Women in the Church

The Spanish came to the “new world” and conquered every indigenous civilization with many goals in mind, not the least of which being the acquisition of gold and land; however, there was one other much holier purpose: the evangelism of the Indigenous people, what was left of them. Within Latin America there were two groups that served to minister to the people, there were the secular priests that served the Spanish population and religious orders such as the Dominicans, Franciscans, and Augustinians that saw to the indigenous community. Overcoming local culture would not be an easy thing so these religious orders served as a towering presence in the community burning idols and ancient religious texts. They then attempted to incorporate indigenous elements in order to shape beliefs using visual representation. Despite the attempts to incorporate a limited amount of indigenous beliefs by some orders, baptism, marriage, and burial rituals completely changed for the Indians.

The Catholic Church soon became a dominant force in Latin America as an institution of social control, religious authority, and even a financial institution. The sources of income such as tithes, donations, and income from the real estate the church was located on provided the church with the ability to make loans. There were also financial connections between the nobility and the church. This close relationship between the church and the elite paved the way for the church lending to local noble families. Then the lesser sons of the local elite often became priests as they would have little or no inheritance. Children of the elite joining the church did not stop at sons though; daughters with dowries could become nuns.

The idea that the church provided a safe haven for women who wanted to live pious religious lives or those who desired to escape marriage became increasingly popular. At one point during the seventeenth century, Lima, Peru had 1,000 nuns. It was not a vocation strictly for daughters with dowries now. Within the convent or monastery itself there were black veil nuns, women who had a substantial dowry given to the church and white veil nuns who often served the black veils. Then there were beatas, who were “unofficial nuns” or women who gave vows of chastity but were not considered nuns. The option of joining the church provided a respectable safe alternative to marriage and allowed women some amount of autonomy and even a chance for an education they might not otherwise receive. On other words an attractive alternative to an unhappy marriage or a life doomed to housework.