Research On Religion » Spain

Darío Fernández-Morera on Andalusian Spain

tonygill — Sun, 13 Dec 2015 09:00:45 +0000

In 711 A.D., an Islamic army from North Africa successfully conquered the majority of what is contemporary Spain, issuing in several centuries of Muslim rule on the peninsula. Beginning with the Enlightenment and continuing to present day, a number of scholars have written that the era of Andalusian Spain was one of religious harmony. Prof. Darío Fernández-Morera, an associate professor of Spanish & Portuguese at Northwestern University, examines what he calls the “myth of the Andalusian paradise” and the nature of hierocratic rule in medieval Spain.

Our conversation begins with discussion of how Prof. Fernández-Morera came to write on this topic. The first myth he displaces is the one that language professors in humanities departments only write about grammar and punctuation. He explains how research professors in departments such as Spanish & Portuguese actually examine a wide variety of topics, from literature to politics and many historical themes. It was during his own research on Miguel de Cervantes that he came upon a number of scholarly conceptualizations of Islamic Spain that presented the era as one where religious harmony reigned. Using a variety of sources, including original historical documentation, Darío investigated the truth to these claims. We lay out the parameters of his study, noting that he is primarily interested in the period of 711 A.D. to the end of the thirteenth century, when Muslims controlled most of Spain except for Galacia and a few other pockets of Christian resistance in the northwest. He reviews the history of the Islamic conquest and explains why he prefers to use the term Spain instead of Iberia.

We then turn to how Muslims ruled Spain during this period. Prof. Fernández-Morera notes that non-Muslims had four basic options: 1) convert to Islam; 2) pay the jizya (religious tithe); 3) flee; or 4) be killed. The rule was so comprehensive that no remains of churches can be found in southern Spain dating back to this era, and Christianity in Granada essentially vanished. We then look at how other scholars have viewed this era, with Prof. Fernández-Morera, explaining how a general myth of religious harmony and benevolent rule took hold. He traces this back to the Enlightenment period when more secular scholars sought to denigrate the importance of Christianity in Europe’s history, the development of exoticism and romantic notions of foreign cultures during the 19th century, and more recent versions of Occidentalism that pervade academia today. He explains the notion of heriocratic government (rule by clerics), the Maliki school of jurisprudence, and how non-Muslims were used as bureaucratic servants. We review a number of prohibitions that were put into place during this time, including apostasy, blasphemy, and drinking in public. It was noted that Christians could drink in their own communities, but they were forbidden to sell wine or other liquor to Muslims. Violations of these rules met with harsh punishments, including execution.

We also examine inter-faith relations, with Darío dispelling the notion of convivencia (or “living in harmony”). Christians lived separately from Muslims and there were a number of regulations — such as drinking from the same well or dining together — that kept the populations separate. He also discusses various rules governing the behavior of women, including veiling and prohibitions on females working outside the home. As to treatment of Jews, Prof. Fernández-Morera points out that they were treated better under Muslim rule than previous Christian rule, and this was largely due to the fact that Muslim rulers wanted to use Jews as a counterpoise to Christian communities (much the way the U.S. has played Sunnis and Shiites off one another in Iraq in the past decade). We finish with some of Darío’s personal reflection on his study and his thoughts about how his research will be received in a broader academic community. Recorded: December 8, 2015.

Sabine Hyland on Jesuits and Incans

tonygill — Mon, 26 Sep 2011 08:00:35 +0000

What happens when Jesuits meet Incans in the latter half of the 16th century in the Peruvian highlands? Prof. Sabine Hyland — associate professor of anthropology at St. Norbert College (DePere, WI) — reveals this interesting mix of cultures with a particular emphasis on the thoughts and writings of mestizo priest Blas Valera. We first begin, though, with some anthropological reflection on how “outsiders” can know anything about a foreign culture. This brief discussion is all the more revealing when we consider that much of what we know about Incan religious beliefs and traditions comes from a mestizo Jesuit priest who devoted his life to understanding the indigenous population. The fact that he was half Incan and knowledgeable of the Quecha language situates Padre Blas Valera in a unique position to give a nuanced understanding of the differences and similarities between two religious cultures. After a short background on the Spanish Conquest and the history of the Jesuits in the Americas, we cover the life of Blas Valera from his birth to a Conquistadore father and Incan mother, to his education on the Peruvian coast, and how he connected with the Society of Jesus. We then discuss Valera’s observations about Incan religion with a focus on human sacrifice, confession, monasticism and views on the afterlife. What is most revealing about Valera’s writings is how he saw ancient Incan beliefs as being compatible with the God of the Old Testament, an assertion that got him into trouble with his Jesuit superiors and led to his house arrest and eventual exile to Spain where he died. We talk about how the Jesuits initially thought about making connections between Incan religious thought and Christianity as a way of smoothing the path to conversion, but by the 1580s had turned against this idea. We conclude by reflecting upon whether or not this is a valid and useful missionary strategy, and what Valera’s life can tell us about our own contemporary dealings with foreign cultures. Recorded: September 19, 2011.

David Gallagher on Opus Dei

tonygill — Mon, 25 Apr 2011 08:00:04 +0000

The Da Vinci Code, both the book and the movie of the same name, brought the Catholic organization Opus Dei to the attention of the general public. Unfortunately, the Hollywood depiction of this organization does not fit with what the organization really is and what it does. David Gallagher, Director of Communications at Opus Dei in New York City and former tenured professor of philosophy of Catholic Univeristy in America, joins our show to discuss the history, organization, and public image of the movement. We learn that the movement was created in 1928 by the Spanish priest Josemaría Escrivá, who received sainthood in the Catholic Church in 1992. The intent of Opus Dei was to emphasize the importance of holy living in one’s daily life and promote a deeper spiritual lifestyle amongst the Catholic laity. Whereas the movement began with a rocky start due to the Spanish Civil War and the anticlericalism contained within that conflict, Opus Dei took off in the late 1930s and has grown to a membership of approximately 90,000 individuals worldwide, the vast majority who are laity. We look at the organizational structure of Opus Dei, discuss the various membership roles (including supernumeraries, numeraries, associates and cooperators), and examine what is expected of membership. Relations between Opus Dei and Catholic dioceses and parishes are also discussed, as are the political, social and theological views of the members. While members of Opus Dei tend to be theologically “conservative” (adhering closely to official Catholic doctrine), the political views of those within the movement can vary substantially. Dr. Gallagher, a numerary, recounts how he joined the movement and what his role as Director of Communications entails. We close the podcast with a discussion of how Opus Dei dealt with its portrayal in Dan Brown’s The Da Vinci Code. Recorded: April 15, 2011.