Religion and the Nation State: Chile

Podcast 4 from the Chile and the Cold War Podcast Series investigates the tense relationship between the Catholic Church and the Pinochet regime, especially under the leadership of Santiago Archbishop Raúl Silva Henríquez.
By Benjamin Fuller

T: This article traces the moral and political role of the
Catholic Church in Chile from the colonial period, through the nineteenth
and early twentieth centuries, to the upheavals of the last 25 year

For decades the Catholic Church and Chilean military embraced common concerns. Each was an advocate of stability, law and order, social harmony and an opponent of radical political movements. Their occupation of such extensive common political, social and economic ground made them natural allies.

After the military coup of 1973 Augusto Pinochet created the to reinvent Chile in terms of a country that was under attack from foreign elements. As political parties and all public organizations banned, the Catholic Church assumed the task of defender of human rights and opposition party.

This article analyses the history of the military clergy and contrasts its role in the Argentine and Chilean dictatorships on the basis of new, previously inaccessible sources. It is argued here that, in addition to its ideological orientation, two further factors explain differences in the influence of the military clergy on the two regimes: first, the structural position that the Military Vicariates occupied between the Church and the armed forces, and, second, the two dictatorships' different needs for legitimisation. The analysis provides information relevant to understanding the public role of the Catholic Church and the dimensions of violence during the regimes.

IN 1970, DR. SALVADOR ALLENDE, presidential candidate of the Unidad Popular coalition, won a plurality - but not a majority - of votes from the Chilean electorate. Consequently, and in accord with Chilean electoral laws and constitution, the Chilean Congress was called upon to vote for the
president, and it selected Dr. Allende as the country's new president. Soon thereafter a wave of opposition to his administration developed among business and middle-class sectors: Rightist political movements and parties entrepreneurial associations, some white-collar unions, as well as groups representing both commercial interests and those of small business. Eventually this opposition determined that "the government of Allende was incompatible with the survival of freedom and private enterprise in Chile, (and) that the only way to avoid their extinction was to overthrow the government" (Cauce, 1)

The downfall of Allende had nothing to do with socialism. It was caused by poor leadership, poor planning and a lack of economic realism.

Although the Roman Catholic Church in Latin America has become known as an agent of religious and social change, the majority of bishops there do not appear to advocate any drastic restructuring of church or society. This seeming contradiction may be explained by reference to the concept of institutionalization. An examination of the development of religious innovations in Chile and Brazil reveals that they originally emerged because of the episcopate's interest in defending the church against perceived threats to its influence by Marxists and evangelical Protestants. However, once the innovations became institutionalized - that is, established as an integral part of Catholic belief and practice - they set in motion a dynamic for change that would lead to challenges of both political and religious structures.

This study examines the relationship between religion and nonviolent resistance. I assess the influence of the Catholic Church in Chile on the nonviolent opposition to the Pinochet‐led military regime by producing a systematic account of the Church's contribution to twelve factors necessary for successful nonviolent movements. The Church's role was the most crucial in that it provided organizational strength and resources, delegitimized the opponent's strategy for consolidating control, and helped formulate objectives for the opposition. The role of the Catholic Church in opposing the Pinochet regime in Chile provides an instructive case study of the influential and determinative role religious institutions can play in the outcomes of nonviolent social movements.

To engage in ecumenism and common witness is always a challenge when one church predominates in a society. In the case of many Latin American countries, the Catholic Church is both historically and demographically dominant, and often has a history of special relations with the states. Protestants, on the other hand, come mostly from evangelical and Pentecostal traditions with little ecumenical history or motivation. This article outlines some of the 20th century history of the churches in Chile against the background of the reception of Vatican II, and especially its leadership on religious freedom and ecumenism. Social und political events in Chile, as well as the particular demography and history of its Christianity, make this a unique context for ecumenical development. Some of these factors and the churches' responses are outlined as resources for global Christian reflection on mission unity and society.

The Catholic Church defended human rights during Chile’s dictatorship. An archive tells the story.

Priests in politics row rocks Chile Church

Chile has traditionally been a Catholic country, and almost 90 percent of the population continues to be at least nominally Catholic today. Church and state were officially separated in 1925, but religion has helped to shape the policies and decisions of the government in matters ranging from the direct involvement of the Church during colonialism to the pope’s arbitration of the Beagle Channel dispute in 1985 to the socially conservative policies that continue to exist today. For centuries and particularly during the military dictatorship, the Catholic Church has played an interesting part in Chilean politics and society, but its future influence remains uncertain.