Abstract
AbstractThe vital role of Roman Catholicism in establishing the social, political, institutional, and religious status quo in Colombia is plainly evident and well-documented. Since the Middle Ages, no other country has enforced such a complete integration of church and state (ideal medieval Christendom), as reflected in Colombia’s Concordat. In Colombia, liberal attempts failed repeatedly and resulted in violent conflicts in which the Roman Catholic Church-State closed ranks with conservatives and imposed a corporatist medieval-like state. The largely successful project pursued by the Roman Church-State in Colombia (so-called Christilandia) consists of three pillars: (1) political (a confessional state); (2) economic (a corporatist state); and (3) cultural (a Catholic and conservative “Hispanicism”).In the 1991 Constitution, Protestantism allied itself with liberal forces. This alliance made it possible to finally introduce religious freedom, among others, by removing most of the contentious articles from the Concordat (nevertheless, the Concordat remains valid, as does institutional corporatism). In spite of these reforms, the Colombian government is still required to pay a fee to the Roman See. Religious instruction in public schools according to the Roman Church Magisterium for Catholics also remains firmly in place. Colombia remains one of the most inequitable and dangerous countries in the world.
Highlights
Robinson (2016) convincingly argues that the causes lie in the country’s historical extractive political institutions
The largely successful project pursued by the Roman Church-State in Colombia consists of three
After a Conservative revolt that resulted in a civil war of marked religious character, Colombia discarded the liberal Constitution of Rionegro and undid much of the Liberal effort to lessen the power of the Roman Catholic Church
Summary
Contrary to popular belief in Colombia, the Roman Catholic Church-State is not a Colombian institution. After a Conservative revolt that resulted in a civil war of marked religious character, Colombia discarded the liberal Constitution of Rionegro and undid much of the Liberal effort to lessen the power of the Roman Catholic Church. It promulgated its most conservative, intransigent, and long-lasting Constitution in 1886. Levine (1981) notes that it is hard to envisage a more powerful tool of ostracisation, or a more revealing indication of the convergence of religious and civil forces, than these structures (p.71) Neothomism inspired such conservative arrangements by opposing social change based on the belief of an indisputable “Roman Catholic truth” Such a tyrannical social order led to radicalisation and bloody conflicts, for instance, between liberals and conservatives (e.g. La Violencia) (Levine, 1981; Figueroa, 2016)
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