Many Chileans who identify as Protestant are individuals from poorer groups within society. 1818 - Chile becomes independent with O'Higgins as supreme leader. In Global Church; Inés San Martín. The Catholic Church is currently one of the principal providers of education (including universities) and health care in the country and is involved in several initiatives to support different charities. Roman Catholicism is an integral part of Chile's history and culture, and the great majority of Chileans consider themselves Roman Catholic. Ferdinand Magellan was the first European to visit Chile in 1520. The previous religions got stamped out by the catholic friars because they wanted everyone to be Roman Catholic. Common areas of disagreement are abortion and divorce. The most popular branches of Protestantism in Chile are Pentecostal and Evangelical. The Catholic Church in Chile is part of the worldwide Roman Catholic Church, under the spiritual leadership of the Pope, the curia in Rome, and the Chilean Bishops Conference. The oldest football club in the country is the Valparaiso Football Club and it was formed in the port of Valparaiso. History. The name Mapuche encompasses several different indigenous groups inhabiting southern Chile and Argentina, each sharing the Mapudungun language, along with many customs and traditions. [16], The National Office of Religious Affairs facilitates inter-religious dialogue and promotes tolerance of religious diversity.[16]. How important is religion in your life? These practices were simply acce… Religion. Religion has played a significant role in social and political life throughout Chilean history. Although the percentage of Chileans who identify as Protestant is substantially lower than those who identify as Catholic, the popularity of Protestantism is steadily increasing. Other articles where History of Chile is discussed: Chile: History: At the time of the Spanish conquest of Chile in the mid-16th century, at least 500,000 Indians inhabited the region. If accurate, these numbers makes the LDS Church the single largest denomination in Chile after Catholicism. Religion has played a significant role in social and political life throughout Chilean history. Older generations of Chileans will celebrate their saint's day as much as their birthday. Catholicism was introduced in Chile in the 16th century by Spanish colonialists and continues to thrive today. Buy your unique college paper and have "A+" grades or get access to database of 643 religions in chile essays samples. Islam has enjoyed a long history in Chile. Chile erstreckt sich auf dem südamerikanischen Kontinent über 4275 Kilometer in Nord-Süd-Richtung entlang der Anden und des Pazifischen Ozeans (zählt man den antarktischen Teil hinzu, circa 8000 Kilometer), ist aber durchschnittlich nur circa 180 Kilometer breit. The church itself reports that it has 543,628 members in Chile, which is equal to about 3.3% of the population. The Catholic missions in Chile were administered by Spain’s Department of Colonial Affairs, a secular body. [16], Religious organizations are not required to register with the government, but may do so to receive tax breaks. the most recent global estimates cited in the CIA World Factbook. In Chilean society, religion plays an important role and has always been relevant in events throughout our history. Immaculate Conceptio… [16], Leaders of the Jewish community have expressed concerns about incidences of antisemitic vandalism and graffiti targeting Jews. From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. Most of the native population in the northern and central regions was evangelized by 1650. [16], According to Christian Solidarity Worldwide, arsonists attacked Baptist and Catholic churches in the primarily indigenous Mapuche communities in the rural Araucania Region in 2017. A functioning community wasn't founded in Chile until 1940 with the beginning of the arrival of coordinated Baháʼí pioneers from the United States finding national Chilean converts and achieved an independent national community in 1963.