Why Did More Indians Choose to Become Catholics Rather Than Protstants

“Why did more Indians choose to become Catholics rather than Protestants?”

During the 16th century, huge religious movements were happening as people began to travel to the new world. Many Indians became Catholic over being protestant, but wasn’t always because that’s what they wanted. Many Indians were ripped from their homes and forced by settlers into believing that they wanted them to believe. The reason Indians were mostly Catholic was not because of preference, it was because, at the time, there was a greater influx of people to the colonies with Catholic ideals as opposed to Protestant and the settlers forced them to convert. When the Spaniard’s came to the colonies, the Protestant Reformation was going on back at home. To get away from the movement many Catholics saw the opportunity to go over seas and practice their religion freely. When many of these Catholics got over to the colonies they were often in charge of the Indian settlers on their land. Often times they were segregated into groups and then converted based off of what the controlling party’s beliefs were. For many they were converted into Catholicism because so many of the people coming from over seas at that time were Catholic. The Indians never had a say in the religion they were able to practice. They were ripped from their homes and families, stripped of their language and way of life. Many of them had to convert right away to the English ideals by learning to read and write in English. They were even given English names, and forced to in the “Christian” religion. It all comes down to the bigger demographic of people, and the Catholic religion had a greater impact on the Indians because they had greater numbers. Not only were the Indians forced into thinking a certain way, they were also manipulated. Often times, the Spanish took the Indian’s idols and substituted them for Christian figures. A great example of this would be the Virgin Mary. Because they looked up to her so much, having her influence strongly swayed the Indians into converting and believing Catholic beliefs. Having the ability to do this in the Christian religion really made a bigger impact when it came to converting to either Catholicism or being Protestant. At the end of the day however, it really didn’t matter because the monks were nice to them and because they were nice they were greatly influence into Catholicism. In the 16th century, you really had no choice when it came to religion if you were an Indian. The colonies (Indian land) were a new land of opportunity that the Spanish, and people from all over the world, were flocking to. When the new settlers arrived, the Indians were treated as if they didn’t matter and were converted religiously by the people on their lands. It never came down to the choice for being a Catholic or a Protestant, it was about who was there to influence who. Because of the Protestant Reformation going on over seas, many Catholics were looking for a way out and that way out was the Indians land in the land of opportunity. Indians never had a choice; they were more conquered by the Catholic religion because there happened to be a greater influx of Catholic rather than protestant in the 16th century.