5.2

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Changing Religious Practices in Latin America and the Caribbean
One of the main objectives or Spanish and Portuguese colonialism in Latin America and the Caribbean was the conversion oí indigenous peoples to Catholicism. While some indigenous people fiercely resisted missionary efforts, others round ways to blend their own traditions with those of (he Roman Catholic Church. The process of conversion was facilitated by the reported appearance of the Virgin Man- of Guadalupe to an Indian convert in Mexico on December 9, 1531. leaving behind her brown-skinned image on his mantle, and by the efforts of some priests w protect local communities from the Spanish government's efforts to obtain land, tribute, and labor by force.
The slave trade brought African religious traditions to Latin America and the Caribbean, and these eventually merged with indigenous and Catholic beliefs to form Qindomble and Umbanda in Brazil, Voodoo in Haiti, and Santeria in Cuba and other islands (Figure 5.D). Candomhle and Umbanda are both sects of Santeria, with rituals that involve dances, offerings of candles and flowers, sacrifice of animals such as chickens, and mediums and priests who use (ranees to communicate with spirits that include several Catholic saints. Voodoo (also spelled Voudou, Voudun, and Voudoun) rituals include drumming, prayer, and animal sacrifice to important spirits based on traditional African gods and Catholic saints and arc led by priests who act as healers and protectors against witchcraft. Santeria is closely connected to the Yoruba religion of West Africa and blends saints with African spirits associated with nature, using rituals similar to other Latin American religions.
In the 1970s liberation theology emerged, a new form of Catholic practice that focused on the poor and disadvantaged. It was informed by the perceived preference of Jesus for the poor and helpless and by the writings of Karl Marx and other revolutionaries on
Figure 5.D Santeria altar This altar in Brazil illustrates hov Santeria combines animistic elements with Catholic religiou-symbols.
H'qualiry and oppression. This new orienratioii to the
Mir was espoused by the Second Vatican Council,
. died by Pope John XXIII in 1962. Priests preached
..rassroots self-help to organized Christian-based com-
'iiinities and orten spoke out against repression and
-ithoritarianism. Some were murdered by powerful
"terests who saw liberation theology as revolution-
■y and communistic. Hor example. Archbishop Oscar
(omero in El Salvador was shot to death while saying
Mass on March 24, 1980.
In recent decades evangelical Protestant groups ith fundamentalist Christian beliefs have grown and ^read rapidly in Latin America and the Caribbean, igure 5.E shows the current distribution of these ,-oups. Their message of literacy, education, sobriety, * jgality, and personal salvation has become very pop-,ir in many rural areas. The conversion of Latin ncricans to Protestant faiths grows stronger each rar. Today over 15 percent of Latin Americans beug to evangelical churches, with the Latin American arholic Bishops Conference claiming that 8,000 Latin iiericans convert to evangelical Christianity every iy. In Brazil, where Evangelical Protestantism is sec-
ond only to Catholicism in terms of number of adherents, half a million Catholics leave the church per year. In Mexico, there has been a 10 percent decline in the Catholic population since the mid-twentieth century. Observers of evangelical missionizing in Latin America believe that fundamentalist missionaries and ministers are younger and more numerous than Catholic priests and therefore provide a higher mimstcr-to-worshiper ratio than the Catholic priest-to-worshiper ratio. For example, in Mexico, each evangelical pastor serves 230, while each priest serves 8,600. Evangelical churches may also be more involved in indigenous communities than the Catholic churches.
There is also a strong thread of ami-clerical ism in many Latin American countries. This partly originated as a reaction to the authority given by the Pope to the Spanish crown, the control of land and labor by the missions, and the Catholic Church's alliance with the landowners and political leaders in colonial and post-independence conservative administrations. After the Mexican Revolution, for example, there was for many years a strict separation of Church and state, with priests forbidden to wear their clerical garb on the street.
Religious affiliations in Latin America and Caribbean
k_r^--   Maya 10.000,000
"* African traditional 30.000.000
Islam 1,350.000
Judaism 1,098,000
ndigenous/Animtst 1,042,000
Catholic 408.968,000
Evangelical 40,000.000
Figure 5.E Latin America and Caribbean religions Although the majority of Laiin Americans are Catholic, evangelical and African traditional religions, such as San-teria, are also important to millions of people.