Un nuevo laico ¿un nuevo Dios? El nacimiento de una moral y un devocionalismo «burgueses» en Nueva España entre finales del siglo xvii y principios del xviii

Similarly to the Reformed religious sphere, the Catholic world went through a process of religious laicization, i.e., of a wider participation of lay people in devout practices and readings. In spite of the continued control of religiosity by the Church, the growth of “bourgeois” sectors (merchants, professionals, office holders, mestizo and indian caciques) strengthened the importance of values and devotions heavily influenced by lay people. This resulted in a new religious sensibility, promoted by the franciscans, jesuits and oratorians in the ambit of colleges, congregations, lay orders (órdenes terceras) and “holly schools of Christ” (santas escuelas de Cristo). This paper studies the presence of lay religiosity in the cities of New Spain through practices, the printing and circulation of devotional and meditational texts, and the spreading of the cult to new sacred images.