Religion

=Cuban Religions=

In the 1950's, almost 85% of Cubans were Roman Catholic, prior to the CASTRO era. Only 10% were active members of the church. There are also afro-cuban religions, which is a blend of roman cathlocism and native african religions. Some Cubans are also Protestant, Jehovah's Witnesses, Jewish, and Santerians.For most of the castro era, Cuba was an atheist state. In 1962, over 400 catholic schools were shut down.

Today, the Catholic church is the largest independent institution in Cuba. The government refuses to allow the church the oppertunity to have an independent printing press. They also wont give the church access to the media so they can train the amount of priests that they need. The government is also refusing to establish socially useful institutions.

During November, in 1996, Pope John Paul the second visited Cuba. During his visit, the government allowed four air masses, provided media coverage, and gave them public transportation. The pope spoke of broadening the space and freedom of action of the Catholic Church. The Pope's visit was seen as an important, positive event for bringing a message of hope and the need for respect of human rights. Unfortunately, these improvements did not continue once the Pope left the island. While some visas were issued for additional priests to enter Cuba around the time of the visit, this practice has once again become extremely limited.

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=**Puerto Rican Religions**= Puerto Rico is also 85% Roman Catholic. The other 15% of the country is Protestant. The beliefs, rituals, and practices of Puerto Rico are actually NOT catholic. They are taken from African and Latin influences. For holidays, Puerto Ricans sing, dance, drink, and feast in recognition of that sacred day. Puerto Ricans have "home fiestas" which are private events bringing family and friends together. Then there are the public events that honor patron saints and occasional folk music festivals.