My dissertation exemplifies my scholarly goal: expanding the categories of “theology” and “theologian” by focusing on non-written theological expressions in socio-economically marginalized communities in the United States. The core of my dissertation is an ethnographic study of a Latina immigrant prayer circle. Two phenomena are keys to their religiosity. First, I apply Nanko-Fernández’s familial model of worship to the women’s prayerful praise. Their praise to Mother Mary, the Father, and the Son builds a reciprocal familial relationship, obliging Mary to bless the worshippers, and the Father and Jesus to send forth the empowering Spirit. Second, I explore a theology of the Holy Spirit that identifies tears with divine presence. This sanctifies emotional release, blessing the catharsis that makes it possible for these women to continue facing life’s challenges from a Spirit-empowered stance.

In addition to shedding light on an often-misunderstood form of religiosity in the United States, my dissertation contributes to my field through demonstrating an innovative method: Participatory Action Research (PAR). This method grounds itself in collaborative identification of issues that are of foremost concern to the participants and implementation of actions to bring about the community’s self-transformation. Intertwined with this process is an intensive ethnographic study of the community’s theological expressions. This approach ensures that the benefits of research are equally shared amongst researchers and participants. The trust built in this collaborative approach makes PAR a superior tool for conducting theological ethnography, particularly amongst communities whose members are struggling with the intimate task of articulating for the first time the theological beliefs that underlie their religious practices. I thus demonstrate that the trust-building approach of PAR is a remarkably productive research method for ethnographic theological inquiry.