Esoteric Catholicism / Esoterischer Katholizismus

Abstract

Open to deviance, Catholic theology and devotional practice managed to integrate stigmata, revelations, visions, "magic," and spiritualistic contact – more so than Protestantism. At the same time, esoteric groups did not usually become independent as “separate” communities. We analyze the social structures and intellectual concepts behind the existence of this tolerance toward “heterodox” phenomena.