The role of the Catholic Church in Latin America :: essays research papers

The first Catholic priests came to South America with the conquistadors and through affable and political force superimposed 16th century Catholicism upon conquered peoples and in subsequent generations upon slaves arriving in the New World. Catholicism has, likewise, frequently absorbed, rather than confronted, casual folk religious beliefs. The resulting religion is often overtly Catholic simply covertly pagan. Behind the Catholic facade, the foundations and building structure reflect varying folk religious traditions. (2)This could be a result of so more territory with so little resources equals heresy and abuse. For most of Latin history, however, the numerate of priests has been insufficient to effectively minister to all the people. Religious vacuums have indeed been created, especially in rural areas and on the outskirts of urban areas. Anthony Gill, who describes the religious parsimony of Latin America, writes, The evangelization mission of the Catholic perform se rvice, to ensure all members of the population were inextricably bound to Catholicism, suffered due to the simple dynamics of restricted supply at a lower place a monopolized religious market (1). People, rather than traveling great distances to predict a priest, turned to various forms of folk Catholicism to solve everyday issues regarding sickness, financial gain or loss, and romance. The saying that Absolute power corrupts utterly seems to fit some accounts of the Catholic Church in Latin America. utmost away from the authority and watchful eye of the Vatican, atrocities in the name of the Church had taken place. Though I believe it was not the norm only when the exception.But with that said, some positive social changes have come close from the introduction of Catholicism to Latin America. In its true form, the church has been a source of basic human rights for the people. The church would often oppose the authoritiess unjust treatment of the people, who otherwisewise ha d no other representation. The church also formed a society to encourage cooperation with each other to develop a better civilization. The church would also provide a foundation for education, health care, skills for building and farming. The Catholic Church has played such(prenominal) a major role in the shaping of Latin American culture, that it cannot be separated from it.