Talk:Folk Catholicism
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[edit] I've been curious
One thing i've long been curious about is:
Does each Spanish-speaking country have it's own form of Folk Catholicism? Gringo300 01:00, 31 May 2005 (UTC)
[edit] minor expansion of article
I expanded this article slightly, based on a couple of considerations:
1. The original article described folk Catholicism as "deviating" from official orthodoxy. Maybe this is a quibble, but to my ear the word "deviating" sounds judgmental (not the aimed-for neutral pov), so I rewrote it to state that varieties of folk Catholicism "often vary" from orthodoxy.
2. I point out that there are practices that can be identified by neutral observers as "folk Catholic" in every Catholic community. The practices in Latin America and the Caribbean are often identified (even stigmatized) as Folk Catholicism because they vary from the practices familiar to European Catholics, but Catholicism in Europe is equally rooted in local ("folk") customs.
If someone wants to expand this article, it could also be pointed out that many standard Catholic celebrations such as Christmas have their origins in "folk" accommodations to pre-Christian local celebrations in Europe.
Finally, to answer the question posed by "Gringo300," I would say that the essence of "folk Catholicism" is the adaption of standard Catholic practice to local conditions. In this sense, not only does each country have its own form, but each Catholic community (not only Spanish-speaking, but also French-, Polish-, Irish-, German-, and English-speaking communities) has its own folk forms of Catholicism. Potosino 14:09, 9 December 2006 (UTC)
