Description
In the last decade, religious icons, sacred objects, and saintly images have functionally introduced United States authority and American culture to new religious communities that revere the informal Catholic saints Jesús Malverde and Santa Muerte. Narco saints, such as Santa Muerte and Jesús Malverde, have entered into the American cultural consciousness and have gained a notable presence within religious communities and American law enforcement agencies. Their shrines, amulets, and prayers can be found in American court cases, FBI watch-lists, art exhibits, and prime-time television. Prayer cards, medallions, and other material religion associated with narco spirituality dominate the United States' understanding of these new religious movements. The most well-known figures within these religious communities are therefore not believers, but the personalities communicated by sacred objects. This thesis endeavors to explain the involvement of narco material religion in two closely related traffic stop and seizure cases that occurred in Oregon between February and April 2012. The court transcripts and summaries highlight the representative roles that religious material elements play when American law enforcement and authority interact with little-understood religious communities. In instances where a unified dogma is absent due to either the informality or illegality of a particular religious practice, representation of religious beliefs falls to accessible and visible material objects and image. This research argues that material objects function as the sole intermediaries between new audiences within the United States and the marginalized devotees of narco religion. These material representatives are then able to shape the way such hidden religious communities fit within the current American religious landscape.
