Trinitarian Monotheism and the Birth of Popular Catholicism: The Case of Sixteenth-Century Mexico

Abstract

Since trinitarian monotheism is absolutely essential to Christianity, its proclamation and acceptance play a crucial role in evangelization. And since all evangelization takes place in and through cultural, linguistic, and historical milieux, trinitarian monotheist evangelization can confront major obstacles that can bring about unexpected results. This article attempts to show that the birth of U.S. Hispanic popular Catholicism is partially the result of inadequate trinitarian monotheist teaching. The author studies the case of early sixteenth-century Mexico as an example of this process.