Churches in Ecuador

Churches are some of the most prominent, ornate and impressive buildings in Ecuador. When the Spanish Empire defeated the Incas in the early 1500s, they began to spread Catholicism throughout the indigenous communities. They built churches on top of Incan structures to erase the past and solidify power. Today you can see the original bases of the Incan buildings and Spanish churches rising out of them. These days Ecuador is over 90% Catholic, but many indigenous religious traditions continue intermixed.

The Spanish used religion to control the people. There was even a point in history only Catholics could become Ecuadorian citizens and get enjoy government benefits. While that has changed Catholic traditions are deeply mixed in daily life.

I always look at the opulence and gold and think about in Colonial times it was built to wow people into believing in Catholicism and submitting to Spanish control and honestly, it works on me. My heart skipped a beat in some of them. The beauty is awe inspiring. In Ecuador I was very impressed by elaborate wood carving that covered entire churches, much of it plated with gold. Others churches had intricate designs painted on their walls. Photos were not allowed in the most famous/important ones, but you’ll get the idea.

The churches in this post are from various places around the country.