Connecting to God After Abuse: Altars of La Virgen de Guadalupe Among Survivors of IPV

This paper uses a feminist Latin American liberationist perspective to explore how Marian veneration and theology help Mexican women experience hope and resist feelings of religious isolation after intimate partner violence. Many women who speak up about domestic violence experience a shunning from their religious community, thus losing their major ties to her community and to God. After examining a few cultural factors that impact the Mexican experience of intimate partner violence, I will use the example of home altars to La Virgen de Guadalupe to show how women who have experienced violence still turn to Mary for religious hope and healing without needing the church, the congregation, or the pastor. Through private and popular worship of Mary, Mexican women have developed a practice of hope that can help them overcome violent and marginalizing contexts.