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Democracy and the Church in Venezuela

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  02 January 2018

Daniel H. Levine
Daniel H. Levine*
Affiliation:
Department of Political Science, University of Michigan, 5601 Haven Hall, Ann Arbor, Michigan 48104
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Extract

Democracy has been better to the Venezuelan Church than many of its leaders or militants thought possible as they witnessed its rebirth in the early days of 1958. Despite the hierarchy's role in stimulating and legitimating opposition to the Pérez Jiménez regime, and its effusive praise of democracy as a system (Conferencia Episcopal Venezolana, 1958), private fears were great. After all, the years of military rule had been good times for the Church—Catholic institutions (particularly in education) had prospered, and their leaders responded with broad support for the military regime until shortly before the end (Colmenares Diaz, 1961).

The Church's traditional attitude towards democracy had been a mix of suspicion of majoritarian principles of rule and specific rejection of what it saw as democracy's embodiment in Venezuela in Acción Democrática (Levine, 1973: 38-42, 62-93). This party's policies were seen as secularizing, socialistic, and anti-Catholic, and bitter memories of clashes with Acción Democrática governments in the late 1940s remained vivid.

Type
Research Article
Information
Journal of Interamerican Studies and World Affairs , Volume 18 , Issue 1 , February 1976 , pp. 3 - 24
Copyright
Copyright © University of Miami 1976

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