"Care of Souls in Inquisition Spain" – Lu Ann Homza

A lecture with Professor Lu Ann Homza (College of William & Mary), delivered at the University of Chicago February 9, 2024.

What did the practice of Christianity look like in a place shadowed by an inquisition? Were personal preferences, conversations, spiritual friendships, and religious questions off the table by default? Did clergy under the Spanish Inquisition neglect their duty to care for souls? Sixteenth-century Spaniards — regardless of their vocation, gender or education — defended and practiced a Catholicism that was rich in individual discretion, human communication, and theological inquiry. This talk lays out the evidence for an “inductive Catholicism,” which even Spanish inquisitors sometimes endorsed.