Abstract
The article explores an understanding of the dogma of the Immaculate Conception viewed through the lens of mimetic theory as expounded by René Girard and James Alison. After centuries of controversy over what was eventually defined in 1854, systematic reflection is needed to relate the dogma to other dogmas and doctrines such as those on redemption, sin, and grace, and to express this systematic understanding in light of contemporary thought. Such reflection suggests a fruitful correspondence between Girard's hermeneutics and Aquinas's thought on disordered imitation and the role of rivalrous affections at the heart of sin.
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