Aaron Kreider Date Due: March 20, 1997 Liberation Theologies Christians and the Sandinista Revolution: God on Whose Side? For the past hundred years Marxism and Christianity have been viewed as mutually exclusive doctrines. However in 1979, the Sandinistas, with Christians in their ranks, won power in Nicaragua. What then was the relationship between the Sandinistas and popular and traditional Church both before and after the revolution? The Sandinistas allied themselves with radical Christians and once in power they were quickly enveloped into a politically based dispute with the conservative church hierarchy. Background of the Catholic Church The Catholic Church in Nicaragua traditionally sided with the elite and the government, whether Liberal or Conservative. It urged people to obey the state, as shown in a statement made by the bishops in 1950: "[A]ll authority comes from God. God is the Author of all that exists, and from the Author comes Authority; [faithful Catholics] should remember that when they obey the Political Authority, they do not dishonor themselves, but rather they act in a way that basically constitutes obeisance to God." (qtd. Gilbert 131) In another example of where the church stood, when the dictator died in 1956, the archbishop of Managua offered 200 days of indulgences to any Catholic who would pray for him. Eventually the Church changed over time, new bishops were appointed, and liberation theology began to make inroads. Small base communities were formed that studied the Bible, sought to apply its teachings to their daily lives, and became involved in politics. In 1970 Miguel Obando became archbishop of Managua. He was from the liberal tradition of the Church, and his criticism of Somoza was repaid with threats and accusations of supporting the Sandinistas (Belli 145). By the Seventies the Church hierarchy was neither conservative nor radical, with the bishops refusing to make a practical choice between the doctrines of capitalism and socialism (Belli 147). Background of the FSLN At its inception, the FSLN (Sandinista National Liberation Front) was strongly influenced by Marxian theory and thus its first members were not Christians (Gilbert 130). Later however the FSLN recognized the importance of allying itself with proponents of liberation theology in the struggle against Somoza. The official FSLN position on religion written in 1969 stated the following: VIII. Respect for Religious Beliefs The Sandinista people's revolution will guarantee the population of believers the freedom to profess any religion. A. It will respect the right of citizens to profess and practice any religious belief. B. It will support the work of priests and other religious figures who defend the working people. (qtd. Rosset Vandermeer 145) Christian Sandinistas Not only were Christians active in the civil movement against Somoza, but their political base communities supported guerrillas, and some fought on side with the FSLN (Reiter 287, 288). Spaniard Antonio Sanjines explained, "As a Christian and a priest, I never had any doubts about joining Frente Sandinista and taking up arms in defense of the poor." (Reiter 288). The radical Christians who joined the Sandinistas were doing what they saw necessary to help the poor by creating a new economic system under which economic oppression would cease. When the Sandinistas first formed a government three ministers along with five of the 104 members of the assembly were all radical Christians, and at least another six had been at once (Gilbert 148). One former Christian, Lu¡z Carri¢n, was one of the nine members of the National Directorate. He explained his move away from Christianity in 1979, I became involved in the revolution through a religious experience. My first motivations were of this type. My growing concern with the the concept of justice, my first search for identification with the people took this road.... As I began to advance and grow as a revolutionary, I found other reasons and other motivations. I developed an objective consciousness of the roots of exploitation, of the suffering of the people, and I began to see things from another perspective. (qtd. Gilbert 148) Others in the leadership were also not overtly practicing Christians, however Daniel Ortega had his children baptized, and Tom s Borge who often went to mass liked to draw parallels between his beliefs and those of Christianity (Gilbert 148, 149): "What is it to be a Christian? I am not an expert in theology... but if to be a Christian is to be good, if to be Christian is to be honest, if to be Christian is to profoundly respect others, if to be a Christian is to fill the soul and the heart with love toward others, I am a Christian." (qtd. Belli 142, 143) As with any party that studied Marx, there was a considerable faction who had strong atheist beliefs, but unlike the Soviet Union and Cuba, the Sandinistas were open to having Christians as members. The Church and the Revolution The Church refused to overtly support the revolution until the bishops issued a statement in June 1979, only a month before Somoza's fall, which declared that Christians fighting against Somoza would be doing so in accordance with Just War theory (Reiter 288). When on July 19, 1979, the FSLN took Managua, the archbishop actually held a victory mass (Gilbert 135). Then in November the bishops issued a favourable statement that supported socialism, while being wary of the potential for totalitarianism: "We are asked what we think of socialism... If it means, as it should, that the interests of the majority of Nicaraguans are paramount, and if it includes a model of an economic system planned with national interests in mind that is in solidarity with and provides for increased participation of the people... we deem it just..." (qtd. Belli 150) The Church Criticizes the Sandinistas However the Church turned away from the revolution. In October 1980, after the leaking of an internal FSLN memo that was critical of religion, the bishops issued a more negative letter. They warned the public that the Sandinistas were trying to subvert religion for their own political purposes and thus Christians ought to be wary of any association between the government and religion (Gilbert 138). During this time, the Church, notably archbishop Obando, became a focal point for opposition to the government (Gilbert 139). The Church hierarchy targeted and removed radical clergy who supported the revolution (Gilbert 140). In 1982 tensions between church and state began due to a series of incidents, and they reached a climax during Pope John Paul's visit to Nicaragua. On March 4, 1983, the pope said mass for half a million people, but his criticism of the popular church and the revolution caused some Sandinistas in the crowd to start chanting slogans and it ended in disaster (Gilbert 142, 143). This was a clear failure for the Sandinistas, and later a Contra FDN poster found in May declared: "The Pope is with us" (Gilbert 143). The Sandinistas "Attack" on the Church There were Sandinista atheists who would have liked to attack the Church, but for the most part it was persecuted due to its political opposition to the revolution (Gilbert 147, 151). The government divided Christians into two groups, based on political affiliation, and treated them differently (Belli 140). In a statement on Jan 1, 1981, it argued that: "The true Christians, the sincere Christians, embrace the option of the Sandinista revolution which today constitutes ... the option for the poor" (Belli 140). Liberation theology thinkers argued that it was the Christian's duty to be a Sandinista. In reaction the Church charged the FSLN for trying to use religion to gain adherents by subverting Christmas, giving speeches at popular religious festivals, and doing political religious propaganda without church approval (Belli 142). The inevitable conflict between the conservative Catholic Church and the Sandinistas resulted in charges that the Sandinistas were opposed to religious freedom, and that once again it has been shown that Marxism and Christianity were mutually exclusive. However in fact, the Sandinistas' attack upon religion was primarily misconstrued and it was a result of the conservative political interference of the Church. The Nicaraguan revolution still stands as the primary example of Christian, liberation theology inspired, involvement in building a new society, showing that Marxism and Christianity are not inherently incompatible. Works Cited Belli, Humberto. Breaking Faith. Westchester, IL: Crossway Books. 1985 Gilbert, Dennis. Sandinistas: the party and the revolution. New York: Basil Blackwell. 1988. Reiter, Jackie. "The Church Divided. The Nicaragua Reader. Eds. Peter Rosset & John Vandermeer. New York: Grove Press. 1983. 286-290. Sandinista National Liberation Front. "The Historic Program of the FSLN." The Nicaragua Reader. Eds. Peter Rosset & John Vandermeer. New York: Grove Press. 1983. 139-147.