Christianity was brought to Latin America by the Spanish and Portuguese conquerors of North, Central, and South America in the 16th cent. … became the empire builders of New World Catholicism, founding churches, schools, universities, and missions along the distant frontiers of Mexico and Brazil.
How did Christianity arrive in Latin America?
The Age of Discovery began with the voyage of Christopher Columbus c. 1492. It is characterised by European colonization of missionary activity. Pope Alexander VI, in the papal bull Inter caetera, awarded colonial rights over most of the newly discovered lands to Spain and Portugal.
How did Catholicism spread to South America?
Approximately 40 % of all Catholics live in Latin America. Iberians introduced Roman Catholicism to “Latin America” when Spain and Portugal conquered and colonized their respective New World empires after 1500.
Why did Spanish spread Christianity in the Americas?
Much of the expressed goals of the spread of Catholicism was to bring salvation to the souls of the indigenous peoples. The Church and the Crown alike viewed the role and presence of the Church in the Americas as a buffer against the corrupt encomenderos and other European settlers.
How did Christianity spread to the Americas?
Christianity was introduced to North America as it was colonized by Europeans beginning in the 16th and 17th centuries. … Today most Christians in the United States are Mainline Protestant, Evangelical, or Roman Catholic.
When did Catholicism reach South America?
The Catholic Church’s presence in Latin America traces back to Spanish colonization. Following Christopher Columbus’s arrival in the region in 1492, Spain claimed much of the Americas.
What was Latin America before Christianity?
Before the Spanish arrived, tremendous religious diversity marked the region, but animistic, polytheistic, and ancestor worship systems predominated.
Why did the Catholic Church have so much influence in Latin America?
Catholicism has been predominant in Latin America and it has played a definitive role in its development. It helped to spur the conquest of the New World with its emphasis on missions to the indigenous peoples, controlled many aspects of the colonial economy, and played key roles in the struggles for Independence.
Why did Europeans want to spread Christianity in the Americas?
Why did Europeans want to spread Christianity in the Americas? They believed that God wanted them to convert other peoples. What types of goods did Europeans ship to Africa and the Americas on Triangular Trade routes? … Africans were brought to the Americas as enslaved people.
Why did the Spanish convert the natives to Christianity?
The first would be to convert natives to Christianity. … Aside from spiritual conquest through religious conversion, Spain hoped to pacify areas that held extractable natural resources such as iron, tin, copper, salt, silver, gold, hardwoods, tar and other such resources, which could then be exploited by investors.
How did Christianity spread to Spain?
Spanish empire
Spanish missionaries carried Catholicism to the New World and the Philippines, establishing various missions in the newly colonized lands. The missions served as a base for both administering colonies as well as spreading Christianity.
Who started Christianity?
Christianity originated with the ministry of Jesus, a Jewish teacher and healer who proclaimed the imminent kingdom of God and was crucified c. AD 30–33 in Jerusalem in the Roman province of Judea.
When was Christianity created?
Christianity began in the 1st century CE after Jesus died and was resurrected. Starting as a small group of Jewish people in Judea, it spread quickly throughout the Roman Empire. Despite early persecution of Christians, it later became the state religion. In the Middle Ages it spread into Northern Europe and Russia.