1.2 influence of the catholic church

positive things ab the influence of the catholic church

• emph. importance of love for one another

• encourages charity for the disadvantaged (eg NGOs like CARITAS) - fairer society + wider world

• provides comfort and hope in tough times

negative influence of the catholic church

• homophobia; misogyny - no female priests, inequality btw genders

• outdated views - 6/10 spanish think it transmits an image of condemnation than of goodness + kindness

• state still finances the church - 11bn euros - even tho its a non-denominational state

famous pilgrimage in spain

camino de santiago

camino de santiago

more than 800km

visit tomb of apostle santiago

tradition since the year 840

every year around 200,000 ppl from around the world do it

motivation = historical, spiritual, religious, culture

protected by UNESCO

history of catholicism in spain

1200s-1400s: moors (muslim) and indigenous ppl lived peacefully tg

1492: Catholic monarchs expelled Jews + Muslims - imposed Catholicism as only faith

arab heritage in spain = architecture, engineering, language

change in attitudes towards religion today in spain

transition to democracy = more relaxed religious practice:

• 90% catholic in the 90s; 70% nowadays (50% among young ppl); 20% practising

• <half of babies born were baptised in a church

still an inherent part of culture but not as fundamental as before

latin america religion stats

protestant population has increased to 20% in recent years

some countries (chile, nicaragua, dominican republic) = abortion punishable by imprisonment

cuba: 15yrs ago = 90% catholic, recent census = 75% catholic

spanish young ppl’s opinions on moral issues

homosexual relationships = 80% acceptance

abortion = 59% acceptance