Why is South American so die hard Catholic... didn't that religion come from Europe?

Show all answers

Rockin' Mel S

Danielita's answer is basically good but it was not the Spanish who incorporated indigenous beliefs into Catholicism but rather the other way around. Indigenous people incorporated Catholicism into their beliefs. The Colonial Spanish were not even remotely tolerant enough to intentionally suggest that "pagan" gods had any sort of place or value. When ever possible they destroyed idols, religious artifacts, writings and tortured and/or killed those found to be practising anything other than Catholic traditions.

Amongst Mayans, anthropologists have documented prayers still in use which are identical to pre-Colombian prayers to Chaac except that the name Chaac has been replaced by that of Saint Thomas.

The symbol of the cross to Mayans was already familiar. To them it represented the world tree, (part of their belief system) so that added some legitimacy to the conquistadors attempts of conversion in the eyes of some Mayans. You can see a Mayan depiction of the world tree that resembles a cross in the first link below. It's a copy of the Lord (King) Pacal's Sarcophagus Lid (easier to see the cross in the background on this copy than the real thing but you can google it to see a photo of the actual artifact if you want.) Lastly, the Spanish were aided greatly by the utter distruction of Eurpopean deseases on the native population. If not for that I'm sure we would see a very different and much less Catholic Americas today.

BTW, Mexico is not South America but still a good question. And perhaps interestingly, the Catholic Church in Mexico is actually falling victim to it's own sucess. The Church can not even come close to meeting the demand for preists. I read that in Mexico City, there is only one preist for every 30,000 Catholics. This shortage has allowed other churches to gain a foothold in this country. Jehovah's Witnesses, Methodists, Later-Day Saints, etc.

danielita*

when the spanish came and conquered over the Mexica they imposed their catholic religion upon the natives. the reason they were able to accept the religion (other than forcefully) was because the Spanish assimilated both the native religion and the Catholic religion together. For example the Aztec mother goddess Coatilcue was related to the Virgin Mary and Huitzilopitchli was related to Jesus Christ. That way it was "easier" for them to convert the Mexica. Similar situations occurred all throughout Latin America.

RDG78

The Spanish came along, as did the Portuguese, British, Dutch, and French.

Sophia S

Woman! The Europeans converted them!

J I H

Spain is staunch Catholic & as they conquered most of south america then they converted the indigenous population to Catholicism.

Rossana

Yes, they were doing fine but the Europeans imposed their religion (just like their language) and eventually people there just got used to Catholicism and embraced the religion

marci knows best

Rockin is correct. The Spanish forced the conversion through incredible cruelty using a combination of priests and solders. They enslaved the native population and killed those who wouldn't "convert". It was a shameful period in our history. Other countries conquered portions of Latin America - some were better, some were just as bad as the Spanish.

Lprod

Well, maybe because all of Latin america was conquered by europeans who had this religion...??? duh.

Enter Your Message or Comment

User Name:
User Email:
Post a comment: