Roman Catholic Church in D.R.

[John]

What is the state of the Roman Catholic Church in the Dominican Republic? I hear the present Holy Father John Paul II may proclaim a Dominican Republic person a saint sometime (at least the cause is opened). Are the people very devoted to the Church, or is it more of a cultural thing?

 

[Tgf]

John, I'm not sure what you mean with your last question. The official religion of the Dominican Republic is Catholicism. The Catholic Church does have influence in the political process of the government. The higher clergy have no qualms about voicing their opinion on how the government should act. As for the average Dominican, it depends. Some are very religious and practice mainstream Catholic beliefs. Many of the poor rural Dominicans practice a form of Folk Catholicism - they mimic Catholic practices by performing folk baptism (echando agua) and form padrino and compadre bonds with people without actually have a Catholic priest involved or attending any required courses. This is partly done because of a lack of money, partly because of a lack of priests in rural areas, and partly because many people to not fulfill the requirements of the Church to engage in official rites. Folk velorios and velas are also very popular. Protestant groups, Mormons, and Jehovah Witnesses have also made many converts in the D.R. and their numbers are growing quickly. I have seen figures reflecting that as many as 15% of the present population are now attending other religious services. I would venture to say that the belief in God and Jesus is strong in the Dominican Republic, but the belief in any one form of worshiping is not as strongly delineated.

 

[Mercedes Devillier]

The rural communities in the D.R. do have the ritual of the "home baptism" (echando agua), which happens shortly after birth; but it does not substitute the church baptism. What it does is to prolong the time of the real baptism,so that (according to the believe) if the kid dies and has not been yet baptized by the priest he/she won't go to "LIMBO". For each event there is a set of padrinos for the bebe, compadre/comadre for the parents. So the kid has four sponsors. That's with the promisse that they will help that child grow in the catholic faith, "just in case mom and dad pass away while the kid is still young.

 

[Tgf]

I beg to differ. I know of many, many, Dominicans who have never followed up the home baptism with the official baptism in a Catholic Church. The reasons for this are clearly listed in my previous comment. You can follow whole generations of families who practice "folk Catholicism" but have never actually become offical members of the Church. Upper- and middle-class Dominicans are certainly likely to attend formal baptism but the level drops dramatically when dealing with the rural poor. I know this doesn't "substitute" for baptism in the Church according to the Church but it does in the eyes of many poorer Dominicans.