Catholic Influence in Colombia

Gabriel Garcia Marquez's "Chronicles of a Death Foretold" is set in the 1950s in Colombia; where Catholicism is heavily influenced. In 2018 it was recorded that there were 49 million Colombians, and approximately 90% of those are Catholic. Therefore, it is easy to conclude that the Catholic Church would heavily influence the Colombian people. For atheists in Colombia, they are considered the minority, but they still have to participate in Catholic events and celebrations. Could Gabo be commenting on the extreme pressure of religion through his novella? (I dont know...just a thought). 

In the daily language with the Colombian people, many phrases include; "Si dioz quiere" (God willing), "Dios te bendiga" (God bless you), and "Gracias a dios" (thank God). Furthermore, Catholicism is extremely important to the Colombian culture that even their regular phrases include religion. As well as that, even important Catholic events ( Baptism, communion, confirmation, marriage and so forth), had become synonymous with religion and culture.

Also, Catholicism believes that religion and state are the same, which leads to why the Pope in the president of Vatican City and how in Colombia religion impacts their politics greatly. A survey in 2014 showed that 93% of Colombians approved Pope Francis, and a majority said that for whatever occurrence in their life they justify it by "Porque dios quiere" (because God wants it). In addition, Colombia has suffered from many political conflicts including the FARC which are basically: "The Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia are Colombia's largest rebel group. They were founded in 1964 as the armed wing of the Communist Party and follow a Marxist-Leninist ideology" (which I know the whole Lit class must love). The FARC is not religious oriented and is against the Church and State being one (whereas Catholics truly believe in), which would ultimately cause many disputes between the Colombian people. This leads to that Catholicism impacts Colombia to an extent that there is a rebel group that is against the church.