Religious conservatism and Discourses on the Sacred in Digital Space: The Case of María Maricón; [Conservatisme religieux et discours sur le sacré dans l’espace numérique: le cas María Maricón]; [Conservadorismo religioso e discursos sobre o sagrado no espaço digital: o caso María Maricón]

Vega P.; Montoya S. · Lengua y Sociedad (2026) · DOI: 10.15381/lengsoc.v25i1.31830

Resumen

This article analyzes the relationship between religious conservatism, artistic censorship, and symbolic contestation in digital spaces in Peru, based on the controversy surrounding the censorship of the play María Maricón. Drawing on Jacques Rancière’s theoretical framework on the distribution of the sensible and the distinction between politics and police, it examines the discourses disseminated by public actors who positioned themselves against the play through X, Instagram, Facebook and YouTube. The methodology combines critical discourse analysis with approaches from the sociology of religion and the political philosophy of art, based on the review of official statements, media debates, and reactions on social media. The findings reveal three discursive strategies that enabled the censorship of the play: the construction of a homogeneous and exclusionary Catholicism, the sacralization of religious symbols as immutable heritage, and the characterization of dissident art as a moral threat. These operate as mechanisms of control that seek to subordinate freedom of expression to conservative Catholic values. Nevertheless, the analysis shows how, through art and digital resistance, power hierarchies are reconfigured and inclusive spaces emerge that seek religious and political legitimacy. The digital space thus becomes emerges as a key territory of dispute between conservative hegemonies and plural forms of religiosity. © Los autores.

Instituciones: Universidad Antonio Ruiz de Montoya