What is the purpose of document 1 and how does it evaluate the extent to which Christianity changed societies in Latin America in the period 1500–1800?
Source: Jacinto de la Serna, Catholic priest and religious scholar, manuscript written to aid priests
working among the Amerindian population of Mexico, 1656.
It is true that those first priests worked admirably, zealous to teach these poor ones [the Amerindians].
But for all this, the natives did not leave behind their deception and blindness, especially those who
were very distant from the main towns where the priests worked. Scattered in remote villages, the
doctrine and teaching did not reach them as was necessary. It was in those places that the Devil hit the
hardest, and it is from there that the principal teachers of idolatry continue to spill their venom and
persuade the people not to forget the ways of their ancestors. And when they perform their idolatries, it
is with such stealth and so hidden that they avoid discovery.
To better conceal their deception, they mix their idolatrous ceremonies with good, holy things, joining
light with darkness, venerating Christ our Lord, his Holy Mother, and the saints (whom some believe to
be gods), together with their idols. They even perform the holy sacraments while at the same time
making sacrifices to fire, sacrificing hens and animals, spilling cactus liquor in the church, offering their
idols food and drink, attributing to them any sickness that afflicts them, and asking their favors and
assistance in all matters. They also venerate the mountains of the Sierra Nevada and the volcano of
Toluca, where they go regularly to make sacrifices because it was there that they had their ancient
temples.