Suchergebnisse

Just as Latin America is stereotyped as a "Catholic" continent, popular Catholicism in the region is stereotyped as a simple, monolithic set of practices and ideas. These images hide the tremendous diversity and also the tensions that characterize popular Catholicism in Latin America. This essay examines some of the varieties of popular Catholicism through the study of a single parish on the outskirts of San Salvador, El Salvador. It focuses on political and religious conflicts among different groups of laypeople, as well as disagreements between laypeople and pastoral agents, from the early 1970s to the present. It contends that throughout this period, popular Catholicism—in its "traditional" and also "progressive" manifestations—has been the site of intense contestation regarding theological ideas, pastoral approaches, and ethical-political praxis.

The politics of recognition asks us to make a 'presumption of equal worth' when encountering cultures other than our own. It seeks to reconcile a western, liberal belief in the importance of equal dignity with the increasing heterogeneity of the modern world, through an openness to seeing the value in others' modes of living. Yet the politics of recognition have been variously critiqued: as too abstract; as too detached from the material conditions of daily life; as a distraction from efforts to ameliorate injustice through redistribution; as being focused on remedies that are mostly symbolic; as being dependent on oversimplications of structures of power; as being destined to create irresolvable struggles for sovereignty; as essentializing; as potentially condescending; as too heavily dependent on collective identities; and as somehow inauthentic. Recognition remains an attractive end for those interested in multiculturalism, feminism, democracy, and the possibility of living a just life in an ever-expanding world. Adapted from the source document.