The Changing Role of the Catholic Church in Latin America

The traditional role of the Catholic Church is also evidenced by its relatively intimate relationship with the State during the period of colonization. The Catholic Church as an institution was a valuable ally to the Spanish and Portuguese Monarchs during the colonial period. Firstly, as previously mentioned it played an essential role in maintaining Catholicism as the dominant religion although it is acknowledged that Afro-Catholicism, especially in Brazil was still present. The Catholic Church also played a substantial role in Education. State policies endorsed the granting of land to the Church for the construction of schools and monasteries. Furthermore, the Church reinforced the authoritarian and absolutist regime of the Monarchs serving to primarily advance the interests of elite classes while simultaneously appeasing the lower level classes in spite of significant class inequality.

The Church generally supported and legitimized the political decisions of the Monarchs as evidenced by its acceptance of slavery and its rejection of the liberal movement during the wars of independence. The Church was a significantly powerful institution during the colonial period and sometimes influenced the political actions of the Monarch as illustrated by its substantial degree of political independence during the Inquisition and by Bartolome de las Casas’ proposal and approval of the improvement of legislation under the encomienda system vis-a-vis the treatment of native Indians. Consequently, the Catholic Church during the colonial period represents the traditional and powerful role of the Catholic Church in Latin America as it maintained absolute and unquestioned power over education and dictated the nature and development of social norms. However, the decline of the influence of the Catholic Church in enforcing its belief and control over society arguably commenced with the expulsion of the Jesuits in 1767 and the subsequent wars of independence in the early 19th Century. The Wars of Independence, as argued by some scholars as the roots of Liberation theology, ignited a significant reaction to the socially and economically oppressive colonial landscape that was substantiated by the Catholic Church and the colonial government. The Wars also represented structural changes within the orthodox Catholic Church as many Catholic priests supported the independence movement. As such, the main social dynamic at play was the growing awareness by civilians and even some priests of the need to confront and improve social inequality. Liberation theology represents a modern revival of the awareness to seek societal change.

The investigation of liberation theology is especially important to examining the changing role of the Catholic Church in Latin America as it reflects substantial change within the institution of the Catholic Church in response to the societal environment. Liberation theology is a political movement within the Catholic Church that seeks to promote social justice by addressing poverty and underdevelopment of the poor. Liberation theology as well as, to a great extent, the Medellin and Puebla Conferences, represent the recognition of the failure of the orthodox Catholic Church in dealing with the social issues of the poor. Liberation theology was significantly founded on Marxist insights as it highlighted the class structure in Latin America that was perpetuated by the State and the institution of the Church. Instead of focusing on religious doctrine that emphasized success and rewards in the afterlife, it emphasized instead the need to achieve success and development in the present life. Therefore, it advocated preparing the poor with the necessary skills to bring them out of poverty. In an effort to pursue its objectives, Christian Based Communities were set up in rural areas in order to train peasants with skills considered helpful in their economic advancement. However, this new movement created some friction within the Catholic Church itself as reflected by its rejection of the Marxist claim of class struggle by the Congregation of the Doctrine of the Faith. Consequently, liberation theology reflected a transformation and a new radical branch in the Catholic Church. It is illustrative of the degree to which the changing socio-economic landscape impacts the nature of institutions. The growing concern for poverty creates an ideological fracture within the traditional institution of the Church that prioritizes human and social justice. As such, the Catholic Church as an institution operates within the complex framework of a politically, socially, economically and culturally evolving society that perpetually transforms, to varying degrees, the relevance and applicability of the Catholic Church in contemporary Latin America.

A major contemporary social issue that significantly challenges the Catholic Church is the issue of same-sex marriages. The Catholic Church officially continues to maintain its strict prohibition of same-sex marriages. Although high levels of homophobia are still present in Latin American society there is a current growing societal and political trend towards legitimizing the entitlement of gay individuals to marriage. Argentina, as of 2010, has set a radical precedent in 2010 by legalizing same-sex marriages. However, the issue was not without its significant controversy and opposition from the Catholic Church. In Argentina, the Catholic Church organized large protests in opposition of the then proposed ban of the legalization of same-sex marriages. Cardinal Jorge Bergoglio referred to the bill as a “destruction of God’s plan”. However, in spite of opposition from the Catholic Church the State enforced the legalization of same-sex marriages. The aforementioned adequately illustrates the declining influence of the contemporary Catholic Church, especially in contrast to the colonial period, in enforcing its absolute norms and values over society as well as its declining power to influence the State and political processes. However, it is also acknowledged that the official State policy towards same-sex marriages varies in different Latin American countries whereby reflecting the various degrees to which the Catholic Church has power and influence over different States. In Honduras, for example, the policy towards the same issue is the complete opposite as reflected by the direct ban on same-sex marriages. In contrast, the legalization of same-sex marriages is currently under consideration in Chile. However, the opposition from the Catholic Church is proving substantially more powerful than it was in Argentina.

The issue of contraception is also significantly pertinent to the study of the changing relationship between the Catholic Church and Latin American society. The Catholic Church officially continues to strictly forbid the use of contraception. However, the absolute preservation of such strict moral prescriptions fails to consider the important role contraception plays in managing population growth, reducing poverty levels and fighting against the spread of HIV/Aids. The failure of the inflexible moral imperatives of the Catholic Church in addressing and resolving many social issues are increasingly acknowledged by governments, civil society groups and even within the Catholic Church itself. States such as Ecuador, Peru and Nicaragua are currently promoting the use of contraception, especially among youth, as part of its family planning and long-term citizen security initiatives. Civil Society Organizations in Latin American dealing with poverty eradication, family planning and population control support the use of contraception and see the need to educate the public, especially the youth of its utility. Most striking is the growing awareness among many priests and educators within the Church of the role on contraception addressing pertinent social issues. Consequently, when addressing young people about safe sexual practices, although abstinence is maintained as the first priority educators such as José Luis Velasquez of the Guatemalan Catholic Church support the use of contraception if be necessary. Velasquez reflects a growing trend among priests and educators of the Catholic Church that “silently support” contraception in light of its benefits to social welfare and development. Therefore, the growing trend towards the legalization of same-sex marriages, the support for contraception as well for issues not discussed in depth such as the petitioning for abortion arguably reflect the changing role of the orthodox Catholic Church in Latin American society.

The major catalyst for its changing influence is arguably globalization, democracy and rising Protestantism. Globalization, admittedly a complex and often poorly defined concept may be simply conceptualized in terms of significant time space compression through the Internet and global Media, the Westernization of culture and social norms and the sustained influence of neoliberalism. The relationship between the demise of the Catholic Church and globalization is the impact the latter has on creating new social and cultural global norms that are proving to be incompatible with those of the former. In other words globalization arguably contributes to an erosion of the inflexible norms and values of the Catholic Church and promotes more liberal schools of thought.

At a domestic level, the trend towards democracy also relates significantly to the declining influence of the Catholic Church. It is firstly acknowledged that democracy is also a contested concept in international relations scholarship. However, for the purposes of this paper, it generally refers to a system of government in which the people elect those in power and have a say in how it should be used. Consequently, the main point of articulation is that civilians currently have more say in the increasingly democratic political sphere, especially in comparison to the dictatorship of the military regimes. Political parties of the centre left and the left are also increasingly responding to the demands from their domestic population as reflected by changes in legislation that are contrary to the values of the Catholic Church, such as the legalization of abortion in Uruguay, the legalization of divorce in Chile and the State distribution of condoms in public schools in Argentina. Rising Protestantism and religious pluralism are also significantly diluting the dominance of Catholicism in Latin America. However, even more substantial is the general trend towards declining active participation in masses and other church activities by civilians. Marx and Durkeim attribute this phenomenon to modernization and urbanization as they posit that religion becomes increasingly futile in modernized society. However, the Catholic Church still maintains an important social and cultural role in Latin America in terms of individual identity. It also plays an important pacifying role in some aspects of the social and political landscape as reflected by its role in the Chiapas movement in Mexico. Therefore, to a significant extent, the modern role of the institution of the Catholic Church is arguably that of a civil society organization in the sense that it assists the government and society in addressing and resolving social and economic issues.

The role of the Catholic Church has changed significantly since the age of conquest. The age of conquest and the period of colonization represented the dominance of the Catholic Church in the political, social and cultural spheres of Latin American society. However, in sharp contrast the power of the Catholic Church in dictating the established order has significantly declined. It is acknowledged that the Church’s declining influence varies to different degrees among Latin American countries. However, the general overarching trend across Latin America is the declining influence of the Catholic Church, especially as it relates to laws, policies, social norms and social dynamics.  The main driving forces behind the declining role of the Catholic Church is the changing nature of society itself due to the influences of globalization, democracy and religious pluralism. However, this does not necessarily translate into the demise of the Catholic Church as it still plays an important role in lending a hand in the resolution of social problems and remains a substantial element of Latin American cultural identity

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