LATI 50 INTRODUCTION TO LATIN AMERICA RELIGION, THE CHURCH, AND LIBERATION THEOLOGY

CURRENT ASSIGNMENTS Reading:  Modern Latin America, chs. 7 and 14 Optional Paper:  6-10 pages on a topic of your choosing (approved by TA)  Due in class Tuesday, March 11

CONVENTIONAL WISDOMS Role of Catholicism Conservative politics Authority of priesthood Unchanging doctrines Cultures of faith

INCONVENIENT FACTS 60 % of world’s Catholics, and 90-95% born as Catholics, but:  Only 71% describe selves as Catholic, but attendance at mass is much less Anti-clericalism and secularism significant Intense theological ferment Competition from Protestantism and other religions

POPE FRANCIS I

AGAIN…

… AND AGAIN

HISTORICAL PATTERNS Syncretism: blending of European (Catholic) and indigenous belief systems Role of priest in village society:  Preacher, teacher  Arbiter, referee  Path to upward mobility Trinity of power: elite, military, and clergy  Church as banker  Doctrine of obedience

LIBERATION THEOLOGY Origins:  Rerum novarum (1891) and Catholic social doctrine  Marxist analysis  Vatican II ( )  Conference of Latin American Bishops (Medellín, 1968) Principal themes:  Social justice on earth  Poverty a consequence of sin  “Preferential option for the poor”  Need for “liberation” from oppression and from avarice, selfishness, lack of compassion = thus a more perfect relationship with God

MEANS TO LIBERATION Christian Base Communities Readings of the Bible Popular empowerment Support for revolutionary movements (in some cases), resistance to authoritarian regimes Opposition from Vatican (Pope John Paul II and Benedict XVI) and from institutional Church…less so from Francis I

THE CHURCH AND POLITICS Difference between institutional hierarchy and regular “orders” (e.g., Jesuits, Franciscans, Dominicans) Open support for human rights:  Brazil  Chile  Central America (Nicaragua, El Salvador) Conservative/reactionary stances:  Argentina  Colombia

RISE OF PROTESTANTISM Key Doctrines  Direct personal experience of God through baptism in the Holy Spirit (thus, “born again”)  Infallibility of Bible, personal healing Brazil  Assemblies of God  Universal Church of Kingdom of God  Estimates: 30+ million Central America  Guatemala Factors  Charismatic preachers + missionaries  Appeal to migrants in urban slums, provision of practical support systems  No need for literacy (as in reading Bible)

ROOTS, AFRICAN AND INDIGENOUS African:  Umbanda (Brazil)  Candomblé  Santería (Cuba) Indigenous:  Bolivia, Guatemala, Mexico, Peru

AND SO… Revision of conventional wisdom Variety and range of experience and roles Complexity of Latin American society and institutions