The Trinity of Religions
Throughout Chicano literature, one sees a constant conflict of religions, with everything from the mythology to folklore to Catholicism taking root deep in Chicano heritage. Rudolfo Anaya sees these religions not as three separate entities, but rather, as three religions that could be combined into one, seeking truth in the heart of man rather than the philosophy of scholars and theologians. In Bless Me, Ultima, Anaya presents aspects of mythology, folklore, and Catholicism in order to form a syncretic religion in Ultima which influences Antonio’s God and religion itself.
Ultima’s influence on Antonio is common to Chicano culture. According to Luiz Leon, “…religion, particularly community-based or "folk" Catholicism in the Mexican Americas, is constituted largely through uninstitutionalized practices that are narrated by women” (208). Her influence on Antonio becomes stronger as he begins to distance himself from his mother, presumably because of her staunch faith in Catholicism and his questioning thereof. Leon goes on to discuss how the conflict between Chicanos and the Catholic church has led to the “deinstitutionalization” of Chicano Catholicism, prompting the women of the communities to …show more content…
The children respond by rote but have no deeper understanding of the faith to which they are being indoctrinated; Father Byrnes neither encourages nor facilitates any fuller awareness” (163).
Essentially, while Anaya does not clearly state that Catholicism is false, he uses a few subtle, and a few obvious, examples of where the Catholic church is failing its parishioners. The Catholicism that Antonio is facing is one full of empty symbols and rituals, as he learns during his first communion. This emptiness is what Anaya wishes to confront through Antonio’s struggle of
Throughout Chicano literature, one sees a constant conflict of religions, with everything from the mythology to folklore to Catholicism taking root deep in Chicano heritage. Rudolfo Anaya sees these religions not as three separate entities, but rather, as three religions that could be combined into one, seeking truth in the heart of man rather than the philosophy of scholars and theologians. In Bless Me, Ultima, Anaya presents aspects of mythology, folklore, and Catholicism in order to form a syncretic religion in Ultima which influences Antonio’s God and religion itself.
Ultima’s influence on Antonio is common to Chicano culture. According to Luiz Leon, “…religion, particularly community-based or "folk" Catholicism in the Mexican Americas, is constituted largely through uninstitutionalized practices that are narrated by women” (208). Her influence on Antonio becomes stronger as he begins to distance himself from his mother, presumably because of her staunch faith in Catholicism and his questioning thereof. Leon goes on to discuss how the conflict between Chicanos and the Catholic church has led to the “deinstitutionalization” of Chicano Catholicism, prompting the women of the communities to …show more content…
The children respond by rote but have no deeper understanding of the faith to which they are being indoctrinated; Father Byrnes neither encourages nor facilitates any fuller awareness” (163).
Essentially, while Anaya does not clearly state that Catholicism is false, he uses a few subtle, and a few obvious, examples of where the Catholic church is failing its parishioners. The Catholicism that Antonio is facing is one full of empty symbols and rituals, as he learns during his first communion. This emptiness is what Anaya wishes to confront through Antonio’s struggle of