How aesthetic religious experiences can create solidarity in marginalized communities
Latine Catholics have used Our Lady of Guadalupe as a symbol in democratic campaigns ranging from the Chicano movement and United Farm Workers movements to contemporary calls for just immigration reform. In diverse ways, these groups have used Guadalupes symbol and narrative to critique societys basic structuresincluding law, policy, and institutionswhile seeking to inspire broader participation and representation among marginalized peoples in US democracy.
Yet, from the outside, Guadalupes symbol is illegible within a liberal political framework that seeks to protect societys basic structures from religious encroachment by relegating religious speech, practices, and symbols to the background.
The Aesthetics of Solidarity argues for the capacity of Our Lady of Guadalupeand similar religious symbolsto make democratic claims. Author Nichole M. Flores exposes the limitations of political liberalisms aesthetic responses to religious difference, turning instead to Latine theological aesthetics and Catholic social thought to build a framework for interpreting religious symbols in our contemporary pluralistic and participatory democratic life. By offering a lived theology of Chicanx Catholics in Denver, Colorado, and their use of Guadalupe in the pursuit of justice in response to their neighborhoods gentrification, this book provides an important framework for a community of interpretation where members stand in solidarity to respond to justice claims made from diverse religious and cultural communities.
Focusing on Latine theological aesthetics and Catholic social thought, Nichole M. Flores builds a framework for interpreting religious symbols in our contemporary democratic life and shows how we can create a community where members stand in solidarity with those from diverse religious and cultural backgrounds.
