Piotr Michalik: Mirroring Skeleton. Mexican Cult of Saint Death..

...in the light of micro-comparative approach
The research on processes of change in religious (and other cultural) phenomena has recently become crucial due to the impact of globalization. The presentation will give an insight about the use of the microcomparative approach associated with a particular method of collecting and analyzing data that might enable a more precise and adequate description and interpretation of the processes occurring within the contemporary religious phenomena in Mexican context.
The method and models are based on studies of the Saint Death (Santa Muerte). The Santa Muerte devotion occupies a particular place in contemporary folk religiosity due to its extraordinary tendency to rapidly transform, as well as its exponentially increasing popularity (on a global scale). The research relies partially on data gethered during the author's own fieldwork conducted for many years in Mérida (Mexico).