The Origins of Mexican Catholicism

02 Modern scholarship on the Christianization of New Spain has, for the most part, exaggerated the conceptual gaps between Christianity and the religion of the Mexican Indians, often portraying missionaries as agents of a monolithic religion resistant to adaptation. Pardo rectifies this view by showing how the Spanish missionaries, equipped with their knowledge of often contradictory theological traditions, struggled to understand Nahua rituals in an effort to convey Christian notions to the indigenous peoples of Mexico. Rich in detail, this book sheds new light on the cultural dialogue taking place among various missionary groups and Mexican Indians as Spain sought to spread the word of God and its temporal authority in the New World. Osvaldo F. Pardo is Associate Professor of Spanish at the University of Connecticut. Modern scholarship on the Christianization of New Spain has, for the most part, exaggerated the conceptual gaps between Christianity and the religion of the Mexican Indians, often portraying missionaries as agents of a monolithic religion resistant to adaptation. Pardo rectifies this view by showing how the Spanish missionaries, equipped with their knowledge of often contradictory theological traditions, struggled to understand Nahua rituals in an effort to convey Christian notions to the indigenous peoples of Mexico. Rich in detail, this book sheds new light on the cultural dialogue taking place among various missionary groups and Mexican Indians as Spain sought to spread the word of God and its temporal authority in the New World. Osvaldo F. Pardo is Associate Professor of Spanish at the University of Connecticut.