Marian Apparitions as New Religious Movements

Marian apparitions, as diverse, global, and dynamic phenomena, offer opportunities for multi-disciplinary and cross-cultural analysis. We are pleased in this special issue to offer seven essays highlighting the increasing internationalization of Marian devotional movements. Our contributors, using both local case studies and a global, comparative view to explore instances of apparitions in North America, Europe, Asia, and Australia, collectively indicate three major points. First, apparitional movements are globally-connected, complex, and multi-layered. Second, apparitional movements are situated among so many social and political nodes that they are diverse, even internally, and therefore difficult to categorize. Third, apparitions are informed by both grassroots activism and institutional religious structures. These themes challenge categories in the study of religion, including disciplinary categories, and pose questions for further research.