Na styku Ewangelii z kulturami indiańskimi

Abstract

The evangelization of Native Americans of the New World from the beginning was closely connected with the conquest and the royal patronage. Native American cultures and civilizations by the power of Spanish Crown were forced to submit to the new rulers and to Christianization. The peaceful contact with Indians was almost impossible. As a result of such a situation, it was almost impossible to evangelize in a normal way (conversion, religious education and inculturation of Christian faith) as it was proposed by the enlightened theologians, of that time, for example José de Acosta. The Native American cultures unfortunately usually were regarded as idolatry. On such foundations originated the phenomenon “of two-faiths” or “of two faces” from which originated profound processes of the religious syncretism. For the long time the fundamental differences between the faith and the Christian world view on the one hand and autochthonous cultures on the other were not fully recognized. The fundamental change in the assessment of autochthonous cultures came only in the second half of the 20th century. Serious steps to put more confidence in the cultural richness of Native Americans were taken on the basis of the teaching of Vaticanum II. Some attempts were made so that Indians may become the active subjects in the life of local churches. Some of these initiatives gave the Church an “Indian Face”.