XI Международная студенческая научная конференция Студенческий научный форум - 2019

The Republic of Colombia is a secular country in which the church is officially separated from the state. The Constitution of the country (Article 19) guarantees freedom of religion and proclaims the equality of all faiths before the law. The Constitution also prohibits discrimination on religious grounds. However, some studies have noted a more privileged position of the Catholic Church.

Christianity in Colombia is the most widespread religion in the country.

According to the research center, Pew Research Center [en] in 2010 in Colombia lived 42.81 million Christians, which accounted for 92.5% of the population of this country [1]. Encyclopedia of “Religions of the World” by G. G. Melton estimates the share of Christians in 2010 at 95.9% (45.95 million) [2].

The largest direction of Christianity in the country is Catholicism. In 2000, more than 17,000 Christian churches and places of worship belonging to 173 different Christian denominations operated in Colombia [3].

In addition to Colombians, the majority of Jamaicans, Americans, Spaniards, French, Romanians and Germans living here practices Christianity. Chibcha, Quechua, Uitoto, most Paes, Guaibo, Senu, Inga, Guambia, Yukpa and Tukuna are also converted to Christianity.

Christians in Colombia participate in interfaith dialogue. In 2001, the Ecumenical Network of Colombia, which united Catholics and Protestants, was established in the country. Conservative evangelical Christians work together in the Evangelical Confederation of Colombia, associated with the World Evangelical Alliance. As of 2015, only one church in Colombia (Presbyterian) is a member of the World Council of Churches [4].

Christianity penetrated into the territory of modern Colombia along with the Spanish colonialists. Already in 1534, the first Catholic diocese was established here. Missionary activities among the local population began to be practiced by monks from the monastic orders of the Dominicans and Franciscans. The most famous missionaries in Colombia were the saints Peter Claver and Louis Bertrand. The activities of Catholic missionaries contributed to the rapid Christianization of the local population. Already in the middle of the XVI century, the majority of the population adopted Catholicism.

Catholicism in Colombia or the Roman Catholic Church in Colombia is part of the worldwide Catholic Church. The number of Catholics in Colombia is about 38 million 639 thousand people (90.3% of the total population [1]).

At the beginning of the 16th century, the first missionaries-monks from the monastic orders of the Dominicans and Franciscans arrived in Colombia today, which began to engage in missionary activities among the local population and Spanish colonists. The most famous missionaries in Colombia were the saints Peter Claver and Louis Bertrand. The activities of Catholic missionaries contributed to the rapid Christianization of the local population. Already in the middle of the XVI, the majority of the population adopted Catholicism. At the same time, the first dioceses were established in Colombia.

In 1810, an uprising took place in Colombia against Spain, most of the bishops left the country, and the chairs of most dioceses became vacant. In 1823, the dioceses of the Holy See appointed Apostolic Vicars.

In 1849, Colombia carried out an anti-clerical policy, during which Jesuits were expelled from the country and the activities of the Catholic Church were limited. In 1886, after concluding a concordat with the Holy See, the Catholic Church was given freedom of action. At the same time, new archdioceses and several dioceses were established.

In 1953 Colombian Cristiano Luque Sanchez became the first Colombian cardinal.

In the mid-twentieth century, the ideas of liberation theology were strong in the Catholic Church in Colombia, which were condemned in 1978 by a conference of Catholic Bishops of Colombia.

In June 1986, Pope John Paul II visited Colombia on a pastoral visit.

May 12, 2012 Roman Pope Francis canonized the nun Laura of Saint Catherine of Siena, who became the first saint from Colombia.

Currently in Colombia, there are 13 metropolis, 52 dioceses, 11 apostolic vicariate, military ordinariat.

The centralized authority of the Catholic Church in Colombia is the Conference of Catholic Bishops of Colombia.

The Military Ordinariat of Colombia is the military ordinariat of the Roman Catholic Church, operating in Colombia. The Military Ordinariat of Colombia, reporting directly to the Holy See, provides pastoral feeding for members of the Colombian army and their families.

The first Protestants in the territory of modern Colombia were English Puritans, who settled in 1629 on the uninhabited islands of the archipelago of San Andres-in-Providence. The first permanent Protestant missionary in mainland Colombia was Presbyterian Henry Barrington Pratt, who settled in Bogotá in 1856. At the beginning of the 20th century, a number of other Protestant denominations joined the activities of American Presbyterians. Since the 1930s, Pentecostals have served in the country, which in a short time became the largest non-Catholic confession in Colombia.

According to ethnicity, the majority of Protestants in this country are Colombians. Protestants are also a significant number of Americans, Germans and Britons living in the country. Protestant missionaries have made significant progress in the evangelization of a number of local peoples. Thus, more than half the Christians of Gambian, Ember, Pinnae, Cube, Tunb, Papua, Yucca, Kuna, Koreguah and more than a third of the Pas, Guaibo, Mynyka Uitoto, Guayabero, Andoke are Protestants.

Almost half of the Colombian Protestants (47% [5] or about 2.9 million) are Pentecostals. In 2012, Pope Benedict XVI in a special statement expressed concern about the growth of Pentecostal churches in this country [6]. However, Colombian President Uribe Velez acknowledged the positive role of Pentecostals in the transformation of the country.

In addition to Pentecostal churches, there is a significant number of other Protestant denominations in the country. First of all, there are numerous evangelical movements, such as home churches (founded by Ricardo Rodríguez of New Testament) (195,000), the Renaissance movement (115,000), the Caribbean Association of Evangelical Churches (72,000), etc. [7]. This group of churches is joined by organizations from the holiness movement - the Church of the Nazarene (21 thousand), the Christian and missionary alliance (40,500), the Salvation Army, the Free Methodist Church and the Church of God (Anderson, Indiana) .

The Seventh-day Adventist Church has opened 1145 communities in the country, of which 263,000 are members. In Colombia there are also very few Adventist reformists, the God of the Seventh Day Church and the World Church of God.

Baptists of Colombia (57 thousand) are represented primarily by the Colombian Baptist denomination (135 churches and 17 thousand baptized members) [8]. The country also has small Brotherhood of Baptist biblical churches, the Association of Evangelical Baptist Churches and the Federation of Independent Fundamentalist Baptist Churches of Colombia.

The churches of the Presbyterian and Reformed tradition are united by 30 thousand believers (2005). First, this is the Presbyterian Church of Colombia (12 thousand). The country also operates the Cumberland Presbyterian Church of Colombia (4,300) and the Evangelical Reformed Church of Colombia, founded by Korean missionaries.

Anglicans (8 thousand) are represented by the Episcopal Church, the Anglican Catholic Church and the Anglican Orthodox Church. Most Lutherans (2,500) are concentrated in the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Colombia. The Methodist Church of Colombia is also relatively small (1,300). Three different Mennonite organizations unite 67 communities and 2.8 thousand baptized members of the church (2012). In Colombia, there is also a very small Quaker community (20 people).

Other confessions include the Plymouth brothers (11 thousand), restorers from the Church of Christ, the New Apostolic Church and the Wildness.

In the course of the polls, 74% of Colombian Protestants said they grew up in Catholic families and later converted to Protestantism [5]. In addition, polls show the high level of religiosity of Protestants in Colombia: 73% of them attend weekly Sunday worship; 68% read the Bible weekly; 86% pray daily (for Catholics, these figures are respectively equal to 49%, 28% and 73%.

Over the past half century, the proportion of Catholics in the total population of the country has decreased from 95% in 1970 to 79% in 2014 [3]. The number of Protestants is estimated from 10% to 17% [5]; first, it is Pentecostals (2.9 million).

In Colombia, there is also a small number of Orthodox (12 thousand), as well as supporters of various marginal Christian currents (Jehovah's Witnesses, Mormons).

In the late XIX - early XX century, Arab immigrants migrated to Latin America from the Middle Eastern countries (Syria, Lebanon, and Palestine). In Colombia, most of them settled in the department of Guahira; at present, the second largest mosque in Latin America - the mosque of Umar ibn al-Khattab - is located in the city of Maikao. Muslim communities are also found in Bogota, Kali, Medellin, Pasto, Buenaventura, Cartagena, Barranquilla, Santa Marta, Bucaramanga, Cucuta and Pereira.

The total number of Muslims in Colombia is estimated at 14 thousand people [6].

It is believed that together with the Spaniards in the 16th century, Marranos also arrived in Colombia. Marran was the discoverer of Colombia conquistador Rodrigo de Bastidas, in 1538 founded the city of Santa Marta. After in 1819 Simon Bolivar abolished the Inquisition in Latin America, in Colombia Jews began to settle openly (in the cities of Bogota, Cartagena, Barranquilla, Medellin, Rioacha, Kali). After the First World War, the Sephardim arrived in Colombia from Greece, Turkey, North Africa and Syria. Later, Jews from Eastern Europe began to come to the country, then from Nazi Germany. Since the 1960s, partial repatriation to Israel began among the Colombian Jews.

At the beginning of the 21st century, nine synagogues functioned in Colombia, four of which were in Bogotá. Small Jewish communities exist in Calais (two synagogues), Barranquilla (two synagogues) and Medellin. The total number of Jews is estimated at 4,600 people [7].

In Colombia, preserved and traditional Indian religions, whose supporters are 305 thousand people. Local beliefs are prevalent in the most remote regions of the country among the tribes of guahiro, pasto, ember, canmomo, ika, tukuna, tunebo, piapoco, cancamo, koreguahe. In addition, some Venezuelan immigrants practice the cult of Mary of Lyons (a goddess of Indian and Afro-Venezuelan origin); the cult is like santeria.

In addition to local beliefs in Colombia, various spiritualistic attitudes are common, which are a mixture of Indian religions, African cults and Catholicism. Spiritism is prevalent mainly among the Métis. The spiritual practices of spiritualists include witchcraft, shamanism and folk healing. According to some reports, up to 490,000 spiritualists live in Colombia [8], but it should be noted that the boundaries between spiritualists and Christianity are very blurred.

In Colombia, there are a large number of religious organizations belonging to the new religious movements. However, the number of supporters of these movements is relatively small - 3.3 thousand people in 2010 [8].

New religions of Colombia can be conditionally divided into two groups - Asian and European. The first include religions, which are predominantly among the Asians living in the country; these are movements such as Sukyo Mahikari and Tenrikyo.

European new religious movements include groups of the Western esoteric tradition (the New Acropolis, the so-called "Christian Gnostic churches", Rosicrucian’s from the "Ancient Mystic Order of the Rose and the Cross," etc.).

According to media reports, there are Satanists in Colombia (a group called "Wolves against Christ" and "Goats"). In 1998, the Colombian DAS special service reported on the existence of Satanists in eight departments of the country and suggested that a number of Satanist organizations carries out destructive activities: the desecration of cemeteries and temples, animal sacrifice, sadomasochism, suicide and attempted murder of Catholic priests by poisoning them with poison [8].

The group of new religious movements include the occult, esoteric and syncretic movements of the New Age group operating in Colombia. These are organizations such as the Association of Astrology, the Colombian Spiritist Confederation, the Theosophical Society, the Anthroposophical Society, the Movement of Raelites, Scientologists, and others.

Since 1916, Baha'i literature has been sent to Colombia. The first Colombian joined the Bahá'í movement in 1929. In 1944, the first Baha'i congregation was opened in Bogota. The Baha'is had noticeable success among the Guahiro tribe [9]. According to the World Christian Database in 2005, the Baha'i community numbered 70,000 people.

Hinduism in Colombia (9 thousand) is represented mainly by movements of reformed Hinduism and Neo-Hinduism. These are such communities as the International Society for Krishna Consciousness, Brahma Kumaris, followers of Sathya Sai Baba and transcendental meditation.

Among the Chinese community there are adherents of the Chinese people's religion (2.4 thousand), some Chinese and Japanese profess Buddhism (2 thousand).

Approximately 1.1 million Colombians are not religious [6].

List of references

1. Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor. Report on International Religious Freedom. Colombia (англ.). 2003 Report on International Religious Freedom. U.S. State Department. 

2. Colombia - Religious Adherents, 2010 (World Christian Database) (англ.). The Association of Religion Data Archives.

3.Christian Population as Percentages of Total Population by Country (англ.). Pew Research Center (January 2011).

4.Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor. Report on International Religious Freedom. Colombia (англ.). 2014 Report on International Religious Freedom. U.S. State Department (14 October 2015).

5.The Future of the Global Muslim Population (англ.). Pew Research Center (January 2011). 

6.Jason Mandryk. Colombia // Operation World: The Definitive Prayer Guide to Every Nation. — InterVarsity Press, 2010. — 978 p. — (Operation World Set). ISBN 0-8308-5724-9.

7.Clifton L. Holland. Colombia // Religions of the World, Second Edition A Comprehensive Encyclopedia of Beliefs and Practices / J. Gordon Melton and Martin Baumann. — Santa Barbara, California: ABC CLIO, 2010. — P. 740-753. — 3200 p. ISBN 978-1-59884-203-6.

8.J. Gordon Melton. Colombia // Religions of the World: A Comprehensive Encyclopedia of Beliefs and Practices / J. Gordon Melton, Martin Baumann. — Santa Barbara, California; Denver, Colorado; Oxford, England: ABC CLIO, 2002. — Vol. 3. — P. 351-353. — 1507 p. ISBN 1-57607-223-1.

9.Most Baha'i Nations (2005) (англ.). The Association of Religion Data Archives.

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