The U.S. State Department’s International Religious Freedom Report 2007 observes that, though the Cuban Constitution “recognizes the right of citizens to profess and practice any religious belief within the framework of respect for the law, … in practice the Government continue[s] to place restrictions on freedom of religion.” In 1991 the Communist Party lifted its prohibition against religious believers seeking membership, and a year later the constitution was amended to characterize the state as secular instead of atheist, but the Cuban government still goes to great measures to control the religious practices of its people.
The multicultural make-up of Cuba is reflected in the various religions the people practice. Before the 1959 revolution, some sources say that 85 percent practiced Catholicism. However, the religion had been changed in some ways through a process known as syncretism in which aspects of other religious and cultural practices were integrated into the Catholic faith.
The primary syncretic belief in Cuba is Santeria, which developed from the native religions and was influenced strongly by the beliefs of African slaves imported in the 16th through 19th centuries. This religion combines aspects of many different traditional beliefs and Christianity. When slaves were brought to Cuba, they maintained many of their traditional beliefs while appearing to their owners to practice the required religion of Catholicism. Despite, or perhaps because of, its great number of followers, the Catholic Church became a target of Castro’s regime when the revolution occurred. In 1962, Castro’s government closed more than 400 Catholic schools, “charging that they spread dangerous beliefs among the people.”
Though other religions are practiced in Cuba today, the Catholic Church is the largest organized religion. Of Cuba’s 11.2 million citizens, about 45 percent of the Cuban population consider themselves Catholic (about 10 percent of whom attend mass regularly). This sharp decline in numbers — down from 85 percent before 1959 — has resulted not only because of the 1962 school closings, but also due to other governmental restrictions and controls. Many Catholic priests and officials were expelled from Cuba because of their involvement in anti-revolutionary activities. Today, the government restricts the number of new priests allowed to enter the country.
Though there is no official source of information on the number of people practicing any particular religion in Cuba, membership in Protestant churches is estimated at 530,000. Pentecostals report that membership has increased in the last several years, though no exact number is reported; Jehovah’s Witnesses claim over 86,000 members; Seventh-Day Adventists claim 30,000; Anglicans, 22,000; Presbyterians, 14,000; Methodists, 18,000; Mormons, 15 members; and the Jewish community, most of whom reside in Havana, is estimated at 1,200 members. The International Religious Freedom Report 2007 also claims that Baptists may be the largest Protestant denomination.
Cuba’s increasing membership in various religions is taking place despite continued interference from the government. Though restrictions have eased somewhat in the last decade or so, many obstacles are still faced by religious leaders and people trying to practice their faith.
Religious groups are required to register with the Registry of Associations for official recognition. To do this, the churches must disclose meeting places, demonstrate the source of funding, and certify that activities of another organization are not being duplicated by the church. Once a church is registered, its officials can obtain permission to travel abroad; receive foreign visitors and imported religious literature; and meet in officially recognized places of worship.
Unregistered churches must request exit permits on an individual basis and go to extralegal means to obtain religious materials.
Because the government rarely authorizes permits for new church construction, most churches must expand existing houses of worship. Even obtaining the permits for expansion or repairs and purchasing construction materials from government-controlled outlets is time consuming and expensive.
In the past, most religious groups have been able to hold services in private homes. However, in September 2005, the government enacted a controversial directive viewed as a restriction of house church operation.
The directive requires a registered house church to meet several requirements. It must not operate within two kilometers of another house church; must not hold meetings more than three times a week; and cannot be open except between 5 p.m. and 10 p.m. on workdays, and between 9 a.m. and 10 p.m. on other days.
In spite of restrictions on building, printing, broadcasting, prison visits, access to the Internet, training of new leaders, obtaining materials and religious education, church attendance is increasing in Cuba. Visitors from U.S. churches report a people who are searching for something their communist government cannot provide and who are open to and hungry for the teaching of God.
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