Christianity

Christianity


"Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name
of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all
things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end
of the age."1 A simple directive spoken by God himself through Jesus Christ in the
Sermon at the Mount, this Great Commission has impacted a countless number of
lives throughout the years. The command given by Jesus at that time was actually
to act as a continuance of His ministry after his death. Apparently this command
continued to be fulfilled even far beyond His ascension into heaven. The
commandment sparked the beginning of Christianity and throughout the years, its
cultures, religions and beliefs poured out upon the continents, including the New
World. The intent of this report is to show the transfer of Christianity from the Old
World to the Americas; it is to outline its beginnings and show its impact on the
Indian people.

The Catholic Church during the Middle Ages played an all encompassing
role over the lives of the people and the government. As the Dark Ages came to a
close the ideas of the Renaissance started to take hold, and the church's power
gradually began to dwindle. The monarchies of Europe also began to grow
replacing the church's power. Monarchies, at the close of the Middle Ages and the
dawn of the Renaissance, did not so much seek the guidance of the church as
much as it sought their approval. However, the Church during the Age of
Discovery was still a major influence. The discovery of the New World and its
previously unknown inhabitants presented new problems in the Catholic Church in
the late 14th and early 15th century. When Spain's rulers and emissaries decided to
physically conquer and populate the New World, and not just trade with it, the
transplantation of Christian institutions followed.

The church established contact with the New World, and made it a goal to
establish the Catholic doctrines among the native population there. The Catholic
Church and the Spanish monarch, however, looked upon the native population in
the New World as souls to be saved. They did not consider or treat the Indians as
equals. To them, the population seemed to mean more than the individual's
spiritual standpoint. The implanting of Christianity in the New World, and the
treatment of the native population by the missionaries and Christian conquerors
was harmful or even destructive to New World. Through men such as Cortez and
Bartolome Las Casas, accounts of the conversions have been recorded. One of the
reasons for this was the alliance of the Catholic Church with the Spanish
monarchy. The status of the Indians was irrelevant and disregarded by the
Christian conquerors and missionaries who wanted to convert them. The
missionaries subjected them to violence and reduced them to a laboring
population. The Indians, however did not always respond in a negative way to the
work of the church.

The Catholic Church arrived in the New World immediately after
Christopher Columbus laid claim to it for Spain. After Columbus's discovery of the
new lands he wrote a series of treaties as to what the European purpose there was.
Columbus, in his writings, said that the purpose of the New World was two-fold.
He said that: (1) The gospel message of the church should be spread globally
beginning with his discoveries in the New World. and (2) Second, he stated that
the riches discovered in the New World should be dedicated to the recapture of
Jerusalem from the Moslems.2 Columbus saw the discovery of the New World as a
prophesy coming true. He saw the Indians that lived there as a labor source that
should be Christianized and used for the greater good of the church. The
implementation of his two fold plan had its difficulties; However, this did not stop
or discredit the use of this part of the plan as a prime directive of the New World.

Two papal bulls or verdicts were issued in the year of 1493 that established
the Spanish position in the New World.3 They also established the role that the
church was going to play in the New World. The first bull was issued on May 3
given the name Inter Caetera. It said that the lands discovered by Spanish envoys
not previously under a Christian owner could be claimed by Spain. The bull also
gave the Spanish monarch the power to send men to convert the natives to the
Catholic faith and instruct them in Catholic morals. The second papal bull issued
in the same year expanded on the meaning of the primary bull. The bull fixed a
boundary for Spanish and Portuguese spheres of influence in the New World. This
boundary heavily favored Spain further showing the alliance between Spain and
the Church.

The history of the Catholic Church in the New World began in the year
after Columbus' first voyage. The Spanish monarchy sent the first missionaries to
establish Christianity there. The number of missions sent to the New World
accelerated in tempo and density until the final decade of the 16th century. The
crown paid for the sending of missionaries, and its officials kept track of the many
"shiploads" of religious personnel sent and of the expenses they incurred. The
records show that the Spanish dispatched missionaries to more than 65
destinations, ranging from Florida and California to Chile and the Strait of
Magellan.4 Between 1493, when the first mission left for Espanola, and Spanish
American independence (roughly 1821) more than 15 thousand missionaries
crossed the Atlantic under royal approval and support. 5

The Spanish, when choosing who to send as their principle emissaries of the
Catholic Church, disregarded the opinions of the Spanish bishops and clergy, and
called up friars belonging to several monastic orders. There were three monastic
orders of friars that came to the New World. These were the Franciscans, the
Dominicans, and the Augustianians.6 While other secular priests were not
discouraged from going to the New World, the Crown did not send them as
missionaries. "By sending friars instead of secular priests to convert the Indians,
Spain took advantage of an old evangelical strain in European monasticism".7 If
one looks back further, in the times before the Christianity of Europe, monks
wandered and roamed the countryside converting the rural populations. The
present monarchy reimplemented this obsolete idea as a primary missionary tactic
in the New World. The Spanish monarch also picked the monastic orders to fulfill
this task because they were among those who possessed an education. Spain at this
time lacked seminaries and religious education facilities. The local priests were
either undereducated or uneducated to the point were they were seen as largely
ignorant.
Once in the New World the missionaries played an indispensable role in
conquering the Indian population for the Gospel, concentrating it in towns and
villages and taking charge of administration. Some times these settlements were
largely left in the hands of church officials because they were unreachable by
colony administrators. "Rural churchmen, in the frontier settings of the 16th
century acted in an atmosphere of independence which bordered on impunity".8
These missions were not always run in the best interest of the Indians. The natives
were often subject to harsh conditions, and they were not protected by the
missions. The missions instituted by the government were described this way,
"The church, with few exceptions, accompanied and legitimized the genocide,
slavery, ecocide, and exploitation of the wealth of the land. The mission left a
bitter fruit inherited by the descendants of the survivors of the invasion". 9

No country at this time conceived of setting up anything but a Christian
empire. "The monarch of Castile not only exercised supreme secular authority, but
he was also the head of the colonial church. Indeed, his laws of the Indies began
with the words, 'On the Holy Catholic Faith' ".10 The Church because it was under
the Spanish monarchy participated in the wrongs incurred in the New World. The
Church went along with the government in instituting the unfair practices against
the native population.

Las Casas writings about the treatment and conversion of the Indians are
some of the best that survive today. Las Casas was a Spanish bishop who late in
life became a renowned champion of the Indians. He was born in Seville in August
1474, and he first went to the New World in 1502. He became a priest and
participated in the acquiring of Cuba. He received land and slaves as a reward for
his contribution. In 1514 he experienced a radical change of heart and came to feel
that the native population had been unjustly treated by his countrymen. He then
became determined to dedicate the remainder of his life to their defense. Las Casas
was one of the notable authorities on the Indians, and was remarkable because he
realized the Indians should not be measured by the Spanish yardstick, but must
rather be understood with in the framework of their own culture. He saw the
Indians not as heathens and savages, but in a different stage of development from
Europe. Las Casas contended that the Indians had many skills and
accomplishments, and in fact possessed a culture worthy of respect.11

Las Casas writes about the treatment of the Indians upon being subjected to
the Spanish Christians. He accompanied the Spanish entourage on the occupation
of Cuba. In this venture he accompanied the expedition in the office of Clerico. He
stated that one of the chief cares of this office was when they halted in any town or
village, it was his job to assign separate quarters to the Spanish and the Indians.
This was to prevent violence from erupting between the two peoples. His principle
job; however was to assemble the children in order to baptize them. This was a sad
task for Las Casas because scarcely any of the children remained alive a few
months afterward. This was due to violence or the disease that the Spanish brought
with them. Las Casas on his travels also saw the violence and horrors which the
Indians were subject to. Las Casas describes this scene upon entering the Indian
village of Caonao: "The Clerico was preparing for the division of the rations
amongst the men, when suddenly a Spaniard, prompted, as was thought, by the
Devil, drew his sword: the rest drew theirs; and immediately they all began to hack
and hew the poor Indians, who were sitting quietly near them, and offering not
more resistance than so many sheep".12

Las Casas then goes on to describe the scene as "heaps of bodies . . . strewn
about, like sheaves of corn, waiting to be gathered up".13 The Spaniard's job was
to convert the native population to Christianity, not use them to test the sharpness
of their swords which they had done in this case.

In Mexico, Hernan Cortez, the conqueror, recognized the need for religious
instruction among Indians. His instructions he received from the Spanish
monarchy and the Pope for his venture included the order to, "spread the
knowledge of the true faith and the Church of God among those people who dwell
in darkness,".14 Cortez followed these instructions very diligently. When he
encountered the Indians on the mainland of Central America, he undertook their
religious conversions. He explained the Christian religion to them, and wanted the
natives to renounce their idols and embrace the Christian religion. He and the
religious men with him preached against sodomy and human sacrifice to the tribes
that they encountered. In Mexico, like other Spanish colonies, numerous Friars and
priests came and worked to Christianize the native population. However, this was
largely ineffectual because the various Holy men could only sow a few grains here
or there. Cortez realized the need for order in the Catholic Church in the New
World to convert the native population. Cortez wrote to the king of Spain, Charles
V, about the need for missionaries to convert the Indians. He asked for friars of the
St. Francis or St. Dominic order who would set up monasteries to instruct and
convert the native population. There, presently arrived in Mexico at San Juan de
Ulua on May 13 or 14, 1524 the famous mission of Twelve, who began the
methodical conversion of the Indians.

Cortez's envisions of monastic communities, where the native population
could be converted to Christianity, came true especially in Mexico. Huge
monasteries were built for the purpose of the conversion of the native population.
These monasteries built were of enormous size and decorated ostentatiously. The
monasteries included pomp and circumstance in their ceremonies. The reason
claimed for doing this was to keep the Indians interested in Catholicism and away
from their native religions. "On February 8, 1537, Zumarraga wrote the Council of
the Indies that beautiful churches helped in the conversion of the Indians and
strengthened their devotion. Twenty years later, on February 1, 1558, Viceroy Luis
de Velasco make the same observation to Philip II".15

These churches, supposedly built for the benefit of the native population,
were built or supported by the native population. For them this was a heavy
burden, whether they built the churches themselves or had to pay workmen to the
labor. They had to do this at the cost of neglecting their fields or trades. There
were also accounts of the friars physically punishing the Indians for their work or
lack of it, "But one must accept with reserve the testimony of the Indians who
complained of abuses by the Dominicans during the construction of the convent at
Puebla, claiming they were exhausted from work, and that one of the religious had
loaded them with large stones and them beaten them over the head with a stick".16

The missions set up by the church were also guilty of abusing the native
population. The Indians were supposed to benefit from these missions, but all they
received from them was more misery. The Indians in having to support these new
edifices and having to convert to Christianity suffered from a double edged sword.

The native Americans had three responses to the thrusting of the Christian
religion upon them. One response was the incorporation of elements of Christianity
into their own religion, creating a new religious system. They took the beliefs out
of the Christian religion that agreed or make sense with their religion and
combined the two.

"Ancient rituals attached to Christian ones included a sweeping
ceremony that accompanied the bringing of the Eucharist to the sick,
the lighting of fires on the eve of the nativity, the extreme use of self-
flagellation, the burning of a traditional incense before images of
saint, dedicating strings of ears or corn to the Virgin".17
Some Indians outright rejected Christianity. An example of this written by Thomas
Giles was, "among the Incas of Peru, baptism was considered subjection to the
invader; some Incan chiefs killed those who accepted the rite".18 The Indians
largely could not accept Christian beliefs because of the actions of the Christians
themselves. The brutality and the lack of concern or remorse that the Spanish
showed to the Indians played a large role for the rejection of the Spanish religion.
The Indians did not want any part of a religion that preached rape, slaughter, and
cruel subjugation. The explanation of a Mayan who objected to the behaviors of
the Spanish was the following, "The true God, the true Dios came, but this was the
origin too of affliction for us: the origin of tax, of out giving them alms; of trial
through the grabbing of cacao money, of trial by blowgun; stomping the people;
violent removal; forced debt, debt created by false testimony; petty litigation,
harassment, violent removal; the collaboration with the Spaniards on the part of the
priests, . . .and all the while the mistreated were further maltreated...but it will
happen that tears will come to the eyes of God the Father. The justica of God the
Father will settle on the whole world." 19

Not all the Indians rejected the Christian religion. Many of them accepted it.
They desired Christian friendships and to change their habits to the ones of the
Spanish. The reasons for the acceptance of Christianity vary, but one of these is
fear. Some Christian conquerors threatened lives if the Indians were not baptized
and did not actively participate in the Church. Another reason for the conversion is
that the Indians were in awe of the conquers. The Spanish represented power and
the Indians were in reverence of their great amount of power they represented.
Some accepted the religion because the missionaries demonstrated boundless zeal,
high morals, and great courage. Not all of the missionaries sent by the Church were
violent or corrupt. There were some who worked for the benefit of the native
population. The Indians saw this and respected it.

The Catholic Church helped the Spanish monarchy administer to the native
population in the New World. The Church, by being subject to the Spanish
monarchy, is also to be held accountable to the numerous evils inflicted upon the
Indians in the Spainish colonies. In many cases they were forced to convert to
Christianity, and their views about god and religion were not taken into account.
The Catholic Church incurred a great injustice to the native population in the New
World. They were reduced to second class citizens, and forced to work toward
goals that they did not fully understand. Through the writings of Las Casas, it is
seen how the Indians were slaughtered needlessly, and how they were baptized
without regard to their feelings. Cortez paved the way for missions to be founded
in the New World supposedly for the good of the Indian population. This,
however, also turned against them. The Catholic Church role in the lives of the
native population was a negative one due to its alliance with the Spanish monarchy
and its forced conversion of the Indians.