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However, Communist Cuba is no exception to the ideological clash between Communism and religion that was common in communist countries. After Fidel Castro 's ascent to power in 1959, he imposed restrictions on religious activities such as Christmas celebrations, and in 1962 barred personnel of the Church from joining the Communist Party of Cuba ...
Failure to register a religious group that the ORA is considered a crime in Cuba. [46] The Roman Catholic Church, which is the dominant church and religion in Cuba, has enjoyed more rights, such as the ability to periodically access state media and public spaces, distribute its own publications, and construct new churches.
With the Papal Bull of 1493, Pope Alexander VI commanded Spain to conquer, colonize and convert the pagans of the New World to Catholicism. [4] In 1992, Cuba declared itself a secular state and permitted Catholics and others to join the Communist Party. However, religious schools have remained closed since the early 1960s.
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 2010, the Catholic Church brokered a deal for Cuba’s government to release jailed dissidents, something that helped thaw relations with the U.S. during the presidency of Barack Obama.
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.
The Roman Catholic Church in Cuba comprises three ecclesiastical provinces each headed by an archbishop. The provinces are in turn subdivided into 9 dioceses and 3 archdiocese each headed by a bishop or an archbishop.
In Spanish Cuba, Roman Catholicism was the only religion that could be practiced legally. [415] Cuba's Roman Catholic Church made efforts to convert the enslaved Africans, but the instruction in Roman Catholicism provided to the latter was typically perfunctory and sporadic. [409]