Religion and spirituality have long held a prominent position in Mexican American literature. The complex interplay of indigenous practices and colonial Catholicism, which developed after the Spanish conquest, also deeply affects Latino cultures in the United States. This study proposes that religion is not only a significant aspect of Mexican American literature but that it needs to be understood as a that underlies other discourses on race, gender, and class and therefore structures Mexican American culture and literature in a way that is subversive and powerful. In this book, an interdisciplinary approach to inter-American studies, discourse analysis, theories on religion and spirituality, as well as Mexican American culture and literature reveals the interconnectedness of the borderlands and religion. provides close-readings of works by Ana Castillo, Carmen Tafolla, Luis Alberto Urrea, Richard Rodriguez, Salvador Plascencia, and others to illustrate the notion of “un/doing religion.” Francisco A. Lomelí Professor Emeritus, University of California, Santa Barbara Member of the North American Academy of the Spanish Languageweiterlesen