On Wednesday this week, our first day of classes, we each said a few words about who we are and why we came to this class, and where we are. We are all in the midst of this pandemic, but we are coming together to learn and to prevail. At least, that is my hope.
We also began teasing out various concepts, definitions, and assumptions about Latinas and about Religion. I mark those with capital letters so we recognize them as signs we are going to keep defining, resisting, debating, and learning with.
I invite you to post your reflection on that exchange, whether it is your own thoughts on defining Latinas and/or Religion, or telling us a bit more about why you came to take this class, what you hope or expect to learn with the group between now and December, or how you think that this class may help you strengthen (maybe also purify?) your toolbox for life.
Try to post your reflection by Saturday at 5pm. If you cannot by then, please try to do so some time next week. We are going to be posting weekly, and this notebook will be one of my guides to see and appreciate your learning growth this semester.
21 replies on “Introduction”
During our class exchange regarding the definition of Latinas and Religion, I discovered the variety of experiences one can have with Religion despite having one major commonality: identifying as Latina/o. Some of these encounters include a strict moral upbringing based on religious principles such as purity while others consist of daily engagement with Religion. Regardless of the unique circumstances in which Religion and Latinidad come together, I hope to learn more in-depth the personal experiences of individuals that undergo the intersection of these two essential elements. Certainly, this course will contribute to my understanding of the strength that women possess in order to defy the limitations of life. Therefore, I hope to gain a newfound sense of appreciation for the culture that is derived from being Latino/a.
From Pew Research’s “The Shifting Religious Identity of Latinos in the United States” Pineda, I found the religious and political trends and overlaps interesting. First and foremost, seeing the general net loss of Catholics in U.S.-born Hispanics and the shift towards Protestantism or Non-affiliation to religion was interesting because it made me question the centrality of religión in an individual’s life. One of the cited reasons for leaving the Catholic church was that they “stopped believing in its teachings” and that the Protestant churches reached out to its members more (among other reasons). In other words, people may identify with a religión because of the moral/ethical principles it holds and or the sense of community within that religion.
Secondly, I also wondered what makes some Catholics become agnostic and some Catholics become Protestant? Perhaps teachings that align with one’s political stance may play a role in the religion (or the other way around). However, this once again implies the centrality of religion in one’s life. Does one’s preexisting political stance determine one’s religión or does one’s religión determine one’s political stance? When it came to the “Feminist Foremothers” readings, I was intrigued by the intensity of belief and activism (some at the risk of their own lives) these “foremothers” had relating to the political climate of their times. Whether it be Otero Warren’s fight for women’s suffrage or Lola Rodriguez’s fight for public freedom of expression and the Mirabal sisters’ opposition to Trujillo’s rule in the Dominican Republic, their political beliefs seemed to be equivalent if not stronger than their religious beliefs. Without knowing these women’s religious stance, I wonder do those in the U.S. who have gone from being Catholic to agnostic demonstrate stronger political activism than those who have gone from being Catholic to Protestant? Could more “liberal” or “non-traditional” political beliefs (as these women demonstrated in their respective time) result in the replacement of religion entirely?
Hi, Claire. Note that your post advanced a week. That’s alright, you can now write for the next week in response to the more specific questions of the prompter. Great post!
My attraction to this course stems from an enthnographic interest in understanding how religion has shaped the domestic life and decision making of Latina communities. Additionally, I’d like to explore the impact of Yoruba/African rituals and customs in identifying as Latina with relation to fuerza, purity, and the body.
I have noticed a growing number of Pentecostal Churches in Latinidad communitites. The study conducted by the Pew Research article on “The Shifting Religious Identity of Latinos in the United States”, analyzes this religious shift in affiliations from Catholicism to Protestantism among an increasing number of Hispanics under the age of 50 living in the United States. Based on collected data from the study, research predicts that most Catholics in the United States will be Hispanic, but many Hispanics may not be Catholics. The growing popularity of Protestantism specifically Evangelicalism has also found a noticeably growing number of converts in other immigrant groups in the United States. Chapter 2 of the study provides different reasons for the shifting conversion from personal choice to the attraction of the charismatics in Evangelical Protestantism. I was surprised to learn that in the matters of gender roles, both Evangelical and mainline Protestant Hispanics are more likely than Catholic Hispanics to be in favor of traditional marital roles with the husband as the dominated opinion in decision making. The study indicates that Hispanic Evangelical protestants are more likely to identify as a Republican than those who are Catholic or mainline Protestants. I wonder if the figures of Hispanic Evangelical protestants who identify as republican may vary based on their geographical location in the United States.
In chapter 3, the study identified the overall religious commitment in Hispanic Catholics and Evangelical Protestants as strikingly greater than white counterparts based on the scales used in the study of congressional engagement, church attendance, and prayer. The author noted that mainline Protestants were almost equivalent to white Protestants in their level of commitment, but within the subgroup of Hispanic Protestants there were striking differences. Foreign born Hispanic Protestants had higher levels of religious commitment than US born Hispanics that were Protestant. This reason could be due to generational family’s immersion and alignment into more American cultural practices. Even among the group of religiously unaffiliated Hispanics who reported a medium and low level of religious commitment, the percentage of those who claimed a medium level of religious commitment was 13% higher than their white counterparts. This points to the great influence of Religion in Hispanic Societies.
In the excerpt from, “Celebrating Our Latina Foremothers: A response to Elizabeth Schussler Fiorenza”, Nancy Pineda-Madrid outlines the missing presence of theologian accountability for the recognition of historical Latina figures in the establishment of Latina feminist theology. Pineda acknowledges that Latina feminist theology should pay homage to Latin foremothers who were instrumental in Latina Feminism. She details three different Latinas all born in an era prior to World War II, who made significant contributions to both the feminist movement, and social inequalities of their day. Pineda accredits Otera Warren in the expansion of the suffragist movement into New Mexico and implantation of the 19th amendment into the state. She also acknowledges Lola Rodriguez de Tio as instrumental in bringing awareness of the importance of woman agency and fight for women’s advancement in Puerto Rican Society. Pineda’s highlight of The Mirabal sisters and their contributions to the “Fourteenth of June” movement reminds me of female martyrs. Surely, the Latina feminist theology should highlight the historical significance of such women in its discussions.
Hi, Saron. In this post you advanced a week. No problem whatsoever. You can now post a new one on these same materials with a response to a more specific question in the prompter. Great post!
Since coming to Emory, I’ve always wanted to take classes about the Latinx experience, but I have not had the chance to do so until very recently. Last year, I took two history classes about the Spanish colonization of the Americas, but since then I’ve wanted to learn more about contemporary Latinx history. When I heard about this class, I thought it fit right into my interests. Not only would I gain a deeper understanding of Latinx culture, but I would also get to study the intersection between religion, culture and how that impacts Latinas. Although I grew up in a Latinx household, my family was never religious. However, I recognize that religion plays a vital part in many Latinx cultures and has done so for many years.
By the end of the class, I hope that I have a deeper understanding of the intersection I identified earlier. Additionally, I want to identify how this blend of culture and religion can be both harmful and beneficial to Latinas.
When I first read the description of our course on the course atlas, I was automatically intrigued by and eager to learn about the subject area. I had always been interested in the fields of religion and in takings a LACS course and this class became the perfect combination of both.
Growing up, I was always aware of an intersectionality between religion and culture although I didn’t fully understand it. For me personally, religion was a very confusing topic to navigate within my family. Many of my classmates who were Latinx often defined themselves as Catholic or Christian. For me, the latinas within my extended family all followed different religions; including Catholism, Pentecostal(ism), Judaism, and atheism/agnostic(ism). This background always made me very curious (in different ways) about religion, what it means to observe religion, and where is a Latina’s place in religion?
After our first meeting on Wednesday I became even more excited to learn about Latinas and Religion. Stemming from our discussion on purity and strength, I cannot wait to hear more from my classmates about their viewpoints and experiences.
After our first meeting, I was glad to be taking another class that will complicate my understanding of Latina/o communities, especially through the lens of Religion. I have always been interested in the diversity of experience and history in Latin America – the ways that power, coloniality, race, gender and indigineity share as many differences as they do similarities across the continent(s). Being Brazilian, and having lived in Brazil up until college, it was interesting to come to the United States were ‘Latin America’ is often conflated with Spanish-speaking countries with histories of Spanish colonialism. I’m looking forward to seeing how what we discuss interacts with current understanding of spirituality, religious practices, family, gender and race (amongst others) in Brazil.
The readings up to this point have highlighted to me above all else the ways that language and methodology shape discourse for Latinas, Feminism and Religion. The Pew research study, which consistently used the nomer ‘Hispanic’, shaped their discourse of shifting religious experience among Latino/as (as its titled) to only reflect certain groups. Similarly, Pineda’s piece reflected how a lack of written historical documentation surrounding black, indigenous, poor, not formally educated women (among others positionalities) shapes who we consider our feminist ‘foremothers’.
Both pieces and our class discussion are pushing me to understand that colonial experience shapes multiple histories, and subsequently, multiple perspectives in activism and academia. I particularly was interested in how Pineda used the idea of genealogy among Latinas as an opportunity for strength and power in feminist studies and practice, and am interested in how we can use ideas such as power, suffering and memory as analytical frameworks to understand how Latinas and Religion interact.
Over the last couple of years, as I began to define what my passions were, I noticed how important my Latina identity is to me. I attended a PWI all throughout middle school and high school, and I never had the opportunity to take a class on Latinx history or culture. Once I got to Emory, I saw LACS as a possible major and the variety of classes that I could finally take. It was during these past couple of years that I began to understand what it meant to be Latina.
Being Latina in a PWI setting, I noticed how students would overlook my comments in class discussions or how some of my white peers would only speak to me when they needed help with Spanish homework. My frustration and just years of the same situation made me realize that I am strong, intelligent, and fearless. I was determined to make my voice heard and to make space for people like me at a campus that wasn’t designed for me, for us. I held assemblies to try to inform students about issues that affected the Latinx community even though we were shut down on multiple occasions by administration. We had a safe space for Latinx students to come together and talk about issues they were having. They were all small little details, but I think I made a difference during my time there. I am still trying to do so.
Now, when I stumbled across this class, I had never taken a class that was about Latinas. And, for the class to be in relation to Religion, I knew I had to take it. I’ve always kind of struggled with Religion myself because my family was never the type to go to church, but my mother believes in god. I went to a christian school. God has always been mentioned in my life, but the idea of god never really sat right with me. I’ve always had the feeling that some type of external force exists out there but never had the opportunity to explore it. Ideas like remaining pure or not exposing my body or making my body inaccessible to a man were reasons why I never liked church or associating with Religion. I felt like they were some type of restraint on my body and I. I’m excited to see how the terms purity, body, and fuerza empower Latinas or define Latinas in terms of religion. I anticipate coming out with a different view on religion after this class perhaps. Overall, I’m just really excited to learn and already feel like we have a great community in this class.
Hi everyone! Hope you’re all doing well! The main reason I came to take this class was because I was really interested in the ways Latinidad, Religion, and Spirituality intersect and inform each other through race, class, geography, etc. I’m really curious about how the lived experiences and positionality of Latinas inform their negotiations and relationships with Religion, faith, and their ideas of strength and resilience.
Over our course, I’m really excited to analyze the intricacies of Religion for Latinas and discuss questions around what might be working for Latinas in their faith-based/spiritual journeys, what could be missing for folks, and how Latinas might be dealing with these contradictions (possibly causing them to distance themselves or redefine religious symbols/meanings). I’m also hopeful that this class will allow me to reflect on my personal experiences with religion as a Dominicana and give me the tools to grapple with how the transcendental/spirit impacts how I navigate our world/institutions/spaces.
I’m so excited to learn from you all!
Hi everyone, my name is Tiffany. You guys can call me Tiff for short. I am a Women’s Gender & Sexuality studies major and this class is an elective for the major so it furthered my interest in taking this course. I am interested in learning about the Latinx culture with religion incorporated into it; I am already looking forward to the remainder of the class. Also, I hope to learn about the role women play in Latinx religion and how it might be similar or different to the Western/America culture that women partake in. From our Monday’s class I learned about the difference between Hispanics versus Latinas/os, which I did not know about so I found that quite interesting.
Hello! My name is Reina and I’m a third-year in the college. I’m a Biology major on a pre-med track and I recently switched from an African-American Studies minor to a Women’s, Gender, and Sexualities minor. This is my first elective as a WGSS minor and also the first time in my college career that I’ve had a Latina professor. It’s also the first course I’ve ever taken that’s related to Latin American studies so I’m pretty excited to be a part of this class.
I’m most interested in learning how gender and race are understood within the scope of Latina femininity and how these concepts are further impacted by historical and present Latin American cultural and religious practices and beliefs. Referring to Tiffany’s introduction, in my first class I also learned the difference between Latina/o/x and Hispanic, which was one of the first questions I had as I’ve always heard them be utilized interchangeably.
In regards to the Pews reading, the only question I had was about the actual participants surveyed and how their location within the United States affected their responses (i.e. the level of comfort in the Catholic church could have been affected by changes in religious beliefs but could have also differed among Latinx folk living in rural areas vs. cities; for example, rural Kentucky vs. Miami). For the Pineda reading, I already spoke my critique in class regarding the exclusion of Afro-Latinas and less privileged Latinas. In extension to this, it was distasteful to see that the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women was only created after the murder of the Mirabel sisters and not after Trujillo’s active targeting of Black folk, and, thus, Black women. The violence against women under Trujillo obviously needed to be addressed and the Mirabel sisters obviously did not deserve the fate that they did, but that doesn’t excuse the apparent anti-blackness associated with actively ignoring and disregarding both the racialized and gendered violence Black women faced under Trujillo. This last point isn’t a critique on the reading but rather a critique on history and the stories chosen to be told (another concept discussed in class).
Hi, Reina. You advanced a week with this post. No worries. You can post another blog entry this week responding to a specific question I raise in the prompter about the readings. Great post, and excellent critique on history! Welcome to my whole research world. No es fácil!
Hello again! Although I have already commented regarding the readings, I also wanted to introduce myself! My name is Claire Lee and I am a third year studying International Studies and Music (and unofficial minor in Spanish). When I began learning Spanish, what drove me to continue was the fact that it would allow me to connect and listen to more people.
I wanted to take this class because although I have been learning Spanish for several years now, I want to understand the religious and cultural context from which many Spanish-speaking individuals (particularly Latinas) come from. (and by learning these various aspects this semester, I hope to be a better listener and more aware of the various contexts people may be coming from)
I am taking this class because I wanted to broaden my knowledge of the Latinx experience through different lenses and how they relate/differ to mine. Being raised as a Catholic as many in Peru exposed me to a very conservative/closed-minded environment since I was very young, constantly reinforcing the concept of “purity” and what is “right or wrong”. I ended up growing away from some of the toxicity that it brought into my life and decided to not completely erase it, but make it my own.
When I moved to the US for college (mainly to escape the toxicity), I met Latinx people with different approaches to religion, and the role it played in their lives. What was most shocking to me is that the majority of Latinx people my age were very involved in their Catholic/Christian lifestyle, however, the Latinx professors I’ve had so far (LACS and Sociology) were not religious at all.
I want to learn about different perspectives and intersections between Latinas and Religion and explore the diversity that exists in Latin America. Along with this class, I am also taking a course on LGBTQ+ Religion and Spirituality, and hope to find similarities between both of these courses and how they relate to my experience.
Overall, I’m super excited to be in this class and learn from everyone!
Hello, my name is JC Smith and I am a junior at Emory University majoring in History in English. I’m taking this course as it fuffills a major requirement of mine. I’ve been raised Catholic, and have experienced the difficulties of trying to adhere to my faith while also being a moral person in todays world. I’ve taken a class related to Latin American Studies in high school, a course on Latin American History. This course was interesting, but only looked at the history of Latin America from the perspective of European infuence, who I belive have little authority on the subject itself, ill-equipped to adequatly describe the history.
Below is a paragraph of mine in which I reviewed a book about the influence of depections of the Virgin Mary relating to marriages.
“Alone of All Her Sex; The Myth and the Cult of the Virgin Mary continues to polarize and impress the audience in Part four, Mother, in which Warner examines the qualities that became expected of mothers due to Mary’s ethereal essence. Warner emphasizes the servitude in a direct quote from Mary, saying, “Behold the handmaid of the Lord. Be it unto me according to thy word.” (177). This is Mary directly telling God that she is in forever servitude to him. This has further implications, implying that women should always be in servitude to a man. This is one of Warner’s main hardships in appreciating Mary, the fact that the image of her is often used in servitude of others and never selfish pursuits. Warner despises the idea that woman are natural subordinates to men, quoting 1 Corinthians 11:9 so vehemently it is almost blasphemous stating, “Neither was the man created for the woman; but the woman for the man.” (178). Quietness began to be expected from wives, as men expected their wives to be virtuous in humility. Warner demonstrates the horrid expected qualities of a mother due to Mary’s image.”
Absolutely on point, JC. And quietud is one of the strongest tools in Teresa de Jesús’s box, one that has helped many women in latinidad deal with fuerza and violence against them. Hope you can keep dwelling in this, explore the contradicitions, and humbly devise some good readings.
Hi! I’m Anika, and I’m a rising junior! I am especially excited to take this course because I truly enjoy learning about diversity, history, and components that comprise religion and different religious ideologies! I am eager to learn how to better analyze the incredible history of women and their role in Latinx religion historically as well as currently. I am entering this course with little prior knowledge on defining Latainas and/or Religion, therefore I hope to gain a better understanding about the history, historical figures, progressive changes, and the happenings in the current day.
Reflecting on the Pew Research, “The Shifting Religious Identity of Latinos in the United States” I found it interesting to first learn distinguishing religious components such as between Evangelical Protestantism, Catholicism, among others in order to understand the concept of the religious polarization taking place. I had little previous knowledge about the long-term decline in the share of Catholics among Hispanics that factor in reflecting religious changes in Latin America. Effectively, the reading introduced important concepts about the Broad-Based Changes in Religious Identity that I found fascinating. For example, influences including being foreign-born, measuring religious commitment, religious switching in childhood, social and political views, among others.
With an interest in the empowering historical women, I enjoyed reading the “Feminist Foremothers”. One part that stood out to me was the mentioning of Latina feminist theology continuing to be an emancipatory discourse that is considered a revolutionary act of historiography. After reading the stories of the Mirabel Sisters, Adelina “Nina” Otero Warren, and Lola Rodígues de Tío, I noticed shared concepts such as these figures coming from well-educated backgrounds at the time and successfully utilizing their platform to initiate change and spread awareness about the lives of women facing extreme violence (Mirabel Sisters), pushing for educational reform (Otero Warren), and utilizing poetry and prose to communicate liberty and progress (Lola Rodígues de Tío). Next, I hope to further educate myself on other Latina feminist theologians such as Sor Juana Inés de la Cruz and Michelle González.
Hi, Anika. Great post! Note that you have advanced a week; you’ll be able to write a new post on the Pew and Pineda pieces when you answer to the prompter for this week. Let me know if you have any questions.
Great posts, everyone! I have commented on some of you and clarified a bit of when to post for what week. Let me know if you have any questions, although I believe that with this week’s prompter you all will see they rhythm a bit more clearly.
This weekend I am finishing an article on Teresa de Jesús (16th-century mystic in Spain, of Jewish lineage and great defender of interfaith theologies and practices of religion. The context: the era of forge of the Spanish empire, in the environment of Counterreformation, which closed many religious, cultural, and political borders.
Strength and purity are at the core of my analysis of her deployment of water and irrigation as icon of women’s collaborative practices of prayer. Your thoughts in our discussion this week, and your posts here, although not about the exact same topic, are great inspiration to me. Thank you! Good weekend, everyone!
Hello everyone! My name is Joy and I am a junior. I am studying psychology and African American Studies, and I am taking this class because I believe one of the most important elements of college is learning to better understand different cultures. I enjoy learning about theology and I think that religion is an interesting way to study a culture because religion permeates many elements of society even among those who do not practice the religion. Additionally, I think that Latinas are left out in many areas, including conversations about people of color. I am still determining the specifics of my career path, but I know that I want to continually work on behalf of women of color, and it would be irresponsible for me to not do what I can to better understand our similarities and also our differences. Also, I am in this class because I have wanted to take a course with Professor Carrión since my first year at Emory 🙂