Development of the dominican development church history essay

The church in Dominican has a history of development with politics that is similar to that of Latin American churches. The church remains significant in fight for independence and set up of new republics. To begin with, the church was seen to support Spanish Crown during the fight for independence and thereafter, took side with conservative political parties that assumed power after independence. The church is said to have been against liberalism and all other branches of liberalism which include communism and socialism. The developments in both twentieth and in the nineteenth century show that the church was not monolithic but was diverse in various political views. The political instability of the Dominican Republic hindered the development of the popular church in the same area. The climax of political instability was marked between 1906 and 1911 after the collapse of the Heureaux rule. The political setting was such that the church was not allowed to own property. The Dominican church was small and thus it was submissive to the state by relying on financial support. Development of the Dominican church is similar to that of most churches in Latin America. The church fought against Protestantism and secularization. The church political alliances continued from the nineteen to the twentieth century. The Dominican Church did not ‘ however’ benefit from conservative political support after independence because its hierarchy had then collapsed. The church ‘ however’ resolved its eminent issues later in 1870 and regained its strong position in the history of the country. The involvement of the church in political matters left a strong legacy in the entire political arena. The beginning of the government of Pittini build basis for the contemporary church in Dominion Republic. He expanded the dominion of the Catholic Church from one to at least five dioceses in the nation. In addition, he led to the creation of a minor seminar, and multiplied the number of catholic allied schools and organizations in the country. Pittini led negotiations that resulted in the signing the treaty that has framed the Catholic Church and its relations with the state until today. However, Pittini led the church to Trujillo’s regime so as to gain financial support in exchange for ideological and political support. Leaders of churches in Dominican Republic had a neo-Christendom dream for the whole world. They knew that by gaining political significance the church would have influence to the national politics. The impacts of the legacy created by these leaders have remained significant in the history of the Latin American church. The Difference between the Development of Dominican Republic Church and other ChurchesThe popular church in Dominican Republic is said to have been under developed when compared to other churches in Bolivia, Guatemala, Nicaragua and El Salvador. Unlike the other mentioned churches, the church mediations did not yield complete success in promoting dialogue. However, at the end of the mediations the church secured a significant position in the political system of the Dominican Republic. The church priests held local mediations which were not significant in the national politics. Though the church remained significant in the national political system, it remained completely submissive to the political institution. In terms of property ownership, the church had no authority to own property whatsoever. Despite making substantial impact in the entire Dominican Republic, there is no formal state religion. However, in 1954, the government signed an agreement with the Vatican that allowed catholic religion to exercise special powers and privileges unlike other religions. These privileges include the use of state funds to undertake church related projects such as church construction and rehabilitation. In a similar note, church groups in the Dominican Republic are not free in various ways. This is evident in the fact that religious groups have to register with the government in order to be assumed as legal. After registration, these groups must seek exemption from customs by presenting a written note to the president. The process of registration and request for custom exemption is quite lengthy and bureaucratic. Currently, in the Dominican Republic, only catholic weddings are recognized as legal unions. Another religious limited factor is that the bible is not allowed to be read in private school weekly gatherings. These are aspects to show that the Dominican Development church did not develop to further extents like its counterparts in Guatemala, Bolivia, El Salvador and Nicaragua. The mediations of the Catholic Church in Dominican RepublicMediations by the Catholic Church stand to be significant in the political society of the Dominican Republic. The mediations so referenced were aimed at integrating the church into political mainstreams. The Catholic Church played a crucial role in 1965 when Emmanuelle Clarizio launched mediations between the United States and the Constitutionalist. He wanted to bring agreement between these two political sides and ensure that they end the political war. Later in 1970, Hugo Polanco a church messenger mediated upon conflicts that had arisen due to the kidnapping of Colonel Crowley of the US. Polanco also offered mediations in 1974 and 1978 after the eruption of election related campaigns. In all these mediations the church did not offer biased support to any side of the political factors. The idea of church being non-partisan is demonstrated in the November 1980 statement that was issued by the church bishops. The statement outlined the stand of the church in relation to the government and politics. It stated that the role of the church is to look for fair political formulas and models but does not opt for any political party or system. Political parties, business persons, the press and the entire government received this letter with great enthusiasm. They were delighted by the firm stand taken by the church in the midst of strong political wave. The church hierarchy sent message to all social movements and political parties that it was going to undertake a non non biased role in the politics. Being unbiased did not mean that the church would remain disinterested in political stability and order of the nation. It rather meant that the church was not going to back up any political movement in the fight for power. The church wanted to remain influential in the national politics but with no favor on political movements or parties. This is a factor that led to the establishment of a significant position for the church in the political system as a pillar in the political arena of the society. The church was willing to take part in the political arena so as to promote means of resolving political and social conflicts via mediations.