tenemos paltas!: Religious Capitalism

As a bit of a follow up to my last post, the relationship here between the church and state is worthy of it's own post. Chile has been a catholic nation for as long as there has been Spanish influence here. The cozy relationship between the church and state has become less of a codified norm and more of a reality held over from an earlier time. As Chile has embraced capitalism and opened it's government to pro-business and progressive socialist stances, the church has been officially relegated to similar standing as other faith organizations.

A 1999 law, "Norms for the Legal Establishment of Churches and Religious Organizations," commonly known as the "Ley de Cultos," gives other religious entities the same legal status that the Roman Catholic Church enjoys; however, the Catholic Church unofficially retains a privileged position

The idea that there are other faiths that practice as openly here in Chile is true, but Catholicism still shapes national holidays, hiring practices, public morality, and education. Many public schools here are partially controlled by the church and the education that most children receive is a catholic one when compared to the secular education that most US kids receive. The church also still plays a heavy role in other government institutions such as the military. Perhaps a proselytizing scandal wouldn't be as out of place here as the recent one in the states has felt. But then again, as I was being interviewed for my job...I was asked what my faith affiliation was. Taken aback at this question as well as some others, I replied that I had been raised christian but wasn't practicing. The interviewer went on to discuss the church's influence in education and people's sense of morality. He wanted to warn me particularly that people here in Chile don't really go to church as a rule, don't practice their faith as a rule...but generally would report on any survey that they were a faithful catholic.

The country has an area of 292,260 square miles, and its population is just over 15 million. Seventy percent of the population age 14 or older was identified as Roman Catholic by the 2002 census (down from 76.8 percent in 1992) In the census, the term evangelical refers to all non-Catholic Christian churches with the exception of the Orthodox Church (Greek, Persian, Serbian, Ukrainian, and Armenian), the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (Mormons), Seventh-day Adventists, and Jehovah's Witnesses. Approximately 90 percent of evangelicals were Pentecostal. According to the 2002 census, evangelicals totaled 1,699,725 persons, or 15.1 percent of the population over the age of 14 (up from 12.4 percent in 1992).

Military recruits, whatever their religion, are required at times to attend Catholic events involving their unit. Membership in the Catholic Church is considered beneficial to a military career, and in the navy, it is said to be almost a requirement for advancement to the highest posts. In 2001, an ecumenical chapel was opened in the Investigative Police Academy, and an evangelical Christian chaplain was appointed. Two ethics instructors at the Academy were evangelical Christians. In 2004, the Ministry of Defense named Catholic and evangelical Christian chaplains and offered regular religious services in a chapel in the ministry.

Religious instruction in public schools is almost exclusively Roman Catholic. Schools are required to offer religious education, on an optional basis, twice a week through middle school. Teaching the creed requested by parents is mandatory; however, enforcement is sometimes lax, and religious education in faiths other than Roman Catholicism is often provided privately through Sunday schools and at other venues. Local school administrations decide how funds are spent on religious instruction. Although curricula are approved for 14 other denominations, 92 percent of public schools and 81 percent of private schools offer instruction based only on the Roman Catholic faith. Evangelical church leaders reported continued resistance by school administrators, based on economic considerations, to appointing evangelical religion teachers in the Santiago suburbs of Quinta Normal and Puente Alto.

The marriage of this Catholic state with the fundamentals of capitalism has produced an interesting relationship. One of the most entertaining of this is the marriage of unlikely bedfellows along the streets here in Santiago. While many of the streets here are in fact grouped by business type, the churches are spread out more randomly. So much so that while I haven't been able to get a good picture of this, I can promise you that just a few blocks away sits a storefront church right next to a strip club. They hold evening services and just sitting and watching the doors of these two establishments open and close next to each other was fascinating.