Talk:Folk saint/Draft

Historical Perspective?

I was reading this article, and I got to wondering about the way the term 'Folk saint' gets used in anthropology or the social sciences more broadly. Is the term only used for objects of popular veneration in modern-day Latin America, or is the term used more broadly for objects of veneration that fall outside of the Catholic mainstream?

I ask because I'm curious about the way that the concept gets read back into history. Before about 1000, of course, there was no official process of canonization in the Western church (I don't know about the east, off the top of my head). Do saints from before 1000 count as folk saints, or is the use of the concept restricted to Latin America (or other present-day Catholic areas)? Brian P. Long 14:34, 6 March 2009 (UTC)

That's a good question. Folk saints tend to arise in a colonized context when local religions or traditions are subsumed by Catholicism. In fact, more than a few of the canonized saints seem to have had lives as regional deities or cultural heroes long before they were venerated by Christians. This phenomenon is certainly not restricted to Latin America but the Cathlicism of Latin America is highly syncretic in some ways and seems to keep producing more saints. The essential difference is that folk saints are not recognized by the Church but people petition their spirits nonetheless.

As far are saints from before 1000, I'm not sure. I suspect they were venerated in much the same way as folk saints, which is to say according to local custom rather than official doctrine. But there was no official list to compare them against, so it is hard to say that they stood in contrast to official saints the way folk saints do. I have a book here on the history/hagiography of a few canonized saints during the colonial period in Latin America that might shed some light on the process of passing from unofficial to official.

I'll have a look at some of my sources and a think about how to make the article clear on this point. Please feel free to pitch in if you have any ideas.--Joe Quick 15:08, 6 March 2009 (UTC)

There's still some work to be done, but I think the article is coming together now. What do you think of my adjustments, Brian? --Joe Quick 19:23, 8 March 2009 (UTC)