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Chile
Index
The Roman Catholic Church has played a central role in
Chilean
politics since colonial days. During the nineteenth
century, the
question of the proper role of the Catholic Church in
society
helped define the differences among the country's
incipient
political parties. The Conservatives, in defending the
social order
of the colonial era, championed the church's central role
in
protecting that order through its control of the
educational system
and its tutelage over the principal rights of passage,
from birth
to death. They also supported the close tie between church
and
state based on the Spanish
patronato
real (see Glossary),
which provided the president with the authority to name
church
officials. Liberals, and especially Radicals, drawing on
the ideals
of the Enlightenment, sought a secular order, a separation
of
church and state in which the state would take the primary
responsibility for instruction and assume "civil"
jurisdiction over
births, marriages, and the burial of the dead. The
Liberals and
Radicals also promoted the liberal doctrine of the rights
of man
and citizenship, seeking to implement the notion of one
man-one
vote, unswayed by the influence of the upper class or the
preaching
of the clergy.
During the 1861-91 period, the Liberals were in the
ascendancy,
succeeding in their quest to expand the authority of the
state to
the detriment of that of the church. The de jure
separation of
church and state, however, did not occur until the
adoption of the
constitution of 1925. Although a few priests and Catholic
laity
embraced the progressive social doctrines inspired by
papal
encyclicals such as Rerum Novarum (1891) and
Quadragesimo
Anno (1931), it was not until the 1950s that the
church
hierarchy began to loosen its ties to the Conservative
Party.
Keenly aware of Marxism's challenge to their core values
and the
growing influence of Marxist parties, church leaders
responded with
an increased commitment to social justice and reform. Some
of the
early efforts at breaking down Chile's semifeudal land
tenure
system were undertaken on church lands by progressive
bishops,
notably Bishop Manuel Larraín Errázuriz of Talca in the
1960s.
The church's shift away from Conservative politics
coincided
with the development of a close alliance between the
church elite
and the emerging Christian Democrats, which contributed to
the
success of the new party, particularly among women and
another
previously disenfranchised group, rural voters. The
church, and in
particular Cardinal Raúl Silva Henriquez, the archbishop
of
Santiago, welcomed the election of Eduardo Frei Montalva
to the
presidency in 1964.
Relations between the church and Allende, however, were
far
less cordial. Church leaders retained correct relations
with the
leftist government, fearful that the new authorities would
make use
of the public schools for Marxist indoctrination and
further
undermine the waning influence of the church in society.
When
Allende was overthrown, all of the bishops welcomed the
coup and
helped legitimize the new military junta with solemn
ceremonies.
Several bishops, including the bishop of Valparaíso,
remained
staunch supporters of the military for years to come.
Other church leaders, notably Cardinal Silva, shocked
by
widespread human rights violations and disturbed by the
growing
rift between the men in uniform and the church's Christian
Democratic allies, soon distanced themselves from the
military
authorities. The church, and particularly the archdiocese
of
Santiago, responded by gradually assuming a critical role
as a
defender of human rights and providing an "umbrella" of
physical
and moral shelter to intellectuals and party and union
leaders.
Antagonizing the regime and its many supporters in
upper-and
middle-class sectors, the Vicariate of Solidarity (Vicaría
de la
Solidaridad) helped provide for the legal defense and
support of
victims of the dictatorship. Silva's successor, though
more
conservative, supported the church's work in the human
rights field
and, in 1985, sought to broker the National Accord for
Transition
to Full Democracy. As the plebiscite approached, the
Episcopal
Conference made clear that it did not consider the junta's
plan to
be democratic and urged Pinochet to step down, further
aggravating
the relationship between the authorities and the church.
With the restoration of democracy, the church retreated
from
the political arena. Following dictates from Rome and the
appointment of more conservative bishops, relations
between the
hierarchy and the Christian Democrats cooled. Church
leaders also
made it clear that, in recognition of church support for
the
democratic opposition in the difficult years of the
dictatorship,
they expected support from the new government for the
church's own
more conservative agenda. In early 1994, Chile remained
one of the
few countries in the world that did not recognize divorce,
and
issues such as abortion and the role of women in society
were not
fully addressed
(see Divorce,
Abortion, and Contraception
, ch. 2).
Chile's political right made clear that it hoped to
capitalize on
these "moral" issues and revive an alliance between
clerical
authorities and the parties of the right not seen since
the 1940s.
Although the challenge from the Marxist left had waned,
the
Roman Catholic Church appeared to be engaged in a losing
struggle
to stem the extraordinary growth of Protestant
Evangelicals (see
Glossary). Evangelical groups grew rapidly during the
years of
military rule, primarily as a result of severe social and
economic
dislocations. While the Roman Catholic Church gained
adherents and
supporters through its politicized Christian Base
Communities (Comunidades Eclesiales de Base--
CEBs; see Glossary)
and
the work
of highly committed priests, tens of thousands of other
Chileans
were seeking a new meaning for their lives by responding
to the far
more flexible and spontaneous religious appeals of
hundreds of
storefront churches. Surveys in Santiago indicated that
Evangelicals made up close to 15 percent of the
population, with
far larger proportions in shantytowns (callampas or
poblaciones) and other low-income neighborhoods.
What is
perhaps more significant is that active Evangelicals were
as
numerous as active Catholics
(see Religion and
Churches
, ch. 2).
Data as of March 1994
The Church
The Roman Catholic Church has played a central role in
Chilean
politics since colonial days. During the nineteenth
century, the
question of the proper role of the Catholic Church in
society
helped define the differences among the country's
incipient
political parties. The Conservatives, in defending the
social order
of the colonial era, championed the church's central role
in
protecting that order through its control of the
educational system
and its tutelage over the principal rights of passage,
from birth
to death. They also supported the close tie between church
and
state based on the Spanish
patronato
real (see Glossary),
which provided the president with the authority to name
church
officials. Liberals, and especially Radicals, drawing on
the ideals
of the Enlightenment, sought a secular order, a separation
of
church and state in which the state would take the primary
responsibility for instruction and assume "civil"
jurisdiction over
births, marriages, and the burial of the dead. The
Liberals and
Radicals also promoted the liberal doctrine of the rights
of man
and citizenship, seeking to implement the notion of one
man-one
vote, unswayed by the influence of the upper class or the
preaching
of the clergy.
During the 1861-91 period, the Liberals were in the
ascendancy,
succeeding in their quest to expand the authority of the
state to
the detriment of that of the church. The de jure
separation of
church and state, however, did not occur until the
adoption of the
constitution of 1925. Although a few priests and Catholic
laity
embraced the progressive social doctrines inspired by
papal
encyclicals such as Rerum Novarum (1891) and
Quadragesimo
Anno (1931), it was not until the 1950s that the
church
hierarchy began to loosen its ties to the Conservative
Party.
Keenly aware of Marxism's challenge to their core values
and the
growing influence of Marxist parties, church leaders
responded with
an increased commitment to social justice and reform. Some
of the
early efforts at breaking down Chile's semifeudal land
tenure
system were undertaken on church lands by progressive
bishops,
notably Bishop Manuel Larraín Errázuriz of Talca in the
1960s.
The church's shift away from Conservative politics
coincided
with the development of a close alliance between the
church elite
and the emerging Christian Democrats, which contributed to
the
success of the new party, particularly among women and
another
previously disenfranchised group, rural voters. The
church, and in
particular Cardinal Raúl Silva Henriquez, the archbishop
of
Santiago, welcomed the election of Eduardo Frei Montalva
to the
presidency in 1964.
Relations between the church and Allende, however, were
far
less cordial. Church leaders retained correct relations
with the
leftist government, fearful that the new authorities would
make use
of the public schools for Marxist indoctrination and
further
undermine the waning influence of the church in society.
When
Allende was overthrown, all of the bishops welcomed the
coup and
helped legitimize the new military junta with solemn
ceremonies.
Several bishops, including the bishop of Valparaíso,
remained
staunch supporters of the military for years to come.
Other church leaders, notably Cardinal Silva, shocked
by
widespread human rights violations and disturbed by the
growing
rift between the men in uniform and the church's Christian
Democratic allies, soon distanced themselves from the
military
authorities. The church, and particularly the archdiocese
of
Santiago, responded by gradually assuming a critical role
as a
defender of human rights and providing an "umbrella" of
physical
and moral shelter to intellectuals and party and union
leaders.
Antagonizing the regime and its many supporters in
upper-and
middle-class sectors, the Vicariate of Solidarity (Vicaría
de la
Solidaridad) helped provide for the legal defense and
support of
victims of the dictatorship. Silva's successor, though
more
conservative, supported the church's work in the human
rights field
and, in 1985, sought to broker the National Accord for
Transition
to Full Democracy. As the plebiscite approached, the
Episcopal
Conference made clear that it did not consider the junta's
plan to
be democratic and urged Pinochet to step down, further
aggravating
the relationship between the authorities and the church.
With the restoration of democracy, the church retreated
from
the political arena. Following dictates from Rome and the
appointment of more conservative bishops, relations
between the
hierarchy and the Christian Democrats cooled. Church
leaders also
made it clear that, in recognition of church support for
the
democratic opposition in the difficult years of the
dictatorship,
they expected support from the new government for the
church's own
more conservative agenda. In early 1994, Chile remained
one of the
few countries in the world that did not recognize divorce,
and
issues such as abortion and the role of women in society
were not
fully addressed
(see Divorce,
Abortion, and Contraception
, ch. 2).
Chile's political right made clear that it hoped to
capitalize on
these "moral" issues and revive an alliance between
clerical
authorities and the parties of the right not seen since
the 1940s.
Although the challenge from the Marxist left had waned,
the
Roman Catholic Church appeared to be engaged in a losing
struggle
to stem the extraordinary growth of Protestant
Evangelicals (see
Glossary). Evangelical groups grew rapidly during the
years of
military rule, primarily as a result of severe social and
economic
dislocations. While the Roman Catholic Church gained
adherents and
supporters through its politicized Christian Base
Communities (Comunidades Eclesiales de Base--
CEBs; see Glossary)
and
the work
of highly committed priests, tens of thousands of other
Chileans
were seeking a new meaning for their lives by responding
to the far
more flexible and spontaneous religious appeals of
hundreds of
storefront churches. Surveys in Santiago indicated that
Evangelicals made up close to 15 percent of the
population, with
far larger proportions in shantytowns (callampas or
poblaciones) and other low-income neighborhoods.
What is
perhaps more significant is that active Evangelicals were
as
numerous as active Catholics
(see Religion and
Churches
, ch. 2).
Data as of March 1994
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