Religious Studies: A Global View

to restore the ancestral culture of the Anáhuac; or the neomexicanidad

movements that mix ancestral religiosities, such as Tibetan Buddhist Aztec

traditions (Y. González 2000; de la Peña 2002). Other studies analyzed the

profound changes experienced by popular religious practices in late modernity

(de la Torre 2001), and the creation or invention of new popular worship forms,

implemented as protectors of the masses in the face of problems not addressed

by modern institutions: for example la Santa Muerte(patron of prisoners and

prostitutes), el Santo Malverde(patron of drug dealers), and Juan Castillo,

popularly known as Juan Soldado (patron of migrants) (Valenzuela Arce 1999).

Another topic much in vogue is the relation between religion and inter-

national migration. Translocal studies investigate migrants’ use of religion as

a resource for reanchoring identities, for maintaining stable relations with places

of origin, and for carrying a piece of one’s matriato a new home. The issue

of migration is a very dynamic one for Mexicans. The dangerous border

crossing into the United States is valorized because of its risks. For this reason,

Mexicans constantly create new forms of popular worship, or imaginatively

appropriate traditional ones, to seek protection for migrants (Morán 2000;

Hernández Madrid 2000).

At present, the study of religion in Mexico is indispensable: 1) for the

comprehension of our modern history; 2) for the modernization of the course

of that history; 3) for understanding the shift from a homogeneous to a

multicultural society; and 4) for capturing in a nuanced manner the continuous

adaptations and changes of popular culture. Studying religion involves tackling

cultural complexity, recognizing the changes that lie at the heart of continuity,

and the continuities that lie at the heart of change. For these reasons, it is

important to continue with the institutional, academic, and publishing efforts

that support the study of religious changes in the contemporary world.

Peru

Prehistory of the study of religions

In attempting to construct a Republic during the late nineteenth century, Peru’s

political and intellectual elites ‘discovered’ the need to take into account ‘the

Indian’ in thinking of the country’s future. Two authors of this early indigen-

ismostand out: the works of Manuel González Prada (1844–1918) and the

stories and novels of Clorinda Matto de Turner (1854–1909). For González

Prada the development of the Indian is symbolized by the ‘soul-destroying

Trinity’ of judge, governor and priest. Interestingly, we find in his works an

explanation of the origin and evolution of religions that was advanced for its

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