, the written representation of an informal, non-formalised, personal prayer. Of course, this is not unknown in the practice of prayer; what is new here is that it takes place in the public realm of a shrine, in written form. This paper seeks answers to the question of what genre antecedents, what patterns of behaviour, and which religious practices have led to the development of this recent practice of devotion in the examined period in Hungarian Catholic shrines. In connection with this issue, this paper would like to draw attention to the combined effect of the following three factors: the continuity of traditions, the emergence of innovative elements and the role of the church as an institution. Their parallel interactions help us to understand the guestbooks of the shrines.

scholarly journals Design as an agent of change: Practice-oriented initiatives on Design Teaching

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Najla Mouchrek ◽  
Lia Krucken
Keyword(s):  
Social Change ◽  
Social Transformation ◽  
Design Research ◽  
Human Values ◽  
Design Approach ◽  
Social Actors ◽  
Research And Teaching ◽  
Strategies For Change ◽  
Agent Of Change

The paper analyzes the role of Design as an agent of social transformation in face of complex challenges. Intentionally embracing reality’s complexity and centering on human values, the Design approach is suited to develop alternative perspectives and radically different strategies for change. The paper explores Design teaching focusing on social change and transition to sustainability, presenting three initiatives and reflecting about methods and impacts of the application of Design for transition. The analysis points to the need of a critical vision in Design research and teaching and the importance to systematize and teach methods and tools to support the interplay among diverse social actors.

Prophetic Martyrdom in Modern Latin America

2020 ◽  
pp. 236-255
Author(s):  
Edward T. Brett
Keyword(s):  
Latin America ◽  
Latin American ◽  
Catholic Church ◽  
Vatican Ii ◽  
Second Vatican Council ◽  
Vatican Council ◽  
Religious Sisters ◽  
Church Workers ◽  
Modern Latin America ◽  
The Church

Following the Second Vatican Council (1962–1965), over a thousand priests and religious sisters and brothers were exiled, imprisoned, tortured, or murdered in Latin America by authoritarian governments. A much larger number of lay Church workers were also incarcerated, brutalized, or killed. Most suffered or died because, following the ideals of Vatican II and the Second Latin American Bishops Conference at Medellín, Colombia (1968), they committed themselves to the amelioration of the marginalized in their countries, even though they were fully aware that to do so placed their lives in great peril. This chapter treats a select number—mostly priests and nuns—who were killed because of their prophetic devotion to the poor. It is limited to the nations of Mexico, Brazil, Chile, Argentina, and Central America. It also touches on the bitter divisions that resulted in the Church as a consequence of this new religious activism. Finally, it demonstrates why the deaths of so many religious-based social justice activists forced the institutional Catholic Church to reexamine its outdated criteria for martyrdom.

Religion and Social Change at the Grass Roots in Latin America

1997 ◽  
Vol 554 (1) ◽  
pp. 81-103 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. SAMUEL ESCOBAR
Keyword(s):  
Latin America ◽  
Social Change ◽  
Religious Commitment ◽  
Colonial Period ◽  
Social Mobilization ◽  
Grass Roots ◽  
Key Factor ◽  
Revolutionary Movements ◽  
Role Of Religion

Recent historiography and social studies in Latin America have developed new approaches to understanding the significance of movements by the poor for social change as well as the role of religion as a key factor for social mobilization. It is now possible to perceive the importance of messianic and revolutionary movements since the colonial period, and also the different forms of religious commitment that motivate people to reject modernization or to accept it. Several case studies coming from Catholicism and Protestantism are considered here.

scholarly journals The Nature and Missionary Role of the Lay People in the Light of Vatican II; Convenience or Conviction?

2020 ◽  
pp. 28-36
Author(s):  
Francis Appiah-Kubi ◽  
Robert Bonsu
Keyword(s):  
Catholic Church ◽  
Vatican Ii ◽  
Second Vatican Council ◽  
People Of God ◽  
Lay People ◽  
The People ◽  
Vatican Council ◽  
Challenges And Opportunities ◽  
The Church

The nature and the missionary role of the laity in the church is one of the issues currently vital to the church and theologians. From the Second Vatican Council (1962-1965) perspective, the word laity is technically understood to mean all the faithful except those in holy orders and those in the state of religious life specially approved by the Catholic Church (LG31). These faithful are by baptism made one with Christ and constitute the People of God; they are sharers in the priestly, prophetic and kingly functions of Christ; and they carry out for their own part the mission of the whole Christian people in the church and in the world. However, the distinction between the ordained and the lay is a real one. A great deal of attention has been paid to the ordained ministry of the Church, its nature, its authority and its functions. The laity tends, by way of contrast, to be taken very much for granted, as though in their case no special problems arise. This study discusses the nature, role, and participation of lay people in the mission of the Church as proposed by the Second Vatican Council. It treats succinctly the historical development of the Laity and the challenges and opportunities inherent in their mission.

scholarly journals Lay Catholic Support for Exiled Polish Intellectuals in Britain, 1942–1962

2017 ◽  
Vol 135 (4) ◽  
pp. 199-222 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jonathan Bush
Keyword(s):  
Catholic Education ◽  
Catholic Church ◽  
Vatican Ii ◽  
Tertiary Education ◽  
Second Vatican Council ◽  
Political Factors ◽  
Vatican Council ◽  
Subordinate Role

This article examines the hitherto unexplored role of lay Catholics in the tertiary education of Polish exiles in Britain, from the early 1940s to the beginning of the Second Vatican Council in 1962. It will examine the work of the Newman Association, a predominantly lay Catholic graduate society, as a case study to reveal how lay activism towards European exiles was influenced by a range of social, theological and political factors. It will highlight the ways in which support for Polish Catholic education could be manifested, including the establishment of a cultural hub in London, a scholarship programme to assist Polish students in British and Irish universities, and the development of cultural links with individuals and organisations within Poland. Ultimately, this article demonstrates the growing confidence of educated lay Catholics in breaking out of their historically subordinate role within the English Catholic Church in the years prior to Vatican II.

The Role of Law in Social Transformation: Is a Jurisprudence of Insurgency Possible?.

1987 ◽  
Vol 2 ◽  
pp. 97-119 ◽  
Author(s):  
Stephen Brickey ◽  
Elizabeth Comack
Keyword(s):  
Social Change ◽  
Social Transformation ◽  
Capitalist Society ◽  
Socialist Society ◽  
Legal Strategies ◽  
Theoretical Considerations

Contemporary Marxist theorizing on law has produced a number of different ways of conceptualizing the class character of law within a capitalist society. The main focus of these approaches has largely been on the role of law in maintaining and reproducing an unequal, exploitative system. As a consequence, the issue, even the possibility of using law as a mechanism for securing substantial social change has been downplayed and, in some cases, precluded.The purpose of this paper is to argue for a rethinking of law, especially in terms of its potential as an agent for social transformation. The discussion will be divided into two main sections. The first involves theoretical considerations. Problems encountered with existing approaches to law vis-à-vis their implications for change will be examined and the direction in which a theoretical reformulation might proceed will be outlined. The second involves practical considerations. Here the focus will be on the kinds of legal strategies and particular forms and conditions of law that could be extended or developed in order to move in the direction of a socialist society.

Doing Mission: The Catholic Experience

1986 ◽  
Vol 14 (4) ◽  
pp. 421-435 ◽  
Author(s):  
John J. Casey
Keyword(s):  
Latin America ◽  
World War Ii ◽  
Lived Experience ◽  
Catholic Church ◽  
Vatican Ii ◽  
World War ◽  
Top Down ◽  
Grass Roots ◽  
The Sixties ◽  
China And Japan

Concentrating on the “lived experience” of Maryknoll missioners, the author points to distinct changes in the perception of how mission is done. From 1911 until shortly after World War II, evangelization of non-Christians and developing an indigenous Catholic church were the traditional priorities. Mission was seen as a priestly function, and carried out from the top down, under the international oversight of the Propaganda Fide. Changes precipitating a dramatically new orientation, especially after the sixties, were: redeployment of missioners from China and Japan, the crucial experience of Latin America, mission decrees of Vatican II, and the new prominence given to local theology and ministry at the grass-roots. Today's missioners, Casey believes, are being profoundly transformed by the cultural, religious, and political contexts in which they work.

scholarly journals The Role of the Altar and Tabernacle in the Catholic Church Interior in the Light of Post-conciliar Recommendations and Architectural Arrangement of the Church Interior

2021 ◽  
Vol 48 (4) ◽  
pp. 250-277
Author(s):  
Mirosław Bogdan
Keyword(s):  
Catholic Church ◽  
Vatican Ii ◽  
Canon Law ◽  
Code Of Canon Law ◽  
Community Of Faith ◽  
Liturgical Renewal ◽  
The Aesthetic ◽  
The Church ◽  
The Catholic Church

The article defines the role of the altar and tabernacle in the contemporary architectural sacred interior treated as domus ecclesiae, designed to fulfill liturgical functions in accordance with the post-conciliar renewal of Vatican II. The article takes into account the problem of celebrating Holy Mass. by the celebrant with his back to the tabernacle located centrally behind the post-conciliar altar. With reference to the irreversibility of the liturgical renewal, apart from the ordinary form of the Roman rite, the existence of the extraordinary (Tridentine) form of this rite, also accepted by Vatican II, is taken into account.  By presenting the presence of the post-conciliar altar brought closer to the zone of the faithful, the meaning of the Code of Canon Law is defined. The article, defining the irreversibility of the liturgical renewal, presents the location of the tabernacle separated from the altar, built architecturally in the nave or chapel of the church. At the same time, the aesthetic beauty of the liturgical interior furnishings is determined, when all this exists in accordance with the post-conciliar ordinances and serves to build a community of faith.

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