Search results
Results From The WOW.Com Content Network
Other religions practiced are Palo Monte and Abakuá, which have large parts of their liturgy in African languages. Although restrictions on religion in Cuba were minimal compared to other communist nations like the Soviet Union or China, the large atheist population was most likely caused by the communist atmosphere of Marxist-Leninist atheism ...
Christianity has played an important role in Cuba's history. Cuba was discovered by Christopher Columbus a few days after he arrived to the New World in 1492. In 1511, colonization began when the Conquistador Diego Velázquez de Cuéllar established the Catholic Church in Cuba with the early priest Fray Bartolomé de las Casas known commonly as "the Protector of the Indians". [1]
In the 19th century, elements from Spiritism—a French variant of Spiritualism—were drawn into the mix, [16] with Santería emerging as a distinct religion in western Cuba during the late 19th century. [17] Although Santería is the best known of the Afro-Cuban religions, [18] and the most popular, [19] it is not the only one. [8]
Arguably the most popular religion in Cuba is Santeria, which fuses Catholicism with Afro-Caribbean traditions. Santería was born as a form of quiet resistance among Cuba’s Black communities. It dates back centuries to when Spanish colonists brought hundreds of thousands of enslaved Africans to Cuba, many from the Yoruba tribe of Nigeria.
Critics say Cuba is still falling short on religious tolerance. The U.S. State Department has designated Cuba a “Country of Particular Concern” for having engaged in or tolerated severe violations of religious freedom. Cuba's constitution includes provisions for religious freedom and bans religious-based discrimination.
Cuba's prevailing religion is Roman Catholicism, although in some instances it is profoundly modified and influenced through syncretism. A common syncretic religion is Santería, which combined the Yoruba religion of the African slaves with some Catholicism; it shows similarities to Brazilian Umbanda and has been receiving a degree of official ...
In their New Year predictions, high priests from Cuba's Afro-Cuban Santeria religion told followers on Thursday to watch their health and spending, care for their families, guard against crime and ...
Palo, also known as Las Reglas de Congo, is a polytheistic African diasporic religion that developed in Cuba during the late 19th or early 20th century. It draws heavily upon the traditional Kongo religion of Central Africa, with additional influences taken from Catholicism and from Spiritism.