The Catholic Church in Guatemala is part of the worldwide

Catholic Church The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

, under spiritual leadership of the

Pope The pope ( la, papa, from el, πάππας, translit=pappas, 'father'), also known as supreme pontiff ( or ), Roman pontiff () or sovereign pontiff, is the bishop of Rome (or historically the patriarch of Rome), head of the worldwide Cathol ...

Curia Curia (Latin plural curiae) in ancient Rome referred to one of the original groupings of the citizenry, eventually numbering 30, and later every Roman citizen was presumed to belong to one. While they originally likely had wider powers, they came ...

Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus (legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...

and the

Episcopal Conference of Guatemala The Episcopal Conference of Guatemala ( es, Conferencia Episcopal de Guatemala, CEG) is the Roman Catholic Episcopal Conference An episcopal conference, sometimes called a conference of bishops, is an official assembly of the bishops of the Cathol ...

. There are approximately 7.7 million Catholics in

Guatemala Guatemala ( ; ), officially the Republic of Guatemala ( es, República de Guatemala, links=no), is a country in Central America. It is bordered to the north and west by Mexico; to the northeast by Belize and the Caribbean; to the east by H ...

, which is about 45% of the total population of 17.1 million citizens.

History

Introduction of Protestantism

Historically, Guatemala has been predominantly Catholic. Beginning in 1959, after

Fidel Castro Fidel Alejandro Castro Ruz (; ; 13 August 1926 – 25 November 2016) was a Cuban revolutionary and politician who was the leader of Cuba from 1959 to 2008, serving as the prime minister of Cuba from 1959 to 1976 and president from 1976 to 200 ...

began the

Cuban Revolution The Cuban Revolution ( es, Revolución Cubana) was carried out after the 1952 Cuban coup d'état which placed Fulgencio Batista as head of state and the failed mass strike in opposition that followed. After failing to contest Batista in cou ...

, the

Holy See The Holy See ( lat, Sancta Sedes, ; it, Santa Sede ), also called the See of Rome, Petrine See or Apostolic See, is the jurisdiction of the Pope in his role as the bishop of Rome. It includes the apostolic episcopal see of the Diocese of Rome ...

became increasingly aware of the number of Protestant

missionaries A missionary is a member of a religious group which is sent into an area in order to promote its faith or provide services to people, such as education, literacy, social justice, health care, and economic development.Thomas Hale 'On Being a Mi ...

traveling to

Latin America Latin America or * french: Amérique Latine, link=no * ht, Amerik Latin, link=no * pt, América Latina, link=no, name=a, sometimes referred to as LatAm is a large cultural region in the Americas where Romance languages — languages derived f ...

. Following this realization, several

Catholic priests The priesthood is the office of the ministers of religion, who have been commissioned ("ordained") with the Holy orders of the Catholic Church. Technically, bishops are a priestly order as well; however, in layman's terms ''priest'' refers only ...

and missionaries traveled to Latin America to increase the number of priests and baptized

Latinos Hispanic and Latino Americans ( es, Estadounidenses hispanos y latinos; pt, Estadunidenses hispânicos e latinos) are Americans of Spanish and/or Latin American ancestry. More broadly, these demographics include all Americans who identify as ...

. Over the past few decades, Protestantism has grown throughout the area. Guatemala currently contains the largest number of Protestants (approximately 40%) than any other Latin American country. The largest Protestant denominations present in Guatemala today are

Presbyterians Presbyterianism is a part of the Reformed tradition within Protestantism that broke from the Roman Catholic Church in Scotland by John Knox, who was a priest at St. Giles Cathedral (Church of Scotland). Presbyterian churches derive their nam ...

Pentecostals Pentecostalism or classical Pentecostalism is a Protestant Charismatic Christian movement

Lutherans Lutheranism is one of the largest branches of Protestantism, identifying primarily with the theology of Martin Luther, the 16th-century German monk and reformer whose efforts to reform the theology and practice of the Catholic Church launched ...

Baptists Baptists form a major branch of Protestantism distinguished by baptizing professing Christian believers only ( believer's baptism), and doing so by complete immersion. Baptist churches also generally subscribe to the doctrines of soul compe ...

, and

Episcopalians Anglicanism is a Western Christian tradition that has developed from the practices, liturgy, and identity of the Church of England following the English Reformation, in the context of the Protestant Reformation in Europe. It is one of th ...

. Protestants first began to arrive in Guatemala in 1882 as a result of President Rufino Barrios desire to challenge the power of the Catholic Church. He invited several Presbyterian,

Methodist Methodism, also called the Methodist movement, is a group of historically related denominations of Protestant Christianity whose origins, doctrine and practice derive from the life and teachings of John Wesley. George Whitefield and John's b ...

and Baptist missionaries, but only when Pentecostal missionaries arrived from the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

did Guatemala see an influx in Protestant converts.

Charismatic Catholicism

Charismatic Catholics is a religious movement that has a set mind to increase the number of Catholic converts. Its members in Guatemala increase the numbers of Catholics in Latin America with the help of social organizations, missionaries, and

clergy Clergy are formal leaders within established religions. Their roles and functions vary in different religious traditions, but usually involve presiding over specific rituals and teaching their religion's doctrines and practices. Some of the ter ...

. In the mid twentieth century, Catholic Guatemalans feared that Catholicism would become the minority to Protestantism. Many Catholics began converting to Protestantism instead during this time period. Also, there were very few native Guatemalan priests because this job was mostly taken up by missionaries from the United States. The Charismatic Catholics bounced back with a large number of foreign missionaries, an increase in Guatemalan priests, and other lay revitalization within the Church as a whole. They believed that "the quest for identity was important and difficult" in the changing modern times.

Status of Religious Freedom

There is no state religion in Guatemala, however the Guatemalan Constitution recognizes the legitimacy of the Catholic Church. The constitution also recognizes freedom of religion to all of its citizens, and the government protects and honors this law. Although the Catholic Church is the only religion recognized by the Guatemalan Constitution, any other

religious affiliation Religious identity is a specific type of identity formation. Particularly, it is the sense of group membership to a religion and the importance of this group membership as it pertains to one's self-concept. Religious identity is not necessarily the ...

can file a copy of its

bylaws A by-law (bye-law, by(e)law, by(e) law), or as it is most commonly known in the United States bylaws, is a set of rules or law established by an organization or community so as to regulate itself, as allowed or provided for by some higher authorit ...

and a list of its initial membership to the Ministry of Government in order to receive recognition. The only requirement of the Guatemalan government is that each religious affiliation register as

legal entities In law, a legal person is any person or 'thing' (less ambiguously, any legal entity) that can do the things a human person is usually able to do in law – such as enter into contracts, sue and be sued, own property, and so on. The reason for ...

if they want to participate in business of any kind. Applicants are rejected if "the organization does not appear to be devoted to a religious objective, appears to be in pursuit of illegal activities, or engages in activities that appear likely to threaten the public order."

San Andrés Xécul Church

The

San Andrés Xecul San Andrés Xecul () is a town, with a population of 15,074 (2018 census),Citypopulation.de
Population of citi ...

is a Catholic church in the Western Highland of Guatemala built in 1900. It is painted in

baroque The Baroque (, ; ) is a style of architecture, music, dance, painting, sculpture, poetry, and other arts that flourished in Europe from the early 17th century until the 1750s. In the territories of the Spanish and Portuguese empires including t ...

style architecture, and was restored in 2008. The outside walls of the church contain 200 painted sculptures of humans, angels, monkeys, fruit, corn, and birds of all different colors. These images are important to Mayan people who live in this region because it contains many agricultural images which symbolize this regions main source of economy. Also, the design of the outside of the San Andrés Xécul is similar to the ''huipils'' worn by Guatemala women. Inside the church there are chandeliers made from glass stone, coins, rosary beads, candles, and other depictions and sculptures of Christ.

Turmoil in Guatemala

Social Discrimination and Disputes

There have been several disputes between Catholics and the indigenous

Mayan Mayan most commonly refers to: * Maya peoples, various indigenous peoples of Mesoamerica and northern Central America * Maya civilization, pre-Columbian culture of Mesoamerica and northern Central America * Mayan languages, language family spoken ...

people. Many Catholic churches had been built on ancient Mayan sites during the

Spanish colonization of the Americas Spain began colonizing the Americas under the Crown of Castile and was spearheaded by the Spanish . The Americas were invaded and incorporated into the Spanish Empire, with the exception of Brazil, British America, and some small regions ...

which has upset the Mayan people not only because it is their land, but because several Catholic priests do not allow the Mayan people to access this land at all. Also, many Evangelical Protestants refuse to converse about any topics. Representatives from Catholic, Protestant,

Muslim Muslims ( ar, المسلمون, , ) are people who adhere to Islam, a monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God of Abrah ...

, and Mayan spirituality meets every two-three months out of the year at the Interreligious Dialogue at the Foro Guatemala to discuss several select topics such as

social Social organisms, including human(s), live collectively in interacting populations. This interaction is considered social whether they are aware of it or not, and whether the exchange is voluntary or not. Etymology The word "social" derives from ...

and political issues. Also, beginning in the 1960s, Catholic bishops and priests have joined to work with indigenous

people to create a basis of local

leadership Leadership, both as a research area and as a practical skill, encompasses the ability of an individual, group or organization to "lead", influence or guide other individuals, teams, or entire organizations. The word "leadership" often gets view ...

, improve

health Health, according to the World Health Organization, is "a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease and infirmity".World Health Organization. (2006)''Constitution of the World Health Organiza ...

and

education Education is a purposeful activity directed at achieving certain aims, such as transmitting knowledge or fostering skills and character traits. These aims may include the development of understanding, rationality, kindness, and honesty. Va ...

, and also organize cooperatives.

Revolution and Disaster

During the 1960s, revolutionary upheaval began in

Guatemala City Guatemala City ( es, Ciudad de Guatemala), known locally as Guatemala or Guate, is the capital and largest city of Guatemala, and the most populous urban area in Central America. The city is located in the south-central part of the country, nest ...

. After the armed movement was put down by the

Guatemalan Army The Guatemalan Armed Forces ( es, Fuerzas Armadas de Guatemala) consists of the National Army of Guatemala (''Ejercito Nacional de Guatemala'', ENG), the Guatemalan National Defense Navy (''Marina de la Defensa Nacional'', includes Marines), the ...

, the movement came back stronger than before. It was now called the Guerrilla Army of the Poor, and began an insurgency campaign against the government: the Guatemalan military adopted

scorched earth A scorched-earth policy is a military strategy that aims to destroy anything that might be useful to the enemy. Any assets that could be used by the enemy may be targeted, which usually includes obvious weapons, transport vehicles, communi ...

tactics and started killing hundreds of thousands of indigenous Mayan peasants in the western highlands. During the 1960s, the Catholic Church in Guatemala was suppressed by anti-communist Guatemalan governments, due to suspected Marxist sympathies. Lower Catholic orders were also targeted by the military, as they were seen as subversive and instrumental in the spread of liberation theology. Guatemala again experienced more destruction in 1976 when an earthquake took the lives of 20,000 people and injured 80,000 more.

Organization of the Catholic Church in Guatemala

Dioceses

* Archdiocese of Guatemala ** Diocese of Escuintla ** Diocese of Santa Rosa de Lima ** Diocese of Jalapa ** Diocese of Verapaz, Cobán ** Diocese of Zacapa y Santo Cristo de Esquipulas * Archdiocese of Los Altos Quetzaltenango-Totonicapán ** Diocese of Huehuetenango ** Diocese of Quiché ** Diocese of San Marcos ** Diocese of Sololá-Chimaltenango ** Diocese of Suchitepéquez-Retalhuleu

References

{{North America in topic, Catholic Church in, groupstyle=background-color:gold, titlestyle=background-color:gold