From the Preferential Option for the Poor to Conservative Catholicism: The History of the Diocese of Cuernavaca as a Field

Abstract This article addresses the transformations in Catholicism within the Cuernavaca Diocese in Mexico from 1952 to 2013. Using a theoretical and methodological approach that builds upon the concepts of nomos and doxa, three epochs of Catholicism in Mexico are identified: the Preferential Option...
Ausführliche Beschreibung

Abstract This article addresses the transformations in Catholicism within the Cuernavaca Diocese in Mexico from 1952 to 2013. Using a theoretical and methodological approach that builds upon the concepts of nomos and doxa, three epochs of Catholicism in Mexico are identified: the Preferential Option for the Poor (1952–1982), the Emotional/Promotional and the Quest for Regulation (1982–2000), and the Field in Dispute and the Growth of Conservatism (2000–2013). Reviewing ecclesiastical documents and other bibliographic sources, interviews with key informants, and other ethnographic data, this article focuses on (1) the lay movement and popular religion; (2) the diocesan seminary, the clergy, and their relationships with the bishop; and (3) the involvement of Catholic field agents in instances of political and social strife. These three elements allow us to identify the forces and struggles of Catholicism as a Bourdieusien “religious field” in the state of Morelos. Ausführliche Beschreibung