Story
Many call her Santa Muerte (Saint Death) but she has been condemned by the Roman Catholic church. The grim, skeletal female figure has a huge following in Mexico. Faith in Santa Muerte is popular among criminals, drug lords and ne’er-do-wells who sometimes crawl piously to a Santa Muerte shrine. This is the fastest growing religion in the Americas. There are approximately 10 – 12 million worshippers, mostly in Mexico, but also significant numbers in the United States and Central America. Picture it. You want to smuggle cocaine into the USA and you want supernatural help. Do you pray to Jesus or Santa Muerta? It’s a no brainer.
Background Notes
Santa Muerte is very popular because she is viewed as an amoral supernatural power that can be invoked for corrupt and seedy purposes. Worshippers feel comfortable going to her with nasty and selfish prayers. She has been present in Mexican culture since Spanish colonial times when Catholic colonizers, hoping to evangelize the native people of Mexico, brought over female grim reaper figures as a depiction of death. In many parts of the world animists make bargains with the spirits and this is the heart of this faith. A follower might promise to bring Santa Muerte cigars and Tequila if she answers the petition. Fr. Gary Thomas, a Vatican-trained exorcist for the Diocese of San Jose in Mexico, explained that he has prayed with people who have been oppressed by demons after praying to Santa Muerte. Many say that you cannot leave the Santa Muerte faith. She will exact revenge and punish the faithless ones who spurn her.
Four Ways of Looking at the Story
Materialist Faith: “We believe that faith in Santa Muerte is just as foolish as faith in Jesus or the Flying Spaghetti Monster. Stop praying to illusory gods and put your faith in science and technology.
Relativist faith: “We believe that every religion has truth in it. If Santa Muerte floats your boat, start crawling to her shrine.”
Santa Muerta faith: “We believe that Santa Muerte has great power to answer our prayers. She can help us in our darkest hours. Unlike Jesus we can ask her to help us smuggle drugs and have our enemies killed.”
Christian faith: “We believe that praying to Santa Muerte is very dangerous. Evil powers love tricking people into serving them through this popular but deadly faith.
Questions
1) Why do people prefer Santa Muerte to Jesus?
2) Is it a harmless faith?
3) How is faith in Santa Muerte different from faith in the money god?
Mark is a lively storyteller and the author of four books, including The Spy, the Rat and the Bed of Nails: Creative Ways of Talking about Christian Faith. His work is focused on storytelling and how this can help us to communicate the Christian faith. He has written many articles for the Baptist Times, RE Today, Youthscape, Direction magazine and the Christian Teachers Journal.
- The Crazy Adventures of a Scottish Missionary in a Cannibal Land - September 28, 2024
- I urge you to follow the Jedi Faith - August 20, 2024
- The Inspiring Story of George Muller and the Orphans - July 25, 2024
