My dissertation explores how contemporary American Catholics negotiate self-identity through their mariological and ecclesiological reflections. Utilizing Vatican II’s insistence on the interrelation between mariology and ecclesiology as a starting point, this study examines how three major (and widely diverse) sectors of American Catholics understand the nature of the church through the figure of Mary. This theological insight serves as a complement to social-scientific and historical attempts at understanding the self-identification of contemporary U.S. Catholics.

The traditionalist school, represented by Hans Urs von Balthasar and those he influenced, stresses anthropological similarities between Mary and the Church, particularly how Mary’s receptivity vis-à-vis God mirrors the God-church relationship. The progressive school, represented in this dissertation by the feminist reflections of Elizabeth Johnson, emphasizes the prophetic role of Mary of Nazareth for all contemporary forms of discipleship. The third school, U.S. Latino/a theologians, represented by Virgilio Elizondo, expresses distinctive ecclesiological insights in its reflection on Latino/a communities’ intense marian devotion, and in many ways moves beyond the liberal/conservative factionalization of the U.S. Catholic Church. Since Latino/a Catholics currently dominate the demographics of the U.S. Catholic Church, this study marks an important first step in bringing their ecclesiological self-understanding into dialogue with mainstream reflections.