Status of religious freedom in Colombia
Encyclopedia
Freedom of religion in Colombia is enforced by the State and well tolerated in the Colombian culture. The Republic of Colombia
has an area of 439,735 square miles (1,138,908 square kilometers) and its population is estimated at 46 million. Although the Government does not keep official statistics on religious affiliation, a 2001 poll commissioned by the country's leading newspaper, El Tiempo, indicated that the religious demography is as follows:
The Colombian Constitution of 1991 abolished the previous condition of the Roman Catholic Church as state church, and it includes two articles providing for freedom of worship:
Currently, there seem to be no social controversy or problem arising from religious conflict. Almost all cities and towns in Colombia have a church, but there are also temple
s, mosque
s and synagogue
s, especially in the largest cities.
A small Taoist commune exists in the Santander department, which was the target of a police operation in 2005 due to suspicion of being a weapons storage and a site of criminal activity. Some of the members captured had a criminal background and evidence was found that indicated the presence of illegal activity.
Colombia
Colombia, officially the Republic of Colombia , is a unitary constitutional republic comprising thirty-two departments. The country is located in northwestern South America, bordered to the east by Venezuela and Brazil; to the south by Ecuador and Peru; to the north by the Caribbean Sea; to the...
has an area of 439,735 square miles (1,138,908 square kilometers) and its population is estimated at 46 million. Although the Government does not keep official statistics on religious affiliation, a 2001 poll commissioned by the country's leading newspaper, El Tiempo, indicated that the religious demography is as follows:
- 81% Roman Catholic Christians.
- 10% Non-evangelical Protestant ChristianChristianA Christian is a person who adheres to Christianity, an Abrahamic, monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth as recorded in the Canonical gospels and the letters of the New Testament...
s - 3.5% Evangelical Protestant Christians
- 1.9% No religious beliefs
- 3.6% Other faiths:
- Seventh-day Adventist ChurchSeventh-day Adventist ChurchThe Seventh-day Adventist Church is a Protestant Christian denomination distinguished by its observance of Saturday, the original seventh day of the Judeo-Christian week, as the Sabbath, and by its emphasis on the imminent second coming of Jesus Christ...
: about 180,000 members - The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints: about 130,000 members
- Jehovah's WitnessesJehovah's WitnessesJehovah's Witnesses is a millenarian restorationist Christian denomination with nontrinitarian beliefs distinct from mainstream Christianity. The religion reports worldwide membership of over 7 million adherents involved in evangelism, convention attendance of over 12 million, and annual...
: about 120,000 members. - JudaismJudaismJudaism ) is the "religion, philosophy, and way of life" of the Jewish people...
: between 5,000 and 10,000 members. - IslamIslamIslam . The most common are and . : Arabic pronunciation varies regionally. The first vowel ranges from ~~. The second vowel ranges from ~~~...
: figures unknown, probably below 2,000.
- Seventh-day Adventist Church
- 60% reported not practising their faith actively.
The Colombian Constitution of 1991 abolished the previous condition of the Roman Catholic Church as state church, and it includes two articles providing for freedom of worship:
- Art. 13: States that "all people are legally born free and equal" and that they will not be discriminated on the basis of "gender, race, national or familial origin, language, religion, politic or philosophical opinion".
- Art. 19: Which expressly guarantees freedom of religion. "Freedom of religion is guaranteed. Every individual has the right to freely profess his/her religion and to disseminate it individually or collectively. All religious faiths and churches are equally free before the law."
Currently, there seem to be no social controversy or problem arising from religious conflict. Almost all cities and towns in Colombia have a church, but there are also temple
Temple
A temple is a structure reserved for religious or spiritual activities, such as prayer and sacrifice, or analogous rites. A templum constituted a sacred precinct as defined by a priest, or augur. It has the same root as the word "template," a plan in preparation of the building that was marked out...
s, mosque
Mosque
A mosque is a place of worship for followers of Islam. The word is likely to have entered the English language through French , from Portuguese , from Spanish , and from Berber , ultimately originating in — . The Arabic word masjid literally means a place of prostration...
s and synagogue
Synagogue
A synagogue is a Jewish house of prayer. This use of the Greek term synagogue originates in the Septuagint where it sometimes translates the Hebrew word for assembly, kahal...
s, especially in the largest cities.
A small Taoist commune exists in the Santander department, which was the target of a police operation in 2005 due to suspicion of being a weapons storage and a site of criminal activity. Some of the members captured had a criminal background and evidence was found that indicated the presence of illegal activity.