The Colombian paradox. Religion, democracy, and political violence*

Colombia is a paradoxically complex country–remarkably violent, democratic, and religious all at once. This article presents three claims regarding the responsibility of the Catholic Church hierarchy and civic society in this paradox. First, the Church shifted from partisanship during “La Violencia” (1948 to 1957) to legitimizing the political order proposed by the National Front (1958 to 1974). Second, while the 1886 Constitution recognized Catholicism as the state religion, this collapsed in the 1950s amid increasing pluralization and secularization. Third, Colombian religious practices tend to be formalistic, ritualistic, and driven by a social inertia rather than of personal convictions. This prevented the Catholic spirit from fostering an irenic civic culture that could have discouraged violent attitudes and perhaps curbed the rise of a widespread banality.