Magical Realism, Latin American Theology, and the Appearance of a Pre-Critical Theory: Mary versus Ideology

Mary versus Ideology explores why Marian apparitions in history occurred simultaneously with the rise of urban elites' secularizing ideologies, using Latin American hermeneutic lenses of liberation theology and magical realism to demonstrate how popular religion is a space of resistance against modernity's totalizing projects.

Format: Hardback
Length: 194 pages
Publication date: 08 January 2024
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing Plc

Magical Realism, Latin American Theology, and the Appearance of a Pre-Critical Theory: Mary versus Ideology delves into the reasons behind the remarkable surge of Marian apparitions in history, narrated by impoverished rural women and children, coinciding with the rise of urban elites' secularizing ideologies—often within the same countries. This insightful exploration goes beyond the mere narratives and symbols of the Marian apparitions, unveiling a critique of the modern and postmodern social imaginaries that gave rise to numerous ideologies. By employing the Latin American hermeneutic lenses of liberation theology and magical realism, this book demonstrates how popular religion, with its mythical-narrative core, serves as a space of resistance against the totalizing projects of modernity. Modern and postmodern proposals, such as those of Marxist or poststructuralist thinkers, assert that critical thinking is essential for evading or exposing ideologies. However, Alfredo Ignacio Poggi contends that a naïve, or more accurately, pre-critical, perception of the world is the most effective starting point for challenging contemporary ideologies.

Weight: 476g
Dimension: 237 x 159 x 21 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9781666951141