La función social e ideológica de las fiestas religiosas: Identidad local, control social e instrumento de dominación

Abstract

This article attempts to answer the question: what role have religious and patroness festivities in society, now and throughout history? They belong to what is called popular religiosity, are utilitarian -because they were used as a solution to natural and epidemic calamities- and are mainly a symbol of local or regional identity. But besides this, they have always had a social and ideological role, which can be summarized as maintaining the established social order, mainly by making that a part of the population identifies itself with the Crown and the ruling aristocracy. The parallel between God, the Virgin and the saints with the kings, feudal lords and members of the nobility in general favored that the same attitudes of obedience and submission that common people had toward the religious figures, they also had them to the social ruling figures(the nobility, the clergy and the subsequent absolute monarchy). Therefore, religious festivities (Easter, Christmas, Kings and, especially, the patron-saints' festivities) were the most suitable cultural event to promote that the common people adopt these attitudes towards religious figures and, indirectly, also towards the civilian ones.