Poststructuralist Reading of Popular Religiosity in the Devotion to the Black Nazarene in Quiapo

Abstract

The article is a poststructuralist reading of the discourses on popular religiosity exemplified in the devotion to the Black Nazarene in Quiapo. Popular religiosity is considered the religious expression of the ‘ordinary’ believers in the margins relation to the official hierarchical Church. Poststructuralist interpretation shows how power operates like a thread network where those in the periphery can own their faith: this is described as discourse, an expression of the devotees’ faith and practices. Discourse can be either discursive or non-discursive. When it is discursive, it shows the structures, the faith expressions, organizations and observable elements. When it is nondiscursive, it reveals the resistance, the underlying structures, undercurrent faith beliefs and practices, worldviews and hidden interactions. An examination of the models leads to uncover how the movements of popular religiosity from below find its way towards faith empowerment, life’s meaning and even survival.
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