Evangelization in Latin America: Methods and Impacts

Evangelical Tradition of the Church

The Church’s initial practice was to entrust evangelization to the Spanish, involving:

  • Catechesis: Aimed at ensuring indigenous people understood and accepted the Christian faith. It was largely a process of persuasion.
  • Baptism and Acceptance

The Crown, believing this approach was too slow, reversed the process:

  • Methodology Developed by Spain
  • Destruction of sacred sites
  • Request for change
  • Forced baptism
  • Catechesis

This embrace of faith was often superficial, driven by survival,

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Augustine’s Synthesis: Wisdom, Enlightenment, and Faith

Augustine’s Synthesis: Doctrinal Wisdom and Enlightenment

Introduction: Background of thought, drawing from Plato and covering various aspects. Augustine speaks of two types of knowledge, connecting them to all areas. He sees the soul as an image of God, emphasizing wisdom and enlightenment. This involves a softened inner search, driven by the thought that one seeks truth, beginning with evidence, following the same order. Self-awareness is the starting point, an indisputable truth in the search.

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Second Vatican Council: Key Texts and Impact

The Second Vatican Council (1962-65)

The Second Vatican Council, informally known as Vatican II, addressed relations between the Roman Catholic Church and the modern world. It was the twenty-first ecumenical council of the Catholic Church and the second to be held at Saint Peter’s Basilica in the Vatican. The council formally opened under the pontificate of Pope John XXIII on 11 October 1962 and closed under Pope Paul VI on the Feast of the Immaculate Conception in 1965.

Several changes resulted from

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The Reformation: Key Figures and Events

Martin Luther

  • Augustinian Monastery in Erfurt
  • Doctorate of Theology in Wittenberg
  • German Bible translation at Wartburg

Indulgences

Removes temporal punishment.

Johann Tetzel

Dominican who sold indulgences.

Sola Fide, Sola Scriptura

Diet of Worms – 1521

Charles V: Luther, recant 95 Theses.

Peasants’ Revolt – 1524

Germans rise up against landowners.

Augsburg Confession – 1530

Philip Melanchthon

Peace of Augsburg – 1555

Cuius Regio Eius Religio

South – Catholic, North – Protestant

John Calvin

Geneva – Theocracy City,

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Religious and Ideological Freedom in Spain

Religious and Ideological Freedom in the Spanish Constitution

Although freedoms are differentiated, the Constitution provides for them jointly in Article 16. While religious freedom has a long history in classical constitutionalism, ideological freedom represents an innovation in the Spanish Constitution. Both freedoms may be regarded as a generic manifestation of freedom of thought; expression also has a long historical tradition.

Defining Freedom of Thought, Ideology, and Religion

Freedom of thought

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Saint Teresa of Ávila, Luther, and Evangelization

Saint Teresa of Ávila

Born in Ávila in 1515 to noble Castilian parents, Teresa was the sixth of twelve siblings. At fifteen, her parents sent her to a convent in Ávila. Rodrigo, one of her brothers, shared a special sensitivity towards soldiers and prayer. She decided to live as a hermit at home. At twenty, against her father’s wishes, she entered a convent. A year later, she made her religious vows. Her prudence, kindness, charity, and charm won her the esteem of all those around her. Teresa

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