This paper examines the religious motivations behind Spain's colonization of the Americas, beginning with the Reconquista's influence on Spanish zeal for Christianization. It analyzes key instruments of colonial religious authority — the Requerimiento and the Encomienda system — and assesses the fine line between evangelization and exploitation. The paper then traces how Hispanic religious identity evolved through Protestant influence following independence, the rise of Pentecostalism in the 20th century, and enduring Catholic traditions such as devotion to the Virgin of Guadalupe and the posadas celebrations. Together, these developments reveal a complex, diverse religious landscape among Hispanic communities in the United States that defies simple categorization.
The term "Hispanic" was recently adopted by the U.S. government as a way to describe people of Spanish-speaking descent in general and people from Latin America in particular. It is ironic that such a term is needed at all, given the historic precedence of the Spanish language in America. Since Spanish was spoken first and was widespread, it would seem more appropriate for English-speakers today to be referred to in such a fashion, to distinguish them as relative newcomers to North and Latin America. Moreover, Hispanics are not necessarily religiously homogeneous; rather, they subscribe to a wide range of faiths. In this regard, Gonzalez and Cardoza-Orlandi emphasize that "Today, in any major city in the United States one can find a variety of religious practices and traditions among the Hispanics" (p. 96). In fact, Catholic sovereigns, or Bembe, were Cuban, African, and Muslim Moors of mixed blood from Spain. This diversity of faith suggests that it is disingenuous to try to pigeonhole all Hispanics as "Roman Catholics" or under any other single label.
Although the reasons for coming to America differed among the early Spanish explorers and settlers, they shared a "strong religious motivation" (p. 91). By the time Spain launched its expeditions to the Americas in the late 15th century, the country had only recently been freed from the domination of the Muslim Moors through the Reconquista. The focus on reestablishing a Christian Spain had begun in earnest, and this zeal extended to the new lands discovered to the West as well. As Gonzalez and Cardoza-Orlandi report, "Across the ocean, vast new lands were 'discovered,' lands ripe for conquest, exploitation and Christianization. These three motives — conquest, exploitation, and Christianization — went hand in hand. At times it is difficult to distinguish among them" (p. 92).
One indication of this blurring of motives can be seen in the so-called Requerimiento, which was read to Native Americans encountered by the Spanish. It explained that the Spanish were God's emissaries on earth and held the authority to establish sovereignty over the "discovered lands," intending thereby to compel the acquiescence and submission of indigenous peoples to Christian dogma. The reading of the Requerimiento also served as a legal and moral foundation for using military force against those peoples who were deemed too ignorant to recognize the validity of Spanish claims. Although Gonzalez and Cardoza-Orlandi concede that this policy was well-intentioned, they also point out that it is difficult — even impossible — to discern a clear demarcation between enlightenment and exploitation.
Another practice that enforced Spanish authority in these new lands was the Encomienda system, which was tantamount to forced labor and bordered on outright slavery. Encomiendas were compacts that bound a group of natives to a Spaniard, without their consent, to perform labor as directed in exchange for the bare minimal needs of life — needs the natives could have secured through far less effort on their own. Here again, Gonzalez and Cardoza-Orlandi suggest that this policy was likewise intended to benefit the natives to whom it was applied, but it is reasonable to argue that this method was also used to exploit rather than to benefit.
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