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Religion In Cuba




Religion in Cuba reflects the island’s diverse cultural elements. Cuba is traditionally a Catholic country. In some instances Catholicism is much modified and influenced through Syncretism . A common syncretic belief is Santería , which originated in Cuba and spread to neighboring islands; it shows similarities to Brazil ian Umbanda and has been receiving a degree of official support.
(Cathedral of Saint Christopher of Havana)]]
Santería developed out of the traditions of the Yoruba , one of the African peoples who were imported to Cuba during the 16th through 19th centuries to work on the sugar plantations. Santería blends elements of Christianity and West African beliefs and as such made it possible for the slaves to retain their traditional beliefs while appearing to practice Catholicism. Cuba’s patron saint, La Virgen de la Caridad del Cobre (Our Lady Of Charity) is a syncretism with the Santería goddess Ochún . The important religious festival "La Virgen de la Caridad del Cobre" is celebrated by Cubans annually on 8 September . Other religions practised are Palo Monte , and Abakuá , which have large parts of their liturgy in African languages.


HISTORY

After the and stockpiling arms provided for a " Counter-revolution ".

Since 1991, restrictions have been eased and direct challenges by state institutions to the right to been eased somewhat, though the church still faces restrictions of written and electronic communication, and can only accept donations from state-approved funding sources. The Roman Catholic Church is made up of the Cuban Catholic Bishops' Conference (COCC), led by Jaime Lucas Ortega Y Alamino , Cardinal Archbishop of Havana . It has eleven dioceses, 56 orders of nuns and 24 orders of priests.

On January 1998, Pope John Paul II paid a historic visit to the island, invited by the Cuban government and Catholic Church.


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