|
International
Religious Freedom Report 2003: Cuba
U.S.
Department of State. Released by the
Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights and Labor
on December 18, 2003.
The Constitution recognizes the right of
citizens to profess and practice any religious
belief within the framework of respect for
the law; however, in law and in practice,
the Government places restrictions on freedom
of religion.
There was no change in the status of respect
for religious freedom during the period
covered by this report; however, overall
human rights conditions deteriorated sharply
as indicated by the Government's arrest,
summary trial, and jailing of 75 human rights
activists and independent journalists in
March and April, the biggest such crackdown
in more than two decades. In general, unregistered
religious groups continued to experience
varying degrees of official interference,
harassment, and repression. Some unregistered
religious groups were subject to official
censure, and also faced pressures from registered
religious groups. The Government's policy
of permitting apolitical religious activity
to take place in government-approved sites
remained unchanged; however, citizens worshipping
in officially sanctioned churches often
were subject to surveillance by state security
forces, and the Government's efforts to
maintain a strong degree of control over
religion continued.
There were some tensions among religions,
often because some religious groups perceived
others to be too close to the Government.
Tension within the Pentecostal movement
continued to increase due to the establishment
of house churches, which some churches believed
was fractious.
The U.S. Government has raised issues of
human rights, including religious discrimination
and harassment, with government officials;
however, the Government has dismissed these
concerns. The U.S. Government continuously
urges international pressure on the Government
to cease its repressive practices. The U.S.
Interests Section in Havana continues to
maintain regular contact with various religious
leaders.
Section I. Religious Demography
The country has a total area of 68,888
square miles, and its population is approximately
11 million. There is no independent authoritative
source on the size or composition of religious
institutions and their membership. A 1953
survey indicated that 93 percent of the
population identified themselves as Roman
Catholic. During the period covered by this
report, approximately 40 to 45 percent of
the population generally were believed to
identify themselves, at least nominally,
with the Roman Catholic Church, according
to information from the U.S.-based Puebla
Institute. A significant number of citizens
share or have participated in syncretistic
Afro-Caribbean beliefs, such as Santeria.
Some sources estimate that as much as 70
percent of the population practice Santeria
or la regla lucumi, which have their roots
in West African traditional religion.
The Baptists, represented in four different
conventions, are possibly the largest Protestant
denomination, followed closely by the Pentecostal
churches, particularly the Assemblies of
God. Twenty-two denominations, including
Presbyterians, Episcopalians, and Methodists,
are members of the Cuban Council of Churches
(CCC). Most CCC members are officially recognized
by the State, though several, including
the Evangelical Lutheran Church, are not
registered and are recognized only through
their membership in the CCC. Another 31
officially recognized denominations, including
Jehovah's Witnesses and the small Jewish
community, do not belong to the CCC.
Although much of the population is nominally
Roman Catholic, historically the country
has been a largely secular society without
an especially strong religious character.
Catholic Church officials usually estimate
that approximately 10 percent of baptized
Catholics attend Mass regularly. Membership
in Protestant churches is estimated at 500,000
persons. No figures on the number of Pentecostals
are available, although the Seventh-day
Adventists have stated that their membership
numbers are approximately 30,000 persons.
Prior to 2001, church attendance had grown
in some denominations, and increased substantially
at Catholic Church services following the
Pope's visit in 1998. However, both Catholic
and Protestant leaders believe that church
attendance peaked during 1999 and early
2000.
There are approximately 320 Catholic priests,
40 permanent deacons, and 650 nuns in the
country, less than half the total prior
to 1960. Overall numbers of church officials
are only slightly higher than before the
Papal visit, since most new arrivals replaced
retiring priests or those whose time of
service in the country had ended.
Foreign missionary groups operate in the
country through registered churches.
Section II. Status of Religious Freedom
Legal/Policy Framework
The Constitution recognizes the right of
citizens to profess and practice any religious
belief within the framework of respect for
the law; however, in law and in practice,
the Government places restrictions on freedom
of religion. The Constitution has provided
for the separation of church and state since
the early 20th century. In 1992 the Constitution
was changed, and references to scientific
materialism or atheism were removed. The
Government does not favor any one particular
religion or church; however, the Government
appears to be most tolerant of those churches
that maintain close relations to the State
through the CCC.
The Government requires churches and other
religious groups to register with the provincial
Registry of Associations within the Ministry
of Justice to obtain official recognition.
Registration procedures require groups to
identify where they will carry out their
activities, demonstrate that they have the
funding to carry out their activities, and
obtain certification from the Registry of
Associations that they are not duplicating
the activities of a previously registered
organization. Although no new denominations
were registered during the period covered
by this report, the Government has tolerated
some new religions on the island, such as
the Baha'i Faith and a small congregation
of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day
Saints (Mormons). However, in practice the
Government appears to have halted registration
of new denominations.
Registration facilitates the ability of
church officials to travel abroad and receive
foreign visitors, entitles them to receive
religious literature through the CCC, and
allows them to meet in officially recognized
places of worship. Conversely, members of
unregistered religious groups must request
exit permits on an individual basis, obtain
religious materials through extra-official
means, and risk the closure of their technically
illegal meeting places.
Along with recognized churches, the Roman
Catholic humanitarian organization Caritas,
the Masons, human rights groups, and a number
of nascent fraternal or professional organizations
are the only associations outside the control
or influence of the State, the Communist
Party, and their mass organizations. The
authorities continued to ignore other religious
groups' applications for legal recognition,
thereby subjecting members of such groups
to potential charges of illegal association.
The Government's main interaction with
religious denominations is through the Office
of Religious Affairs of the Cuban Communist
Party. The Ministry of Interior still engages
in efforts to control and monitor the country's
religious institutions, including surveillance,
infiltration, and harassment of religious
professionals and laypersons. For example,
in April the Government revealed that an
agent of the Ministry of the Interior had
contributed material to a Catholic publication
under the guise of being a dissident.
The Government has relaxed restrictions
on most officially recognized religious
denominations. In 1999 the secretary general
of the World Council of Churches officially
visited the CCC, met with government officials,
and presided in a religious ceremony in
the First Presbyterian Church in Havana.
Members of Jehovah's Witnesses, once considered
"active religious enemies of the revolution,"
are allowed to proselytize quietly door-to-door
and generally are not subject to overt government
harassment, although there continued to
be sporadic reports of harassment by local
Communist Party and government officials.
The Government has authorized small assemblies
of Jehovah's Witnesses and one large gathering
of as many as 7,000 persons, the opening
of a central office in Havana, and publication
of the group's magazine and other religious
tracts; these activities continued during
the period covered by this report.
Religious literature and materials must
be imported through a registered religious
group and can only be distributed to officially
recognized religious groups. The CCC controls
distribution of Bibles to its members and
to other officially recognized denominations.
The CCC reports that it has distributed
1.5 million Bibles since 1998. Bibles are
distributed among denominations according
to the number of members of each church.
Several Catholic diocese and lay groups
publish magazines, including "Palabra
Nueva" (New Word) of the Archdiocese
of Havana and "Vitral" (Stained
Glass Window) of the Diocese of Pinar del
Rio. The publications are not registered
with the Ministry of Culture, as required
by law. The Government has not blocked printing
or distribution of Catholic magazines; however,
the State impedes access to printing equipment
and has accused the editor of one magazine
of subversive behavior for writing about
sensitive political and social issues.
Since 1992 the Communist Party has admitted
as members persons who openly declare their
religious faith.
The Government allowed 9 foreign priests
and 12 foreign nuns into the country to
replace priests and nuns whose visas had
expired; however, the applications of 60
priests and 130 nuns remained pending at
the end of the reporting period.
Restrictions on Religious Freedom
The Marxist-Leninist ideology of the Government
led to strong confrontations with institutional
churches in the early 1960s. During that
period, many church leaders and religious
professionals left the country, fearing
persecution. More than 130 Catholic religious
workers, including priests, were expelled,
and a few served long prison terms. From
1965-67 the Government forced many priests,
pastors, and others "who made religion
a way of life" into forced labor camps
called Military Units to Aid Production
(UMAPS), alongside homosexuals, vagrants,
and others considered by the regime to be
"social scum." The UMAP system
ended in 1967. However, over the following
30 years, the Government and the Communist
Party systematically discriminated against
and marginalized persons who openly professed
their faith by excluding them from certain
jobs (such as teaching). Although the Government
abandoned its official atheism in the early
1990s, most churches had been weakened seriously,
and active participation in religious services
fell drastically.
In early 2001, the Communist Party in Havana
prepared a document criticizing inroads
into society made by churches, particularly
the Catholic Church, and suggested ways
in which party officials could supercede
the pastoral work of the church. This document
stated that churches were asserting themselves
into secular society by violating laws and
regulations. The church activities criticized
by the report included helping the sick
and elderly.
In February 2003, the Archbishop of Havana
issued a pastoral letter lamenting the disintegration
of Cuban families and the extreme pressure
to emigrate, and called upon the Government
to shift from "policies of vengeance"
to "policies of compassion." In
March 2003, the Government invited a new
Catholic order to establish a presence in
Cuba without first coordinating with the
Cuban Catholic Church; however, the Government
failed to take any action on previous requests
from the Cuban Catholic Church on behalf
of 15 other orders. Many observers viewed
the Government's invitation as retaliation
for the Archbishop's critical statements
in February.
In March 2003, the Cuban Ambassador to
the Vatican asserted in an article in the
Italian magazine "30 Giorni" that
complete religious freedom existed in Cuba
and urged the Cuban Catholic Church to register
its publications with the Ministry of Culture.
The Cuban Conference of Catholic Bishops
responded by sending an open letter to the
editor of "30 Giorni" criticizing
the Office of Religious Affairs of the Cuban
Communist Party for exerting strict control
over the activities of the Catholic Church,
especially State restrictions on religious
education and Church access to the mass
media. The Bishops' letter noted that the
Catholic Church had declined to register
its publications because registration would
force it to concede control to the State
regarding the subject matter, number of
pages, frequency, and number of copies of
Catholic Church publications.
The law allows for the construction of
new churches once the required permits are
obtained; however, the Government rarely
has authorized construction permits, forcing
many churches to seek permits to meet in
private homes. Most registered religious
groups are granted permission to hold services
in private homes. Religious groups must
obtain a permit to reconstruct and repair
existing places of worship. The process
of obtaining a permit and purchasing construction
materials from government outlets is lengthy
and expensive. In October 2002, the Government
authorized the Greek Orthodox Church to
build a church in Havana.
In March 2001, the Italian news agency
ANSA reported that provincial leaders of
the Communist Party requested the authorities
to ensure that the charitable work and donations
provided by religious groups be limited.
The party officials apparently believed
that churches, especially the Catholic Church,
had gained community support, which threatened
the continued rule of the Communist Party,
through such activities. Following the publication
of the article, Communist Party leaders
in Havana reportedly apologized to the Catholic
Church hierarchy.
Following April 2000 complaints by the
Pentecostals regarding unauthorized foreign
missionaries (see Section III), the CCC
has continued to request that overseas member
church organizations assist them in controlling
foreign missionaries and prohibiting them
from establishing unauthorized Pentecostal
churches.
Religious officials are allowed to visit
prisoners; however, prison officials sometimes
refuse visits to certain political prisoners.
In July 2002, prison officials denied religious
visits to Enrique Garcia Morejon of the
Christian Liberation Movement. For a religious
visit to take place, the prisoner must submit
a written request, and the prison director
must grant approval. In punishment cells,
prisoners were denied access to reading
materials, including Bibles.
The Government continued to enforce a regulation
that prevents any Cuban or joint enterprise
(except those with specific authorization)
from selling computers, facsimile machines,
photocopiers, or other equipment to any
church at other than the official--and exorbitant--retail
prices. Additionally, the Government denies
access to the Internet to some religious
groups, including the Catholic Church.
Members of the armed forces do not attend
religious services in their uniform, probably
to avoid possible reprimand by superiors.
Education is secular and no religious educational
institutions are allowed. Religious instruction
in public schools is not permitted. In the
past, students who professed a belief in
religion were stigmatized by other students
and teachers and were disciplined formally
for wearing crucifixes and for bringing
Bibles or other religious materials to school.
In some cases in the past, these students
were prohibited from attending institutions
of higher learning or from studying specific
fields; however, recently students who profess
a belief in religion have been permitted
to attend institutions of higher education.
Churches provide religious education classes
to their members. Catholic Church officials
report that the number of children attending
catechism classes has continued to drop,
mostly because of other scheduled activities,
usually by local school authorities. There
have been no reports of parents being restricted
from teaching religion to their children.
Church officials have encountered cases
of religious persons experiencing discrimination
because of ignorance or personal prejudice
by a local official. Religious persons do
encounter employment problems in certain
professions, such as education.
Religious groups are required to submit
a request to the local ruling official of
the Communist Party before being allowed
to hold processions or events outside of
religious buildings. In September 2002,
local government authorities, for the fifth
consecutive year, allowed the Catholic Church
to hold an outdoor procession to mark the
feast day of Our Lady of Charity in Havana.
Prior to the event, security police ordered
a number of human rights activists in Santiago
not to attend the procession. On September
8, thousands of persons attended the various
Masses held throughout the day in honor
of Our Lady of Charity, the patron saint
of the imprisoned. There were smaller, local
processions throughout the provinces during
the period covered by this report.
Abuses of Religious Freedom
The Government monitors all religious groups,
including registered and established institutions.
The authorities also monitor church-run
publications. Government harassment of private
houses of worship continued, with evangelical
denominations reporting evictions from houses
used for those purposes. According to CCC
officials, most of the private houses of
worship closed were unregistered, making
them technically illegal.
There were continued sporadic reports that
local Communist Party and government officials
harassed members of Jehovah's Witnesses;
however, church officials reported that
the number of such incidents decreased.
State security officials visited some priests
and pastors prior to significant religious
events, ostensibly to warn them that dissidents
are trying to "use the Church";
however, some critics claimed that these
visits were conducted in an effort to foster
mistrust between the churches and human
rights or pro-democracy activists. In May
and June, State security agents warned the
wives of several political prisoners that
they would be arrested if they joined other
wives of political prisoners for Mass at
Havana's Santa Rita Catholic Church. Some
of the wives continued to attend Mass together
on a weekly basis, but said they feared
Government retaliation against them or against
their jailed husbands.
The Ministry of the Interior continued
to engage in efforts to control and monitor
religious activities, and to use surveillance,
infiltration, and harassment against religious
groups and religious professionals and lay
persons.
In April 2000, a leading editor of one
of the Catholic Church's magazines was criticized
in a major editorial of the Communist Party's
newspaper as a "known counter-revolutionary."
In April 2003, the Government described
the same Catholic Church magazine as "subversive
literature" during the summary trials
of 75 political prisoners arrested in March.
There were no reports of religious prisoners
or detainees.
Forced Religious Conversion
There were no reports of forced religious
conversion, including of minor U.S. citizens
who had been abducted or illegally removed
from the United States, or of the refusal
to allow such citizens to be returned to
the United States.
Section III. Societal Attitudes
Most persons largely define themselves
as Roman Catholic, although few attend Mass
regularly. Catholicism has remained a major
cultural reference since colonial times.
After 40 years of the current regime, societal
attitudes, including those toward religion,
are conditioned heavily by the attitude
of Fidel Castro and the ruling regime. The
Government's decision to allow, and even
provide some support for, the 1998 Papal
visit greatly boosted the public perception
that espousing religious faith was again
acceptable. Fidel Castro further cemented
this view, most importantly among Communist
Party adherents and government officials,
in nationally televised and broadcast speeches
in which he claimed that the Cuban Revolution
had "never" persecuted religious
believers.
There were some tensions among religions,
often because some religious groups perceived
others to be too close to the Government.
Tension within the Pentecostal movement
continued to increase due to the establishment
of house churches, which some churches believed
was fractious, and resulted in Government
action against Pentecostal worshippers.
In addition, Pentecostal members of the
CCC have complained that the preaching activities
of unauthorized foreign missionaries has
led some of the members of their churches
to establish new denominations without obtaining
the required permits (see Section II).
The CCC is the only ecumenical body that
is recognized by the Government. It comprises
many Protestant and Pentecostal denominations
and engages in dialog with the Catholic
Church and the Jewish community. The CCC
and the Government generally have a mutually
supportive relationship.
Section IV. U.S. Government Policy
U.S. Government policy toward Cuba is to
promote a rapid, peaceful transition to
democracy and respect for human rights,
including religious freedom, and the U.S.
Government encourages the development of
civil society, which includes the strengthening
of religious institutions. The U.S. Interests
Section in Havana maintains regular contact
with the various religious leaders and communities
in the country, and supports nongovernmental
organization initiatives that aid religious
groups. The U.S. Government regularly seeks
to facilitate the issuance of licenses for
travel by religious persons and for donated
goods and materials that in some cases are
provided to religious institutions. The
U.S. Interests Section has raised issues
of human rights, including religious discrimination
and harassment, with government officials;
however, the Government has dismissed these
concerns. The Interests Section reports
on cases of religious discrimination and
harassment, and the U.S. Government continuously
urges international pressure on the Government
to cease its repressive practices.
International
Religious Freedom Report Home Page
|
