Feminine Matters. Women’s Religious Practices in a Portuguese Town

Sammanfattning: This book explores the religious lives of Catholic women in Vila Branca (a pseudonym), a small town on the north coast of Portugal. The study deals with various facets of Catholic religious life, such as the cult of the saints and the Virgin Mary; death-related practices; the material culture of Catholicism; pilgrimage journeys; and the ambiguous relationship between women and priests. The author argues that in order to understand the processes that underlie these religious phenomena, it is crucial to understand the actual role of women.