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Venezuela MODERNIZATION, SOCIAL VALUES, AND RELIGION
Venezuelan society of the late twentieth century was
clearly
in transition. After centuries of isolation as a rural
backwater
in Latin America, Venezuela has become a respected voice
in world
councils because of its oil riches. Most of its population
has
moved to the cities, and well-to-do Venezuelans have
traveled
around the world in search of recreation and diversion.
Economic
growth, urbanization, industrialization, improved
education, and
expanded opportunities for women have changed the nation's
character dramatically. Improved transportation,
widespread radio
and television access, the availability of numerous
national
newspapers, and the delivery of government services even
in
remote areas combined to make regionalism largely a thing
of the
past. Caracas was greatly influenced by developments in
Miami and
other foreign commercial and cultural centers; the rest of
the
country, in turn, felt the reverberations of the capital's
growth
and change.
The rapid pace of change has had a tremendous impact in
such
areas as the emerging role of women in Venezuela. Women
have
occupied positions in the cabinet and have held prominent
jobs in
the political parties and in labor unions. More than a
dozen
women representatives had served in the Chamber of
Deputies up
until the 1988 elections. A number of women also held top
positions in private enterprises. Approximately as many
women as
men attended postsecondary institutions; in some
departments,
women outnumbered their male counterparts.
For the middle-class woman who wanted to combine job
and
family careers there was still the support provided by the
extended family and the availability of maids, who often
were
recent migrants from the Andean region or from Colombia.
As the
extended family progressively shrank and the traditional
pool of
poor and uneducated women grew progressively smaller,
Venezuelan
professional women had begun clamoring for day-care
facilities.
As of 1990, more progressive and larger firms were
beginning to
provide such facilities, but the main push was for the
provision
of these services by the government. Meanwhile, an active
feminist movement was particularly strong in the capital
and the
major cities, and women's studies were beginning to make
their
appearance among the university offerings.
Some social observers claimed that the rapid change in
women's roles was attributable, at least in part, to the
traditional weakness of the Venezuelan Roman Catholic
Church when
compared, for example, with the church in neighboring
Colombia.
Some 90 percent of Venezuelans were baptized in the Roman
Catholic faith, but most had little regular contact with
the
church. The number of Protestants continued to grow,
mainly as a
result of the tremendously successful proselytizing
efforts among
shantytown dwellers by charismatic and evangelical sects,
and had
reached about 5 percent of the population in the 1990s. A
Jewish
population of several thousand was concentrated in the
major
cities, especially in Caracas and Maracaibo. A minuscule
number
of Indians, particularly in the Amazon area, continued to
practice their traditional religions, but many had adopted
Roman
Catholicism. This was particularly true among the Guajiro
near
Maracaibo and on the Colombian border. A few other
religions were
represented in very small numbers. Religious freedom is
guaranteed by the nation's 1961 Constitution.
Relations between the Roman Catholic Church and the
Venezuelan state have been harmonious throughout most of
the
twentieth century. They continued to be peaceful even
after the
1958 coup d'état against Pérez Jiménez, in spite of the
fact that
the church had supported the dictator in his early years
as
president. Relations between the church and AD were
somewhat
strained during the
trienio (see Glossary), mainly because
the church felt threatened by some of the AD government's
liberal
reforms. As the corruption of the Pérez Jiménez regime
became
increasingly apparent, however, the church began to
disassociate
itself from his rule and to support a return to democracy
(see The Transition to Democratic Rule
, ch. 1).
Although there is no official state church, the Roman
Catholic Church enjoyed close ties to the government and
could be
perceived as a national church. The COPEI, the second
largest
political party, was originally organized by Roman
Catholic lay
leaders, even though it has since broadened its appeal to
Venezuelans of all religious persuasions.
The Venezuelan church was not well endowed
economically. It
owned little property and received only limited private
contributions. The government contributed a large part of
the
church's operating expenses through a special division of
the
Ministry of Justice. Government funds generally covered
the
salaries of the hierarchy, certain lesser functionaries
attached
to the more important episcopates, a limited number of
priests,
and the missionaries to the Indians. In addition,
government
contributions sometimes paid for religious materials, for
construction and repair of religious buildings, and for
other
projects submitted by bishops and archbishops and approved
by the
ministry.
Attitudes toward the church varied with education and
social
class, but it was generally viewed as a traditional
institution
involved more in ritual than in day-to-day contact with
its
members. Venezuelans generally practiced a form of Roman
Catholicism that adhered loosely to church doctrine but
was often
deeply emotional in its manifestations. Religious laxity
was
widespread, as was a low level of general knowledge of the
basic
tenets of the faith. During the latter half of the
twentieth
century, Venezuela has become a much more secular and
materialistic society, less committed to the traditional
social
primacy of the church.
In all social classes, religion was regarded as the
proper
sphere of women. Generally more conscientious in religious
practice, women were expected to assume the duty of
providing the
religious and moral education of children. For girls,
early
religious and moral training was followed by close
supervision in
accordance with the socially protected status of women.
Boys,
however, were not encouraged to pursue the priesthood, and
Venezuela historically has had a very low percentage of
vocations. As a result, most of its clergy were foreign
born.
Adherence to traditional Roman Catholic beliefs was
stronger
in the rural areas, especially in the Andean states, than
in the
urban centers. Many of the original leaders of COPEI came
from
the Andean states. Massive internal migration to the
cities,
however, had lessened considerably the influence of these
old
strongholds of Roman Catholicism at the national level.
Traditionally, one of the most significant and
important
areas of church involvement in society was education.
Roman
Catholic schools historically have educated the children
of the
middle and upper classes. Because many schools were
supported
only by tuition fees, their costs were prohibitive for
lowerclass groups. Spurred by the social encyclicals issued
from Rome
in the 1960s and challenged by the proselytizing of
Protestant
groups, the church's hierarchy has sought to establish
greater
control over the schools, to admit greater numbers of
scholarship
students, and to increase the number of schools charging
little
or no tuition. As a result, by the middle of the 1970s an
estimated two-thirds or more of Roman Catholic schools and
colleges were free or partly free.
The church has always felt a special obligation to help
educate and Christianize the Indians. In the 1920s and
1930s, the
government entered into a series of agreements with the
church
that assigned the regions of the upper Orinoco, the
western
Zulia, the Caroní, and the Tucupita rivers to the
Capuchin,
Dominican, and Salesian religious orders. Educational work
has
been carried out in conjunction with the plans of the
Indian
Commission of the Ministry of Justice.
Although Venezuelan culture was a mixture of Hispanic,
Indian, and African elements, comparatively rapid
integration of
large segments of the population prevented the syncretic
blending
of animistic and Roman Catholic beliefs so common in other
Latin
American countries. The culturally embracing nature of
Venezuelan
Catholicism was symbolized in the national patroness, the
mestiza
María Lionza, a popular figure among Venezuelans of all
social
classes. The cult of María Lionza presented a striking
synthesis
of African, Indian, and Christian beliefs and practices.
She was
worshipped as a goddess of nature and protectress of the
virgin
forests, wild animals, and the mineral wealth in the
mountains,
and certain traits of her character also paralleled those
of the
Virgin Mary in Roman Catholic tradition.
The worship of María Lionza was particularly widespread
among
urban dwellers in the shantytowns, many of whom had
recently
migrated to the big cities and felt the need for a
blending of
Christian and traditional indigenous beliefs. At the same
time,
beliefs and practices related to magic and spiritual
healing that
combined Roman Catholic, African, and Indian elements
could be
found in remote rural areas, especially in the Andean
states. In
keeping with the ethnic and cultural background of many
coastal
communities, African elements predominated in their
rituals.
Traditional Indian healers still practiced their craft
among the
remaining tribes.
Data as of December 1990
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