Hostname: page-component-cd9895bd7-gvvz8 Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-12-29T11:41:33.822Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Power and Influence: Analysis of the Church in Latin America and the Case of Brazil

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  24 October 2022

Thomas C. Bruneau
Thomas C. Bruneau*
Affiliation:
McGill University
Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Extract

Core share and HTML view are not available for this content. However, as you have access to this content, a full PDF is available via the ‘Save PDF’ action button.

The Catholic Church in Latin America was until the mid-1960s one of the most ignored topics of research in a neglected continent. It was not only overlooked by North Americans and Europeans; stranger still, it received only cursory attention from Latin American scholars. The meagre consideration it did attract was overwhelmingly historical in nature and frequently came from authors promoting or attacking particular religious beliefs and institutions. The controversy in Colombia over the persecution of the Protestants (Goff, 1965), and the dramatic events caused by the reactions of the Church to the Mexican revolution (Brown, 1964), stimulated a literature that was at times extremely biased.

Yet, it is not easy to explain the neglect of the Church in the literature since, unlike peasant leagues or guerrilla movements, it is not a novelty in the region. The Church was founded simultaneously with the Iberian societies; much of the culture of Latin America derives from within the Church and has evolved in relationship to it; social fields such as education and charity have always been heavily influenced by Church doctrine and organizations; and the vast majority of the population are declared Catholics. In addition the Church is a highly structured organization in a region of low organizational development; in all countries Catholic groups have been politically active and in some cases assumed the form of Christian Democratic parties (Williams, 1967) which have held power; and the political models currently being formulated in Brazil and Peru would appear to owe much of their content to traditional Catholic principles of hierarchy, paternalism, and corporate identity.

Type
Topical Review
Information
Latin American Research Review , Volume 8 , Issue 2 , Summer 1973 , pp. 25 - 51
Copyright
Copyright © 1973 by the University of Texas Press

Footnotes

*

The author thanks Prof. Henry Ehrmann for his most helpful comments on an earlier draft of this article.

References

Aguiar, Cesar A. 1970 Currents and Tendencies in Contemporary Latin American Catholicism. IDOC International, 13: 50–74.Google Scholar
Alonso, Isidoro 1964 La iglesia en América Latina: estructuras eclesiásticas. Fribourg-Bogotá.Google Scholar
Amoroso Lima, Alceu 1936 Indicações políticas: da revolução à constituição. Rio de Janeiro.Google Scholar
Antoine, Charles 1971 L'eglise et le pouvoir au Bresil. Paris. (To be published in English by Orbis Brooks of Maryknoll, N.Y.)Google Scholar
Audrin, Frei Jose M. O.P. 1963 Os sertanejos que eu conheci. Rio de Janeiro.Google Scholar
Azevedo, Thales de 1955 O catolicismo no Brasil. Rio de Janeiro.Google Scholar
Bastide, Roger 1951 Religion and the Church in Brazil. In: Brazil: Portrait of Half a Continent. T. Lynn Smith and A. Marchant eds. New York.Google Scholar
Boehrer, George 1968 The Church and the Overthrow of the Brazilian Monarchy. Hispanic American Historical Review. 48: 380–401.Google Scholar
Brown, Lyle C. 1964 Mexican Church-State Relations, 1933-1940. Journal of Church and State. 6:2:202–222.Google Scholar
Broucker, José de 1970 Dom Helder Camara: The Violence of a Peacemaker. Trans. by Herma Briffault. Maryknoll, New York.Google Scholar
Bruneau, Thomas C. 1971 Brazil's People of God. America, 124:4:91–94.Google Scholar
Bruneau, Thomas C. 1972 The Changing Political Role of the Catholic Church. In: Contemporary Brazil: Issues in Economic and Political Development. H. Jon Rosenbaum and William Tyler eds. New York.Google Scholar
Bruneau, Thomas C. 1973 The Political Transformation of the Brazilian Catholic Church. (Cambridge, England. In press).Google Scholar
Camargo, Procopio 1966 O Movimento de Natal. Brussels.Google Scholar
Camargo, Procopio 1967 Essai Typologie du Catholicisme Bresilien. Social Compass. 14: 399–423.Google Scholar
Caporale, Rock 1964 Vatican II: Last of the Councils. Baltimore, Md.Google Scholar
Cardozo, Manoel 1947 The Lay Brotherhoods of Colonial Bahia. Catholic Historical Review. 33: 12–31.Google Scholar
Cardozo, Manoel 1953 The Holy See and the Question of the Bishop-Elect of Rio, 1833-1839. The Americas. 10: 3–75.Google Scholar
Coleman, William J. 1958 Latin American Catholicism: A Self-Evaluation. Maryknoll, New York.Google Scholar
Colonnese, Louis M. 1971 Conscientization for Liberation. Washington, D.C.Google Scholar
Comblin, Pe. Jose 1966 Situação histórica de catolicismo no Brasil. Revista Eclesiástica Brasileira. 26: 574–601.Google Scholar
Congar, Yves O.P. 1967 Priest and Layman. Trans. by P. J. Hepburne-Scott. London.Google Scholar
Costeloe, M. P. 1967 Church Wealth in Mexico: A study of the Juzgado de Capellanías in the Archbishopric of Mexico, 1800-1856. Cambridge, England.Google Scholar
Dahl, Robert 1963 Modern Political Analysis. Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey.Google Scholar
D'Antonio, William, and Pike, Fredrick B. (eds.) 1964 Religion, Revolution, and Reform: New Forces for Change in Latin America. New York.Google Scholar
Deelen, Godofredo J. 1966 Sociologia à servíço da pastoral. Volumes IV and V. Petrópolis.Google Scholar
Della Cava, Ralph 1968 “Brazilian Messianism and National Institutions: A Reappraisal of Canudos and Joaseiro.” Hispanic American Historical Review. 48: 402–420.Google Scholar
Deschand, Pe. Desiderio 1910 A situação actual da religião no Brasil. Rio de Janeiro.Google Scholar
Dewart, Leslie 1963 Christianity and Revolution: The Lesson of Cuba. New York.Google Scholar
Drekonja, Gerhard 1971 “Religion and Social Change in Latin America.” Latin American Research Review. 6:1:53–73.Google Scholar
Einaudi, Luigi, et al. 1969 Latin American Institutional Development: The Changing Catholic Church. Santa Monica, California.Google Scholar
Eisenstadt, S. M. 1965 Transformation of Social, Political, and Cultural Orders in Modernization. American Sociological Review. 30: 659–674.Google Scholar
Farriss, N. M. 1968 Crown and Clergy in Colonial Mexico, 1759-1821. London.Google Scholar
Fernandes, Pe. Giraldo 1948 A religião nas constituições republicanas no Brasil. Revista Eclesiástica Brasileira. 8: 830–858.Google Scholar
Ferrari, Alceu 1968 Igreja e desenvolvimento: O movimento de Natal. Natal.Google Scholar
Freyre, Gilberto 1946 The Masters and the Slaves. Trans. by Samuel Putnam. New York.Google Scholar
Gall, Norman 1970 Latin America: The Church Militant. Commentary. 25–37.Google Scholar
Gibson, Charles 1966 Spain in America. New York.Google Scholar
Glock, Charles and Stark, Rodney 1968 American Piety. Berkeley and Los Angeles.Google Scholar
Goff, James E. 1965 The Persecution of Protestant Christians in Colombia, 1948 to 1958, with an Investigation of its Background and Causes. (Unpublished Th.D. thesis). San Francisco Theological Seminary.Google Scholar
Gregory, Pe. Affonso (ed.) 1967 A Paróquia Ontem, hoje e amanhã. Petrópoplis.Google Scholar
Hales, E. E. Y. 1966. Pope John and His Revolution. Garden City, New York.Google Scholar
Houtart, François, and Pin, Emile 1965 The Church and the Latin American Revolution. Trans. by Gilbert Barth. New York.Google Scholar
Ireland, Rowan 1972 The Catholic Church and Social Change in Brazil: An Evaluation. In: Brazil in the Sixties. Riordan Roett (ed.). Nashville, Tennessee.Google Scholar
Kadt, Emanuel de 1967 Paternalism and Populism: Catholicism in Latin America. Journal of Contemporary History, 2:4:89–107.Google Scholar
Kadt, Emanuel de 1970 Catholic Radicals in Brazil. London.Google Scholar
Kadt, Emanuel de 1971 Church, Society and Development in Latin America. The Journal of Development Studies, 8:1:23–45.Google Scholar
Kennedy, John J. 1958 Catholicism, Nationalism and Democracy in Argentina. Notre Dame, Indiana. 1970 The Legal Status of the Church in Latin America: Some Recent Developments. In: The Church and Social Change in Latin America. Henry A. Landsberger (ed.). Notre Dame, Indiana.Google Scholar
Landsberger, Henry A. (ed.) 1970 The Church and Social Change in Latin America. Notre Dame, Indiana.Google Scholar
Leers, Frei Bernardino, OFM 1967 Religiosidade rural. Petrópolis.Google Scholar
MacEoin, Gary 1970 Church Role Sags in Latin America. The National Catholic Reporter. (July 3, 1970).Google Scholar
MacEoin, Gary 1971 Revolution Next Door. New York.Google Scholar
McGrath, Mark G., C.S.C. 1970 Church Doctrine in Latin America after the Council. In: The Church and Social Change in Latin America. Henry A. Landsberger (ed.). Notre Dame, Indiana.Google Scholar
McKenzie, John L. 1971 The Roman Catholic Church. Garden City, New York.Google Scholar
Maria, Pe. Juleo 1950 O Catolicismo no Brasil. Rio de Janeiro. (First published 1900).Google Scholar
Marx, Gary T. 1967 Protest and Prejudice. New York.Google Scholar
Mecham, J. Lloyd 1966 Church and State in Latin America. (First edition, 1934). Chapel Hill, North Carolina.Google Scholar
Mendes, Candido 1966 Memento dos vivos: a esquerda católica no Brasil. Rio de Janeiro.Google Scholar
Mesters, Carlos 1969 Palavra de Deus na história dos homens. Belo Horizonte.Google Scholar
Metz, Rene 1960 What is Canon Law ? Trans. by Michael Derrick. New York.Google Scholar
Moreira, J. Roberto 1960 Sociologia Política de lei de diretrizes e bases da educaçãdo nacional. Revista Brasileira de Estudos Políticos. 9: 177–213.Google Scholar
Moreira Alves, Marcio 1968 O Cristo do Povo. Rio de Janeiro.Google Scholar
Mutchler, David 1969 Adaptations of the Roman Catholic Church to Latin American Development: The Meaning of Internal Church Conflict. Social Research. 36:2:231–252.Google Scholar
Mutchler, David 1971 The Church as a Political Factor in Latin America with Particular Reference to Colombia and Chile. New York.Google Scholar
O'Dea, Thomas 1968 The Catholic Crisis. Boston.Google Scholar
Oliveira, Oliveira Dom Oscar 1964 Os dízimos eclesiásticos do Brasil: nos períodos da colônia e do império. Belo Horizonte.Google Scholar
Parsons, Talcott 1963 On the Concept of Political Power. Proceedings of the American Philosophical Society. 107: 232–262.Google Scholar
Pike, Fredrick B. (ed.) 1964 The Conflict Between Church and State in Latin America. New York.Google Scholar
Pike, Fredrick B. (ed.) 1966 The Catholic Church and Modernization in Peru and Chile. Journal of International Affairs. 20:2:272–288.Google Scholar
Pin, Emile 1966 Elementos para uma sociologia do catolicismo latino-americano. Petrópolis.Google Scholar
Plagge, Winfredo 1965 A igreja no Brasil. Rio de Janeiro.Google Scholar
Vita, Pro Mundi Monographs on the Church in Argentina, Brazil, Colombia, Paraguay, Venezuela, and the priesthood in Latin America in general.Google Scholar
Regina do Santo Rosario, Irmã Maria, OCD 1962 O Cardeal Leme, 1882-1942. Rio de Janeiro.Google Scholar
Ribeiro de Oliveira, Pedro A. 1970 Catolicismo popular no Brasil. Rio de Janeiro (Mimeo.)Google Scholar
Rolim, Frei Francisco 1965 Em Tôrno da Religiosidade no Brasil. Revista Eclesiástica Brasileira. 25: 11–28.Google Scholar
Rolim, Frei Francisco 1970 Catolicismo no Brasil. Limiar. 26: 93–154.Google Scholar
Sanders, Thomas G. 1967 Catholicism and Development: The Catholic Left in Brazil. In: Kalman Silvert (ed.) Churches and States: The Religious Institution and Modernization. New York.Google Scholar
Sanders, Thomas G. 1970a Catholic Innovation in a Changing Latin America. Cuernavaca, Mexico.Google Scholar
Sanders, Thomas G. 1970b The Church in Latin America. Foreign Affairs. 48: 285–300.Google Scholar
Schmitt, Karl M. (ed.) 1972 The Roman Catholic Church in Modern Latin America. New York.Google Scholar
Schooyans, Michel 1968 O desafio das secularização. São Paulo.Google Scholar
Selznick, Philip 1957 Leadership in Administration. Evanston, Ill.Google Scholar
Shaull, Richard 1970 The Church and Revolutionary Change: Contrasting Perspectives. In: The Church and Social Change in Latin America. Henry A. Landsberger (ed.). Notre Dame, Indiana.Google Scholar
Shiels, W. Eugene S.J. 1961 King and Church: The Rise and Fall of the Patronato Real. Chicago.Google Scholar
Skidmore, Thomas 1967 Politics in Brazil, 1930-1964. New York.Google Scholar
Smith, Donald Eugene 1970 Religion and Political Development. Boston.Google Scholar
Studart Filho, General Carlos 1969 Temas sociais. Fortaleza.Google Scholar
Terreberry, Shirley 1968 The Evolution of Organizational Environments. Administrative Science Quarterly. 12: 590–613.Google Scholar
Thompson, James, and McEwen, William 1958 Organizational Goals and Environment. American Sociological Review. 23: 23–31.Google Scholar
Thornton, Thornton Sister Mary 1948 The Church and Freemasonry in Brazil, 1872-1875: A Study in Regalism. Washington, D.C.Google Scholar
Turner, Frederick C. 1971 Catholicism and Political Development in Latin America. Chapel Hill, North Carolina.Google Scholar
Vallier, Ivan 1967a Religious Elites: Differentiations and Developments in Roman Catholicism. In: Elites in Latin America. Seymour Martin Lipset and Aldo Solari, eds. New York, 190–232.Google Scholar
Vallier, Ivan 1967b Church “Development” in Latin America: A Five-Country Comparison. Journal of Developing Areas. 1: 461–476.Google Scholar
Vallier, Ivan 1969 Comparative Studies of Roman Catholicism: Dioceses as Strategic Units. Social Compass. 16: 147–184.Google Scholar
Vallier, Ivan 1970a Extraction, Insulation and Re-Entry: Toward a Theory of Religious Change. In: The Church and Social Change in Latin America. Henry A. Landsberger (ed.). Notre Dame, Indiana.Google Scholar
Vallier, Ivan 1970b Catholicism, Social Control, and Modernization in Latin America. Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey.Google Scholar
Vallier, Ivan 1972 Radical Priests and the Revolution. In: Changing Latin America. Douglas Chalmers (ed.). Proceedings of the Academy of Political Science. 30:4:15–27.Google Scholar
Vitalis, Hellmut Gnadt 1969 The Significance of Change in Latin American Catholicism since Chimbote, 1953. Cuernavaca, Mexico.Google Scholar
Wayland-Smith, Giles 1969 The Christian Democratic Party in Chile. Cuernavaca, Mexico.Google Scholar
Weber, Max 1952 Ancient Judaism. Trans. by H. Gerth and D. Martindale. Glencoe, Ill.Google Scholar
Weber, Max 1958 The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism. Trans. by Talcott Parsons. New York.Google Scholar
Wiarda, Ieda Siqueira, and Wiarda, Howard J. 1970 The Churches and Rapid Social Change: Observations on the Differences and Similarities Between Protestants and Catholics in Brasil. Journal of Church and State. 12:1:13–39.Google Scholar
Williams, Edward J. 1967 Latin American Christian Democratic Parties. Knoxville, Tenn.Google Scholar
Williams, Edward J. 1969 Latin American Catholicism and Political Integration. Comparative Political Studies. 2: 327–347.Google Scholar
Willems, Emilio 1961 Uma vila brasileira. São Paulo.Google Scholar
Willems, Emilio 1967 Followers of the New Faith. Nashville, Tenn.Google Scholar