Peru

In the 500 years since the Spanish conquest of the territory, Catholicism played a hugely important role in shaping Peruvian society, at times in tandem and at times in competition with indigenous beliefs and practices and revolutionary and modern ideals.  In the last 50 years, both progressive and conservative Catholic proponents have competed to reshape Catholic life in Peru by means of liberation theology or institutions like Opus Dei and Sodalitium Christianae Vitae.  The impact of liberation theology has softened since its heyday, and the Sodalitum was suppressed by Pope Francis in 2024.  Leaders like the Bishop of Chiclayo, Robert Prevost, who became Pope Leo XIV in 2025, tried to cut a middle path through, recognizing the ways that most Catholics lived and practiced in that middle.  Amidst that, as is true elsewhere in Latin America, Evangelical churches have reshaped the religious landscape and the proportion of Catholics has shrunk.   

From a cultural and geographical perspective, it helps to think of Peru as consisting of three zones, each running roughly north-south. The coastal lowlands, including the capital, Lima, are the most Westernized or globalized and where the great majority of the population lives.  The Andes mountains, which run at high elevations like a spine down the center of the country, are home to Quechua and Aymara Indigenous peoples and their cultures.  The largest zone, the Amazonian jungle east of the Andes, is home to people from dozens of cultures.  Though it comprises 60% of Peruvian territory, this region is home to only 5% of Peru’s people.

The entries on Peru on this site thus far focus on the city of Ayacucho, a small city in the Andes whose mestizo culture bears witness to a mix of Quechua and European influences.