The Religious Psychology of Mestizaje: Gómez Suárez de Figueroa or Garcilaso Inca de la Vega

Abstract

Contrary to airtight notions of identity, this article argues that the construction of identity of peoples is far more complex and cannot be conceived separately from the sociocultural, religious and psychological dimensions of life. Using the example of the 16th century Peruvian writer Garcilaso de la Vega, I highlight the way in which the adoption of Catholic Christianity helped him resolve his internal psychological and existential identity conflict. By redefining the label of mestizaje and mestizo de la Vega reclaimed his dual ethnocultural identity, and began the painstaking job of carving a social space for people of mixed descent. He provides an alternative for framing the complex process of identity construction, and the central role of religion in it.