Free Spanish Lesson 41 – La Religión

In English speaking países, especially the United States, there is a distinct separation entre church and state. Often it gets to the point donde la gente simplemente evita talking about religion altogether. In Latin America, this is very different.

Vocabulario semanal – Weekly Vocabulary

países – countries

entre – between

donde la gente simplemente evita – where people simply avoid

he experimentado esto – I have experienced this

era un misionero – I was a missionary

yo viví entre – I lived among

que viví allí – that I lived there

tanto – so much

por mi experiencia – by my experience

son Católicos – are Catholic

pero todavía hay – but there are still

unas veces al año – a few times a year

Santos Católicos – Catholic Saints

a diferencia de – unlike

en el gobierno – in the gove rnment

separación – separation

que me sorprendió – that surprised me

celebran – they celebrate

cada año – every (each) year

durante todo el mes – during the whole month

para llamar la atención – to attract the attention

otra nota cultural interesante – another interesting cultural note

que toman – (that) they take

hablé con unas personas – I talked to some people

una montaña – a mountain

y entonces – and then

aunque era misionero – even though I was a missionary

de otras religiones – from other religions

ahora, para cambiar el tema un poco – now, to change the topic a little

acerca de – about

la Virgen María – the Virgin Mary

se daría cuenta – you would realize (formal)

por favor escríbannos – please write us

nuestro curso – our course

por cinco años – for 5 years

He experimentado esto first hand because era un misionero for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, during two years, in a few Latin American countries. Yo viví entre the native people and didn’t have any full English conversations for all but two months que viví allí. This is one of the main reasons I have come to love the Latin people, culture, and Spanish language tanto.

In regard to the religion of Latin America, I would guess por mi experiencia that about 90 to 95% of Latin Americans son Católicos. In Latin America, they take their religion very seriously. Many are devout church-goers (I would guess a lot more than in the US) pero todavía hay many who claim to be religious who only go to church unas veces al año. Many Latin Americans claim to have dreams and visions about the Virgin Mary and other Santos Católicos.

A diferencia de the United States, in Latin America the Catholic Church is very involved en el gobierno, the schools, and civic organizations. There isn’t a clear separación of church and state like in the U.S.

One of the things que me sorprendió the most is that in some Latin American countries, celebran “mes morado” [mes more-daw-though], or in English — “purple month”. Cada año in October, some of them dress in their purple “habits” (robes) and wear them durante todo el mes as a sign of their religious devotion. Not many of the population do this; I would say maybe 5 to 10% of the people wore them. Basically, enough people wore them para llamar la atención of a foreigner like me.

Otra nota cultural interesante is that some of the mos t religiously dedicated people go on “campañas” [com-pawn-yaws] maybe once a year with their religious groups. A “campaña” is a type of religious trek que toman. Hablé con unas personas personally who had been involved with “campañas”; they said they would hike for a few days with a large group of people usually up into una montaña to some type of religious shrine y entonces they would pray and worship.

Aunque era misionero for a different church, I came to respect the Catholic Church and the many Catholics I became friends with (not to mention all of the wonderful people de otras religiones as well).

Ahora, para cambiar el tema un poco, I saw on the news a while ago a story about a Latin American family living in the U.S.; mixed in with the story was a Latin girl who claimed to have a vision acerca de la Virgen María. To people not familiar with the Latin culture, the story may have sounded very unusual. But, k nowing the Latin culture, se daría cuenta that this is a fairly common occurrence.

¡Adiós! (Good bye!)

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Written by David S. Clark President/Director, U.S. Institute of Languages. Copyright © 1999-2010 US Institute of Languages All rights reserved.

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