About Latino Catholicism

Religion is defined as a system of faith and worship; however, there are different world’s great religions. With regards to the research, there is a brief history concerning Latino or Hispanic Catholicism in the United States of America. This movement gives a complete summary of the Catholics in America since 16th century to the present days. It is evident that most Americans follow Catholic Church and most people in that nation are Latinos. The Hispanic Catholic was in existence during the colonial era.

It is believed that Timothy Matovina had a significant influence of the Latino Catholicism in American religion. He demonstrated mainly on how this religious movement engaged with the United States cultural and societal life which contributed to a great impact. The Catholicism was founded in Judea and the Catholic Church was founded by Jesus Christ in the year A.D 33.

In 1913, the Latin language replaced the vernacular languages that were used by the Catholics. Latin was headed by the Bishop of Rome and was commonly known as the pope or in Latin papa. He leads the worldwide Catholic Churches though, the traditional teaching of Latino Catholics are more conventional where religious had personal prayers to Mary and Saints.

Many Christians in the United States are dedicated to the Latino Catholicism religion. Therefore, the number of Catholic population in this country has grown to 71 percent since 1960. In the 19th century, the massive number of Catholics came from Europe and they settled in both Northeast and Midwest. These migrants established many parishes in schools and universities which had a great impact to the government of the United State where they generated a massive social network services.

The Northeast and Midwest had the largest percentage of the parishes, schools, colleges, universities and Catholic hospitals. Interestingly, the head of most archdioceses and the United State Cardinals are in these two regions. In the 21st century of the last two decades, main foundation was crossed: most of the Catholics in the United State are currently living in the south and west. Therefore, the church had to construct most parishes, universities, and schools in the southwest which developed as the centers of Catholics in the United State. The Catholic Church has a big influence to the western culture and art. There is no one who can deny that there are several social characteristics introduced by the Latino Catholics. Both Latino and Hispanic customs shared the same culture and language. Most Hispanic and Latino Americans bring about to 18 percent of the United States population and most of them have lived there over the years.

Here are the characteristics which generated to the growth of Latino culture in the United States:

In the cultural influence, Catholics shared their beliefs with other Christians though they varied in different geographical backgrounds. These differences came from the origin of the family but some cultural practices would bring them together. Cultural cultivation of abilities among Hispanic developed a healthy ministry life among families. These Catholics led to the development of the wealthy theological foundation in the United States. Latin Americans had a great role of missionaries and they acted as catechist. Also, the Hispanic Americans were doing evangelism in their original countries.

It is apparent that Language was a common characteristic and Spanish language was the main language among the Hispanic culture. In the United States, at the year 1980, 11 million of the population spoke Spanish. In regards to this, the amount of Spanish speakers in America has recently increased to 38 million of the population. Children and families have been able to pass on their Spanish language all over the country. Most Hispanic immigrants are connected to the Catholic renewal which was established in the United States.

As stated earlier, religion is also significant in the Latin and Hispanic culture. Leaders from these cultures encouraged a better evangelism to Catholics. Evangelization started in the regional, parishes and the national wide level where Catholics would meet other Churches in the communities and they display their pastoral commitments. The main aim of evangelism was to renew more than 4,000 people in the United States to be part of the Catholic communities. The spread of the Catholicism was encouraged to the native residents.

The social teachings in Catholic are the vital elements of people’s faith. These teachings review what God has manifested himself to humankind. It is believed that God sent his only son, Jesus Christ, to people as a gift of love. These teachings also state that all human dignity came from God but not from human achievement. People should, therefore, trust what God is manifesting in their lives and there is the need of making spiritual life stronger.

It is quite obvious that food influenced both Hispanic and Latin Americans in the United State. There were various types of food such as tamales and tacos which are well known corn dishes in Latin America. These dishes became popular and they are now the frequently known snacks that are in the market in the United States.

The culture of both Hispanic and Latino Americans believed that the family is the stronghold of everything. Family is the essential social foundation that must be sustained rather than being undermined. The aging parents had an important role to bring up the young children. According to Catholic social teaching, every person was required to take part in the development of the society. The common goal was to ensure people live a happy and healthy life, specifically the needy and vulnerable people. The Catholic teaching encourages that the need for the poor and vulnerable people need to be the priority.

Catholic based teachings claim that believers are supposed to care for God’s creation. They need to respect what God has created which is the requirement for the Catholic faith. This one of the ecological challenges that has an ethical dimension that is necessary in Christian lives. Additionally, solidarity is essential in the Catholic teachings. Every believer is supposed to promote peace to the beloved brothers and sisters. The Catholic teaching inspires ways on how to avoid conflicts and become peacemakers in society.

There are basic beliefs that Catholics have and they believe that the Bible is error-free word of God. They know that one becomes a Christian through Baptism and it one necessity for salvation. Every Christian believes that God provided the Ten Commandments which encourage one to have ethical standards in their daily lives. According to the research, the main religion in the Latin American is believed to be Roman Catholicism. Catholic beliefs are essential and they are mentioned above, moreover, there is another belief of the presence of the holy trinity. Catholics believe that God is the Supreme Being that is composed of God the Father, the son, and the Holy Spirit.

Catholics believe that humans are born with sin because Adam and Eve disobeyed God. They strongly believed that this sin was washed away through Baptism. Most of the Catholics share God’s grace through the common Catholic prayers and this is an inspiration to the will of God. In the recent years, Catholic faith is the foundation of good things in the world. That’s the reason why they encourage a Jesus-centered teaching through the word of God.

There are several Catholic practices which include; the ceremonies based on the tradition and the dedication of creeds. They also emphasized much on sacraments which are Baptism, Eucharist, confirmation, and confession among others. These sacraments signify grace of God which is delivered to the church. In general, the church has seven sacraments and it is taught in every Catholic Church. Below is some of the brief overview of some sacraments;

Confirmation is known to be the second sacrament for Christian initiation. It is commonly known as chrismation as it involves the anointing of the chrism. As the term states, it confirms the power of baptismal gift. Another sacrament is the Eucharist which is also known as the Blessed Sacrament. This type of sacrament is the third one in Christian initiation. Catholics refer to it as the Holy Communion and they participate by taking the blood and the body of Jesus Christ.

Holy Orders can be described as the sacrament of service whereby a man is made a priest or a deacon and this is dedicated as the image of Christ. Once a bishop or priest is ordained, he has the role to teach in all churches as he has the power. Deacons, on the other hand, they are ordained to act like servants in church. They help the Bishops in church exercises like helping the needy or spreading the gospel. Matrimony is a sacrament that has a significant role in building up the church. It signifies the unity of Christ to the church which is recognized through the bond between spouses. Baptized people who are married receive holiness in their lives and also when bring up their children.

In history, Christianity and the church of today originate from the Catholic Church. It is also revealed in today’s world that the current teaching has influenced faith of Christians. The Catholic religion is ruled by the pope. According to the research, the large number of Hispanic Catholics increased widely in the United State territories. This generated to the widespread of catholic religion in the country. The Spanish language was widely used by most Hispanic immigrants but the second generation mainly used English.

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