Masters of Idolatry: Catholic Colonialism, Jesuit Conversionary Thought, and Indigenous Religious Traditions in the Spanish Pacific World, 1568--1672

It is the objective of this dissertation to trace the development of Jesuit conversion thought and to demonstrate how the Society of Jesus attempted to simultaneously establish Christianity and wage spiritual and physical warfare against Indigenous religious traditions and the specialists of these traditions. In essence, this study shows how the Society of Jesus (Jesuits) sought to destroy Indigenous and African religious traditions, which they defined as idolatry. The Jesuits, as Catholic missionaries, frequently worked with the Spanish colonial state and, at times, willingly functioned as its representatives. Jesuit missionaries did not intend to preserve any "Gentile" elements believed to be idolatrous, evil, or the product of the devil. Those cultural aspects that the Jesuits did not actively seek to eradicate, such as Indigenous languages, were used as instruments against that which they perceived to be idolatry.;This study consists of seven chapters and is divided into three parts. Part I provides the European background of the Society of Jesus; part II analyzes Jose de Acosta's theology and his articulation of Spanish Jesuit missiology; and part III focuses on the development of Jesuit conversionary thought after Acosta.