Department Chair
Andrew D. Nicholls, Ph.D., Professor of History
Date of Award
12-2015
Access Control
Open Access
Degree Name
History, M.A.
Department
History and Social Studies Education Department
Advisor
Bridget Chesterton, Ph.D., Associate Professor of History
Department Home page
http://history.buffalostate.edu/
First Reader
Bridget Chesterton, Ph.D., Associate Professor of History
Second Reader
Cynthia Conides, Ph.D., Associate Professor of History
Abstract
After the Spanish conquest of Latin America different religious groups set up missions to convert the Indians to Catholicism. In the 1530s and 1560s overzealous officials started punishing the indigenous people for idolatry because they saw it as a rejection of Catholic and Spanish rule. This thesis examines why indigenous people continued their religious practices after their supposed conversion to Catholicism. The author argues that indigenous traditions of incorporating new deities into their pantheon led them to believe that the Catholic god was another to be included in their worship, not one to replace their belief system. Additionally, the Spanish did not understand the indigenous worldview and the role that religion played in the every day life of the people of Latin America. The Spanish did not understand how important it was for indigenous people to keep their practices alive. Finally, the conversion process was hindered by the language difference between the cultures, and using indigenous words to explain Catholic concepts led to false equivalencies that reinforced similarities and the blending of the two religions.
Recommended Citation
Boos, Amanda, "Incomplete Conversions: Intentions of Indigenous Idolatry in Early Colonial Latin America" (2015). History Theses. 36.
https://digitalcommons.buffalostate.edu/history_theses/36
