Religion in Cuba

Cuba shares a common history with Latin America, starting with the conquest and European colonization, but there are some differences. One of these is the fate of its indigenous peoples.

In most of the continent, especially where the great pre-Columbian civilizations were located, for various reasons the aboriginal cultures maintained deep roots, and within that culture, the religious practices of those peoples. But in the Antilles there was a rapid extermination of the native peoples, and as a result the traces of their religious beliefs were less perceptible.

It has been confirmed that Caribbean cultures such as the Arawacs who inhabited Cuba had a faith with strong elements of animism, magic and mythology. The supernatural was represented by a group of deities represented by their cemis (handmade figures), they had festivals such as areítosand defined priestly duties associated with cures, predictions and preserving traditions.

The Spanish conquistadors imposed their culture, their language, their civilization, their form of representing and interpreting reality and reacting to it, and of course their religion, Catholicism. With the backing of colonial authorities, for a long time Catholicism was the official and exclusive religion of the territory.

However, due to the arrival on the island of hundreds of slaves from Africa, during the colonial era, various religious manifestations were introduced by the different African peoples who made up that human cargo.

Since then, the Spanish and African cultures have constituted the main ethno-cultural roots of Cuban nationality, with influences from other cultures (the Caribbean, the United States, China and the rest of Europe), in a complex process of transculturation and racial mixture which has had the consequence of creating a completely unique religious composition.

The original African religions were modified by the conditions in Cuba when their bearers were uprooted from their natural environment, and submitted to cultural involution and interethnic relations. This led to a variation of their myths and cult objects. Many of the African precepts mixed with those of Catholicism, resulting in a symbiosis which has lasted to the present day.

Due to the rigors of slavery, rites of protection and divination took preference while others - such as those related to fertility - were reduced in importance. Thus various Afro-Cuban religious expressions developed.

Out of the Yoruba culture came Regla Ocha, popularly known as Santería, centered around a set of orichas (deities) with different myths and attributes. Among the most important orichas are Olofin, Olorun or Oloddumare, deity of creation.

The leaders of Santería are santeros (babalochas) and santeras (iyalochas), with other secondary leaders and functions. The most systematized and complex form of this religion is the cult of Ifá, the deity whose main attribute is divination, sustained by the maximum religious authorities, the babalawos.

Out of the practices of the peoples from the kingdom of the Congo came what in Cuba is called Regla Conga, Palo Monte or Palo Mayombe, a set of religious forms centered on the cult of natural forces.

An important element of this creed is the nganga, the recipient bringing together a variety of objects and organic and mineral substances in which the "fundament" of the religion is believed to reside, and it is zealously guarded by the leaders of the cult. The highest level is Tata Nganga, who have empirical knowledge about endogenous medicinal plants. Mayombe, Brillumba and Kimbisa are cults which sprang up in Cuba.

Another African religion, based in western Cuba, is Abakuá, a secret society for men only, also known as ñañiguismo. It emerged at the start of the 19th century and is similar to organizations from the Nigerian zone of Calabar, the land of the Carabalís.

These associations have an orientation of mutual protection and aid, in accordance with mythology. They are organized in groups called plazas, with a team of leaders who have varying ritual and organizational functions.

Various other less popular religions are also practiced in western Cuba, coming from different ethnic groups, such as Arará and Iyesá.

The religious cults of African origin have less theoretical, ethical and doctrinal development than Christian religions. They concentrate on representational systems, symbols and rites based on myths and linked to nature, the ancestors (spirits) and daily life.

In the Abakuá societies, structures have been created that apply to several local groups, and within Santería there are units such as the Yoruba Cultural Association of Cuba, representing a considerable number of babalawos or priests of the Ifá cult.

These religious expressions, in particular Santería, are very well accepted by the population, but due to the fact that religious practice is non-institutional (except for Abakuá, which has temples, these activities are carried out in the practitioners' homes), it is difficult to calculate the number of believers, cult leaders and groups.

African influences are seen in Cuba in the daily activities of men and women on the street and in national culture, especially music, dance, musical instruments and visual arts.

Spiritualism, a religious mixture of U.S. pragmatism and philosophical empiricism which first emerged in the United States and took hold throughout Europe, is widespread in Cuban society. It arrived in Cuba during the mid-1800s and extended first to the areas where the wars of independence were being fought. Several tendencies began to appear, mixed with elements of African religions and Christianity and tied very strongly to daily life. These forms are practiced collectively, in spiritualist centers and associations, as well as in consultations with individual mediums, but without a federation to bind them together, although at the present time there are signs of growing unity.

Protestant religions were introduced in Cuba relatively late because they were blocked by colonial legislation protecting the Catholic Church. The first major Protestant organizations were founded at the end of the 19th century on the initiative of Cubans who had emigrated to the United States, although the most stable denominations were founded later on, following the U.S. intervention in 1898.

Protestantism proliferated during the first 50 years of the Republic with the support of U.S. missionary groups. As a result, many of the Cuban groups adopted the missionary model and a diversity of denominations typical of U.S. society were established.

There are other religious groups with lower numbers of practitioners, some associated with poor immigrants such as Haitians (voodoo) and Chinese peasants, whose religious contribution is little known. In both cases, only a portion of the Cuban descendents of those nationalities continue to practice those religious creeds.

Judaism is also practiced on the island, and there are several synagogues.

Eastern philosophical and religious sects exist, such as the Theosophical Society and Baha'i, among others.

As for Masons, there are currently more than 26,000 in Cuba, registered at 314 lodges throughout national territory. The area with the largest number of members and groups is Havana.

Freedom of religion is guaranteed by the Constitution of the Republic of Cuba.

(Taken from: Cubasí)

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Copyright © Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Republic of Cuba, 2003