Afro-Cuban drums, Muslim prayers, Buddhist mantras: Religious diversity blooms in once-atheist Cuba

Jewish children eat pieces of challah bread after the prayer was recited during a Shabbat service at the Beth Shalom synagogue, in Havana, Cuba, Friday, Feb. 16, 2024. Jews are believed to have arrived to Cuba with Christopher Columbus in 1492, but the Cuban community officially began in the early 20th century, said the vice president of Cuba’s Hebrew Community.

Cuba’s constitution includes provisions for religious freedom and bans religious-based discrimination. “Cubans are believers, but sometimes they believe in everything,” said Msgr. Ramon Suarez, chancellor of Havana’s Catholic archdiocese. But when Suarez did his military service as a young seminarian, he kept his Bible hidden, fearing it would get confiscated.The Catholic Church took an anti-communist stance shortly before Fidel Castro declared Cuba to be socialist in 1961.Public religious events were banned after processions transformed into political protests, sometimes turning violent.

Arguably the most popular religion in Cuba is Santeria, which fuses Catholicism with Afro-Caribbean traditions.

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