Although the civic spectacles could be extravagant, they generally did not mark the lives of individuals and communities like purely religious ritual did. In fact, religious ritual permeated daily routine from baptism, marriage, death, evening prayers, and weekly mass and confession. The introduction of these traditions in the Novohispanic world began immediately after contact as missionaries, recognizing the importance of large-scale public ritual to the indigenous belief system, quickly introduced their Spanish Catholic counterparts. These ritual forms included the mass, religious drama, processions, novenas, and flagellant and rosary parades; among the first festivals recorded for central Mexico was Corpus Christi.

The establishment of the devotion to the saints and accompanying ritual developed quickly among the Indian population and coincided with the increasing success of the cofradía, the institution of lay brotherhood that consisted of members, usually male, who came together officially to worship a particular saint, manifestation of Mary, or Christ. They maintained the image and its garments and jewels, the chapel where it was located, sponsored regular masses, and patronized a large festival in honor of the saint on its feast day. They also provided for members and their families in case of death or severe hardship. In Indian towns, the confraternity consisted of the local elite who maintained a devotion to the community's patron saint, a mark of prestige, responsibility, and power. It gave them both spiritual and secular authority much as in the pre-Columbian era. Funds were controlled directly by members and this, consequently, gave them a measure of autonomy vis-à-vis Spanish or criollo (American-born Spanish) priests. In addition, these funds aided the local economy because confraternity brothers owned and rented lands to maintain the devotion, hired workers, patronized local merchants, and contributed to charitable causes. Thus, the rituals surrounding the confraternity system reinforced the position of Indian leadership.

In large urban areas, a parish could host more than one cofradía, each sponsoring some sort of festival on its saint's day. In places such as Mexico City, the total number of cofradías could be very large; for example, at the end of the seventeenth century there were at least 85 brotherhoods in the capital. There was strong rivalry between them that led to blatant catering to spectators for approval. Members competed regarding their dress, the apparel and ornamentation of their saint, banner, ephemeral altars, music, and poetic recitals; they even minted coins and threw them to the crowd. The competition came to a head during the Corpus Christi procession, when they lined up one after the other before onlookers. In some cases, the rivalries resulted in legal disputes over placement in the processional line, as each wished to be located as close as possible to the sacred image. In addition to cofradías patronage of saints, parishes also celebrated devotions to particular saints. These events were limited to parish members but did include processions around the parish neighborhood. Between the festival sponsored by parishes and those of the cofradías, city inhabitants could have spent a goodly part of the year in celebration.