Catholicism and the View of the New World
Because of both its belief system and its long history, the Catholic Church has developed an extremely rich and compelling cultural heritage of art, music, and architecture. Catholics have always viewed the creation of beautiful images—pictures and sculptures of Jesus, or his mother, Mary, or of Angels and heaven; elegant chalices, plates and altars on which to perform communion rituals; and soaring cathedrals in which to worship—as a way to glorify God. When Catholics began exploring America, they argued that, just as great works of art were created to glorify God, the great riches and treasure that they could bring back from America were also ways to worship and please the Lord.
Catholics see their Church as the one true, universal religion. They believe that Jesus Christ came to Earth to save all people and bring them to heaven. They believe that everyone can earn salvation, and a place in heaven, by participating in the Catholic Church: receiving the sacraments, going to services, donating their time and resources to the Church and Church-run charities. Catholics worry that non-believers will not be able to get into heaven, and will instead spend time in either Purgatory (a sort of waiting room for heaven) or, at worst, Hell (a place of permanent torment and separation from God).
Because of these beliefs, Catholics in the 1500s and 1600s (during the European exploration and colonization of America) very much wanted to explain their Christian beliefs to the natives and convert them to Catholicism. Not only did this seem like the “right” thing to do—wanting to save the natives from ending up in Hell—but converting souls seemed like something that would please God and help the “converter” to earn grace and salvation as well.