Christianity is the largest religion in Venezuela, with Catholicism having the most adherents.
Venezuela is a secular nation and its constitution guarantees freedom of religion. Before the arrival of Spanish missionaries, the people residing in the territory of modern day Venezuela practiced a variety of faiths.
The influence of the Catholic Church was introduced in its colonization by Spain. According to a 2011 poll (GIS XXI), 88 percent of the population is Christian, primarily Roman Catholic (71%), and the remaining 17 percent Protestant, primarily Evangelicals (in Latin America Protestants are usually called Evangelicos). The Venezuelans without religion are 8% (atheist 2% and agnostic or indifferent 6%), almost 3% of the population follow other religion (1% of them are of santeria). [2]
There are small but influential Muslim, Druze, [3] [4] Buddhist, and Jewish communities. The Muslim community of about 95,000 is concentrated among persons of Lebanese and Syrian descent living in Nueva Esparta State, Punto Fijo and the Caracas area; Venezuela is home of the largest Druze communities outside the Middle East, [5] and has a significant Druze community (60,000) [5] from the same countries (a former vice president is Druze, showing the small group's influence). [3] Buddhism in Venezuela is practiced by over 52,000 people. The Buddhist community is made up mainly of Chinese, Japanese, and Koreans. There are Buddhist centers in Caracas, Maracay, Mérida, Puerto Ordáz, San Felipe, and Valencia. The Jewish community numbers approximately 13,000 and is mainly concentrated in Caracas.
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (Mormons) claims 173,125 members (April 2022) mostly in and around Caracas. [6]
Jehovah's Witnesses claim 136,542 active publishers, united in 1,734 congregations; 319,962 people attended annual celebration of Lord's Evening Meal in 2020. [7]
Venezuela is also notable for its significant syncretic religious traditions, most notably those revolving around the figures of Maria Lionza and Jose Gregorio Hernandez.
In Venezuela, a population of Santeria followers has been growing since 2008. [8] Rituals in Santeria include the slaughtering of a rooster, a chicken, or a goat. [9]
Affiliation | % of Venezuela population | |
---|---|---|
Christian | 88 | |
Catholic | 71 | |
Protestant and other Christians | 17 | |
Other faiths | 3 | |
Santería | 1 | |
Atheist | 2 | |
Agnostic/indifferent | 6 | |
Don't know/refused answer | 1 | |
Total | 100 |
The constitution of Venezuela provides for the freedom of religion insofar as it does not violate "public morality or decency". A 2017 constitutional law criminalizes "incitement to hatred" or violence, including provisions specifically concerning the incitement of hatred against religious groups. [10]
Religious organizations must register with the government in order to obtain legal status. The Directorate of Justice and Religion, part of the Ministry of Interior, Justice and Peace, manages registrations, disburses funds to registered organizations, and promotes religious tolerance. Chaplain services in the military are available only for Catholics. [10]
Religious education is allowed in public schools, although it is not part of any official curriculum proposed by the government. [10] In the past, representatives of the Catholic Church-affiliated National Laity Council have claimed that the government has at times pressured school administrators to not teach religious courses, but that in other cases teachers had autonomy to include religious education as long as their curricula were otherwise compliant with the Ministry of Education's standards. [11]
Leaders of religious organizations who are vocal critics of the government faced verbal harassment by regime leaders. Jewish community leaders have accused state-funded media and some government officials of engaging in antisemitic rhetoric. [10]
In 2023, the country was scored 3 out of 4 for religious freedom. [12]
The Catholic Church in Venezuela has around 31 million faithful, which represents 98% of the population. There are 37 jurisdictions present including 25 dioceses, 9 archdioceses, 3 vicariates apostolic, plus separate jurisdictions for the Melkite and Syrian rites, and also a military ordenate.
The Catholic manifestations in Venezuela are very varied, which means that in many regions they venerate a Marian dedication or a specific saint, as well as the realization of various fairs, masses, processions and parties for each patron saint of Catholicism. In this way, for example, in Zulia the Chinita Fair is celebrated, in Nueva Esparta the Virgen del Valle is celebrated and in Lara, the Divina Pastora is celebrated.
Protestantism is a branch of Christianity that has its origins in the reform initiated by Martin Luther and other theologians as a critical response to the Catholic Church at the time. In general, Protestantism in Latin America has constituted, since the beginning of the Spanish conquest and colonization of America, a very minority sector of the Christian population that has been growing exponentially every decade. Protestantism was successful in several European nations, becoming predominant in the Scandinavian countries and in Northern Germany. In the following decades, various theological currents allowed the birth of various denominations, such as: Presbyterianism (which in turn became the official religion of Scotland, as the State Church de Kirk), Calvinism, Anabaptism in Switzerland and The Netherlands, Methodism in England, among others.
Motivated by poverty and in search of a better future, hundreds of thousands of northwestern Europeans [13] [14] saw their destiny in the United States of America and made it their new home, where they practiced the Protestant faith from different perspectives. The nation did not have a single national language officially, which allowed each church to celebrate its religious services in the languages of their countries of origin. That's why the existence of free evangelical (state) churches, regardless of denomination, with Swedish and Norwegian-Danish backgrounds, [15] in addition to the German, Dutch and also English-speaking ones. All this was seen in the revivals known as: First Great Awakening, Second Great Awakening, Third Great Awakening and Fourth Great Awakening; being the Third Great Awakening the seedbed for the expansion of Protestantism towards Latin America and the Caribbean countries, and in the other continents.
In Venezuela, the increase in numbers began at the end of the 19th century after a series of religious openings. [16] Prior to 1830, English-speaking Quakers were present in the capital city. So that, Protestantism has gradually become the second largest Christian community in the country after Catholicism. In this sense, according to the Evangelical Council of Venezuela, [17] 20% of the population of Venezuela is evangelical Protestant. [18] This is the result of several missionary efforts done across the country with foreign and national believers. One of the first Protestant churches built in Caracas was the Lutheran Church serving especially to the German speaking community living in Caracas. Then, the first denomination established to new believers in the nation was the Presbyterianism. "El Redentor" Presbyterian Evangelical Church is named as the oldest congregation of Caracas dating back to 1898, which merged from an earlier Methodist effort since 1878. The evangelicals have had a big motivation for establishing schooling with Christian belief emphasis, just like the Christiansen Academy, in Rubio, Venezuela; as well as Colegio Americano de Caracas (Presbyterian).
The spread of evangelical proselytizing was organized into different regions by diverse pioneer works:
Region | Early pioneer missions and denominations |
---|---|
Western region: Zulian region, Andean region and South-Western region | Scandinavian Alliance Mission of the Evangelical Free Church of America |
Central-Western region | German-American Evangelical Pentecostal Holiness movement [19] which mostly merged into Assemblies of God, and Baptist Church mainly associated to the Southern Baptist Convention. |
Central region | The Swedish Evangelical Free Church of U.S.A. |
Capital Region | Presbyterian Church of U.S.A (Presbyterian), and the Christian and Missionary Alliance (Presbyterian) |
Guayana and Amazona region | Baptist Mid-Missions |
Eastern region: Anzoategui, Sucre, Monagas, and Margarita Island | Orinoco River Mission which later merged into The Evangelical Alliance Mission [20] |
Los Llanos region | In Guarico: The Swedish Evangelical Free Church of U.S.A. In Apure: Baptists which merged into Native Church |
The Christian-Evangelical Churches of Venezuela, today, are mainly segmented into six major branches: [21]
Protestant or Evangelical branch | % |
---|---|
Assemblies of God and other Pentecostals groups | 60 % |
Baptist Churches: | 16 % |
Plymouth Brethren Church | 9 % |
Seventh-day Adventist Church | 4 % |
Evangelical Free Church | 2 % |
United Pentecostal Church | 1 % |
The Orthodox Church in Venezuela has existed in Venezuela with the purpose of satisfying the spiritual needs of this religious groups, mainly made up of Russian, Yugoslav (Serbian, Croat and Bosnian) immigrants who arrived in the country since the end of World War II. It does not obey a planned system of religious proselytism, since church services were held in the immigrants' languages. Added to that group are the Greeks, Romanians, [22] and Ukrainians, [23] who with the passing of the decades their descendants have maintained that faith in the country. [24]
During the oil-related high-income years of the 1970s, there were around 400 non-resident Indians in the country. There are also several thousand of Indo-Caribbeans from Trinidad and Tobago, Suriname, and Guyana in the cities of Ciudad Guayana and Caracas.
The Indian community consisted of personnel from the petroleum and petrochemical sectors, as well as a large number of traders. Many of them had taken their families with them to Venezuela, whether from India or elsewhere. Most of the traders belonged to the Sindhi community but there were also some people from Gujarat, Punjab and the southern Indian States.
When the oil boom ended in 1982, followed by devaluation of the local currency, many of the non-resident Indians decided to seek their fortunes elsewhere. Currently, the Diaspora has been whittled down to half its former size. There are now only about 45 Indian families in Venezuela who are mainly engaged in retail trade. There are also a small number of experts in high tech. industries such as telecommunications.
All of them have adapted themselves very well to their country of residence and are generally held in high regard by the local people on account of their hard work, expertise and non-political nature.
The Venezuelan Constitution guarantees equal rights without discrimination to all expatriate personnel. This has facilitated the Indian community's life.
Another interesting feature is that many local people are interested in Indian religions and spirituality.
Some members of the Indian community also attend their functions. Most of the non-resident Indians are well educated. However, given their small numbers, they have not formed themselves into an active representative body. But they remain in touch with one another and with the Indian Embassy in Caracas. Even though they have little time to engage in numerous cultural activities, they do get together to celebrate Indian festivals like Diwali.
On the whole, the Indian community in Venezuela is quite prosperous and has a per capita income that is above the national average that is itself as high as US$8,300 in terms of PPP. They take an active part in mobilising donations to help in alleviating distress at times of national calamities in India.[ citation needed ]
In 2010, there were 580 Hindus in Venezuela according to the Association of Religion Data Archives. [25]The Second Great Awakening was a Protestant religious revival during the late 18th to early 19th century in the United States. It spread religion through revivals and emotional preaching and sparked a number of reform movements. Revivals were a key part of the movement and attracted hundreds of converts to new Protestant denominations. The Methodist Church used circuit riders to reach people in frontier locations.
Christianity is the predominant religion in the Philippines, with the Catholic Church being its largest denomination. Sizeable minorities adhering to Islam, Dharmic religions, and indigenous Philippine folk religions are also present.
Religion in the United States began with the religions and spiritual practices of Native Americans. Later, religion also played a role in the founding of some colonies, as many colonists, such as the Puritans, came to escape religious persecution. Historians debate how much influence religion, specifically Christianity and more specifically Protestantism, had on the American Revolution. Many of the Founding Fathers were active in a local Protestant church; some of them had deist sentiments, such as Thomas Jefferson, Benjamin Franklin, and George Washington. Some researchers and authors have referred to the United States as a "Protestant nation" or "founded on Protestant principles," specifically emphasizing its Calvinist heritage. Others stress the secular character of the American Revolution and note the secular character of the nation's founding documents.
Christianity is the most widely professed religion in Argentina, with Roman Catholicism being its largest denomination. This historical background is very much due to the Spanish influence brought about through the newly conquered territories. However, affiliation with Protestant churches is increasing and immigration throughout the 20th century has brought other religions from various regions to Argentina.
A united church, also called a uniting church, is a denomination formed from the merger or other form of church union of two or more different Protestant Christian denominations, a number of which come from separate and distinct denominational orientations or traditions. Multi-denominationalism, or a multi-denominational church or organization, is a congregation or organization that is affiliated with two or more Christian denominations, whether they be part of the same tradition or from separate and distinct traditions.
Protestant denominations arrived in the Philippines in 1898, after the United States took control of the Philippines from Spain, first with United States Army chaplains and then within months civilian missionaries.
Protestantism in Puerto Rico officially was introduced in 1872 when the first Protestant church in the Anglican tradition was established on the island. Before the islands of Puerto Rico came under United States sovereignty in 1898, Protestantism was suppressed under Roman Catholic Spanish rule.
Christianity is the most widely professed religion in the Dominican Republic. Historically, Catholicism dominated the religious practices of the country, and as the official religion of the state it receives financial support from the government. About 60% of Dominicans identify themselves as Catholic.
Christianity is the most widely professed religion in Cuba, with Catholicism being its largest denomination. A significant share of the Cuban population is either non-religious or practices folk religions.
Latinos and Hispanics are predominantly Christians in the United States. Specifically, they are most often Roman Catholic. According to a Public Religion Research Institute study in 2017, the majority of Hispanic and Latino Americans are Christians (76%), and about 11% of Americans identify as Hispanic or Latino Christian.
Christianity is the most prevalent religion in the United States. Estimates from 2021 suggest that of the entire U.S. population about 63% is Christian. The majority of Christian Americans are Protestant Christians, though there are also significant numbers of American Roman Catholics and other Christian denominations such as Latter Day Saints, Eastern Orthodox Christians and Oriental Orthodox Christians, and Jehovah's Witnesses. The United States has the largest Christian population in the world and, more specifically, the largest Protestant population in the world, with nearly 210 million Christians and, as of 2021, over 140 million people affiliated with Protestant churches, although other countries have higher percentages of Christians among their populations. The Public Religion Research Institute's "2020 Census of American Religion", carried out between 2014 and 2020, showed that 70% of Americans identified as Christian during this seven-year interval. In a 2020 survey by the Pew Research Center, 65% of adults in the United States identified themselves as Christians. They were 75% in 2015, 70.6% in 2014, 78% in 2012, 81.6% in 2001, and 85% in 1990. About 62% of those polled claim to be members of a church congregation.
When it comes to religion, the Ecuadorian society is relatively homogeneous, with Christianity being the primary religion. Catholicism is the main Christian denomination in the country. There are also small minorities of other religions.
Protestantism is a branch of Christianity that emphasizes justification of sinners by grace through faith alone, the priesthood of all believers, and the Bible as the sole infallible source of authority for Christian faith and practice. The five solae summarize the basic theological beliefs of mainstream Protestantism.
Protestantism is the largest religious minority in Mexico.
Protestantism is the largest grouping of Christians in the United States, with its combined denominations collectively comprising about 43% of the country's population in 2019. Other estimates suggest that 48.5% of the U.S. population is Protestant. Simultaneously, this corresponds to around 20% of the world's total Protestant population. The U.S. contains the largest Protestant population of any country in the world. Baptists comprise about one-third of American Protestants. The Southern Baptist Convention is the largest single Protestant denomination in the U.S., comprising one-tenth of American Protestants. Twelve of the original Thirteen Colonies were Protestant, with only Maryland having a sizable Catholic population due to Lord Baltimore's religious tolerance.
In the United States, evangelicalism is a movement among Protestant Christians who believe in the necessity of being born again, emphasize the importance of evangelism, and affirm traditional Protestant teachings on the authority as well as the historicity of the Bible. Comprising nearly a quarter of the U.S. population, evangelicals are a diverse group drawn from a variety of denominational backgrounds, including Baptist, Lutheran, Mennonite, Methodist, Pentecostal, Plymouth Brethren, Quaker, Reformed and nondenominational churches.
Christianity was introduced with the first European settlers beginning in the 16th and 17th centuries. Colonists from Northern Europe introduced Protestantism in its Anglican and Reformed forms to Plymouth Colony, Massachusetts Bay Colony, New Netherland, Virginia Colony, and Carolina Colony. The first arrivals were adherents to Anglicanism, Congregationalism, Presbyterianism, Methodism, the Baptist Church, Calvinism, Lutheranism, Quakerism, Anabaptism and the Moravian Church from British, German, Dutch, and Nordic stock. America began as a significant Protestant majority nation. Significant minorities of Roman Catholics and Jews did not arise until the period between 1880 and 1910.
Database (WCD) 2010 and International Religious Freedom Report for 2012 of the U.S. Department of State. The article Religions by country has a sortable table from the Pew Forum report.
One denomination, the Evangelical Association...was similar in doctrine to the Methodist Church but, because of difficulties involving the preaching of the gospel in the German language, Jacob Albright and his co-laborers thought it best to establish their own denomination. During the nineteenth century, the Evangelical Association was probably one of the outstanding holiness churches in America.
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