Ideology and Inquisition by Martin Nesvig is a finely researched discussion of inquisitorial censorship that bridges the fields of intellectual and institutional history. This work provides a unique perspective, as recent scholarship on the Inquisition has produced social and cultural monographs focusing on the Holy Office’s impact on the individual via the analysis of certain crimes such as witchcraft, bigamy, or blasphemy. Nesvig squarely focuses on the internal workings of the institution and the individuals who provided the intellectual guidelines and counsel that made the Holy Office function effectively. More important, it places the Inquisition and its censors in the new and challenging context of colonial Mexico. In part 1, Nesvig provides historical background regarding the concept of censorship as a necessary religious safeguard and explains how the Inquisition became the bulwark against the spread of heretical ideas and publications. Theologians debated the nature of heresy and disagreed over questions...

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