Religious Freedom Summary* (1997)


In recent years, the Government has eased the harsher aspects of its repression of religious freedom. In 1991 it allowed religious adherents to join the Communist Party. In 1992 it amended the Constitution to prohibit religious discrimination and removed references to "scientific materialism," i.e., atheism, as the basis for the Cuban State. Nevertheless, the State prohibits members of the armed forces from allowing anyone in their household to observe religious practices, except elderly relatives if their religious beliefs do not influence other family members and are not "damaging to the revolution."

With the advent of the scheduled visit to Cuba by Pope John Paul II in January 1998, on November 1 the Catholic bishops issued a public statement that appealed to the Government to recognize the Church's role in civil society. The document stated that "freedom to hold mass must not be confused with freedom of religion," and asserted that the Church has a role to play in the creation of civil society, the family, as well as the temporal areas of work, the economy, the arts, sports, and the scientific and technical worlds. The bishops stated that the Church must open doors, prepare for a transformation, and help bring about reconciliation between all Cubans.

In preparing for the Pope's visit, the Government further relaxed its restrictions on religion, especially towards the Roman Catholic Church. In June the Government granted the Church permission to hold its first outdoor mass since 1961. The Government permitted a limited number of public masses since then. The Church also was allowed to conduct door-to-door visits to inform parishioners of the papal visit. On January 13, 1998, the Government allowed Cardinal Ortega a live, 30-minute appearance on national television to speak about the papal visit. However, the Government continued to limit strictly the Church's access to the media and refused to allow the Church to have an independent printing capability. It maintained its prohibition against the establishment of religious schools. The Government agreed to increase slightly the number of foreign priests and nuns allowed in the country.

The Government continued to enforce a resolution preventing any Cuban or joint enterprise from selling computers, fax machines, photocopiers, or other equipment to any church. It also maintained a December 1995 decree completely prohibiting nativity scenes and prohibiting Christmas trees and decorations in public buildings, except those related to the tourist or foreign commercial sector. In 1996 the Government had held the semi-annual ANPP session on Christmas eve and Christmas day to manifest its nonacceptance of religious holidays. (Official recognition of all religious holidays ended in 1961.) However, in December President Castro allowed Christmas to be recognized as a holiday as a one-time exception, as a special good will gesture in honor of the Pope's scheduled visit.

Students who profess a belief in religion continue to be stigmatized by other students and teachers and have been formally disciplined for bringing Bibles or other religious materials to school.

The Government requires churches and other religious groups to register with the provincial Registry of Associations to obtain official recognition. The Government prohibits, with occasional exceptions, the construction of new churches, forcing many growing congregations to violate the law and meet in people's homes. Government harassment of private houses of worship continued, with evangelical denominations reporting evictions from houses used for these purposes. In April government authorities in Holguin province detained Pentecostal pastors Emilio Morales and Roberto Rubio and ordered their informal chapels closed. The authorities have also threatened to close informal Protestant churches in the western towns of Moa and San German and evict the congregations from their premises. In September local government authorities allowed the Catholic Church to hold outdoor masses in the towns of Guines and Jaruco, but scheduled town "parties" to coincide with these services so that music and other distractions competed with the masses.

The Government, however, relaxed restrictions on members of Jehovah's Witnesses, whom it had considered "active religious enemies of the revolution" for their refusal to accept obligatory military service or participate in state organizations. The Government authorized small assemblies of Jehovah's Witnesses, the opening of a Havana central office, and the publishing of the group's magazine and other religious tracts.

State security officials regularly harassed human rights advocates prior to religious services commemorating special feast days or before significant national days. State security agents in Havana and Pinar del Rio went to the homes of activists only hours before the September 8 feast day and warned the activists to stay away from any church or face detention. State security officers retained activists' identity cards to prevent them from legally leaving their homes. Similar government harassment of human rights and opposition activists occurred during other anniversaries, religious commemorations, or other events, particularly on July 13, the third anniversary of the Coast Guard's sinking of the "13th of March" tugboat which killed 41 people. Nevertheless, church attendance in all denominations has grown in recent years.

*Source: County Reports on Human Rights Practices for 1997, U.S. Department of State