As in the rest ofSpain, themajority religion in theCanary Islands is theCatholic Church.[2][3] The Catholic religion has been the majority since theConquest of the Canary Islands in the fifteenth century. This religion would largely replace theCanarian aboriginal religion through the prohibition of the latter and syncretism. According to a survey conducted in 2019, Canary Islands is the fifthautonomous community in Spain with the highest percentage of people who declare themselves to be Catholics after theRegion of Murcia,Extremadura,Galicia,Aragon, andCastile and León. 76.7% of the population is Catholic.[1]
In the Canary Islands there are also minorities of other religions, such asIslam,[4]Evangelical Churches,[4]Hinduism,[4]Afro-American religion,[4]Chinese Religions,[4]Buddhism,[4]Baháʼí Faith[4] andJudaism,[4] as well as the existence in the archipelago of a form of autochthonous neo-paganism, theChurch of the Guanche People. The Canary Islands is currently one of the regions with the greatest religious diversity in Spain andEurope.
According to a Metroscopy survey of 2011, which conducts social studies:[5]
Therefore, there is a 6% difference between people who identify with some religion and those who believe in some divinity.
According to the Autonomous Barometer of the CIS, the distribution of beliefs in 2019 was as follows:[1]
76.7% | Catholics |
5.8% | Non-believers |
8.1% | Atheists |
6.3% | Agnostics |
2.8% | Other religions |
The original religion practiced by the native or aboriginal peoples of the archipelago (Guanches) was a belief of animistic and polytheistic type, with a strong presence ofastral cult.
This religiosity sacralized certain places, mainly rock and mountains, such as the volcanoTeide inTenerife, theIdafe Rock inLa Palma, theBentayga Rock inGran Canaria or the mountain ofTindaya inFuerteventura. They also held sacred the trees, among which thedrago and thepine stand out. There was a pantheon of different gods and ancestral spirits; among the main gods for example of the island of Tenerife, we could highlight:Achamán (god of heaven and supreme creator),Chaxiraxi (mother goddess later identified with theVirgin of Candelaria),Magec (god of the sun) andGuayota (the demon) among many other gods and ancestral spirits. Also practiced was the cult of the dead and the mummification of corpses, as on the island of Tenerife where it reached greater perfection.[6] They also fashioned clay or stone idols.
TheChristianization of the Canary Islands is linked to the process of conquest, although the presence of Christian elements in the archipelago dates back at least a century before its incorporation into theCrown of Castile.
The first news that speaks of the introduction ofChristianity in the islands dates from 1351, the year PopeClement VI created theBishopric of the Islands of Fortune orBishopric of Telde on the island ofGran Canaria. The Bishopric of Telde was basically a project of evangelization of the Canary Islands byMallorcan andCatalan missionaries, which failed because of raids by European pirates which angered the natives. This situation led to the martyrdom of thirteen Catalan hermit missionaries who were thrown by the aborigines to the abyss of Jinámar in 1393.[7]
Later the Norman conquerorsJean de Béthencourt andGadifer de la Salle arrived on the island ofLanzarote. After the conquest of the island in 1402 a small church or hermitage was established in the Rubicon Castle, which later acquired the title of cathedral by papal concession, dedicated toSaint Martial. TheAntipope Benedict XIII in a bull issued on July 7, 1404, created theDiocese of San Marcial del Rubicón.[8] Thereafter, aboriginal leaders subdued on the islands of Lanzarote,Fuerteventura,La Gomera andEl Hierro were baptized along with their followers.
In 1424, PopeMartin V erected inBetancuria theBishopric of Fuerteventura, which encompassed all the Canary Islands except the island of Lanzarote.[9] This bishopric was abolished in 1431, just seven years after it was created.[9]
In the mid-fifteenth century there is evidence of the presence of Christian missionaries in the western Canary Islands, because around 1450 in the area of the modern municipality ofCandelaria inTenerife a hermitage is found consisting of three friars led by friarAlfonso de Bolaños, considered the "Apostle of Tenerife". These religious lived among theGuanches, speaking their language and baptizing many of them. This mission would last until near the beginning of the conquest of this island.[10] It is at this time when most researchers locate the finding of the image of theVirgin of Candelaria by the Guanches of Tenerife and theVirgin of the Snows by aborigines of the island ofLa Palma, both possibly carried to these islands by Mallorcan or Catalan missionaries. The Virgin of Candelaria would enjoy a considerable religious and cultural importance in the archipelago, to the point that in 1599 she was declared Patron Saint of the Canary Islands by PopeClement VIII, a title ratified in 1867 byPius IX.[10]
In 1485, after the conquest of Gran Canaria, PopeInnocent VIII definitively authorized the transfer of the diocesan seat from San Marcial del Rubicón toLas Palmas. The name of the diocese was changed to be calledDiocese Canariense-Rubicense, making reference to the island where its headquarters would be from that moment, that is, Gran Canaria, but retaining in its name its origin, the Rubicón.[7]
From here the Christianization of the islands of La Palma and Tenerife would begin. The Christianization of the Canary Islands was quick and complete. Insular Catholicism has given two saints to the Church up to the present:José de Anchieta (1534-1597)[11] andPeter of Saint Joseph de Betancur (1626-1667).[12] Both, born on the island of Tenerife, were missionaries respectively inBrazil andGuatemala.
In the nineteenth century a new bishopric was founded in the Canary Islands, theDiocese of San Cristobal de La Laguna in 1819.[13] Although the origins of creating a diocese based in Tenerife began shortly after the conquest of the Canary Islands, it was the sameAlonso Fernández de Lugo (conqueror of this island) who in 1513 asked the Court to erect a new diocese on the island of Tenerife. However, this project would always have the opposition of the Grancanarian bishop.[14] From 1819, the Canary Islands was divided into two dioceses: TheDiocese Canariense-Rubicense that encompasses the eastern islands (Gran Canaria, Fuerteventura and Lanzarote) and theDiocese of San Cristóbal of La Laguna orNivariense that encompasses the western islands (Tenerife, La Gomera, La Palma and El Hierro).
In the Canary Islands, religious devotions of great tradition in history and culture are particularly important, such as theVirgin of Candelaria and theChrist of La Laguna inTenerife, theVirgin of the Pine inGran Canaria, theVirgin of the Snows inLa Palma, the Virgin of La Peña inFuerteventura, theVirgin of Guadalupe inLa Gomera, theOur Lady of Dolours inLanzarote, and the Virgin of the Kings inEl Hierro. Many of the Canarian festivities have a Catholic religious background, such as theromerias and the tradition of thebajadas of some images of the island patrons worshiped in the archipelago.
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The strategic situation of the archipelago on the commercial routes and its condition as a bridge of union betweenEurope,Africa andAmerica motivated the establishment in the islands of merchants and missions of various religions, includingJews andProtestants.[2]
The presence ofAnglican communities in the archipelago dates back to the late sixteenth century, although growth was slow until the nineteenth century. The first Anglican communities in the Canary Islands were established in the cities ofPuerto de la Cruz,Santa Cruz de Tenerife,Las Palmas de Gran Canaria and to a lesser extent inSanta Cruz de La Palma.[15]
In the city of Puerto de la Cruz in the north of the island of Tenerife would be built at the end of the nineteenth century the first Anglican church in the Canaries, theChurch of All Saints. In addition, this city also has the oldest Anglican cemetery in the archipelago. Later, others were built, such as the Anglican Chapel of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria and the Church of San Jorge in Santa Cruz de Tenerife (today a Catholic church).
RegardingEvangelicalism, the majority of Evangelical churches in the Canary Islands were built in the second half of the 20th century,[2] among which the following stand out: TheAssembly of God, thePhiladelphia Church of God, thePentecostal Church, theBaptists, theBody Church of Christ, and theSalvation Army.[2] The Evangelical Council of the Canary Islands is the federation that brings together the majority of the various evangelical churches existing in the archipelago. There are also national churches of theScandinavian countries such as theChurch of Sweden, theChurch of Norway, theGerman Evangelical Church and theEvangelical Lutheran Church of Finland.[2]
TheEastern Orthodox Church is also present, although it is the Christian community that has most recently established itself in the archipelago, mostly at the beginning of the 21st century,[2] including theRussian Orthodox Church, theRomanian Orthodox Church, and the newOrthodox Church of the Canary Islands which is a small community within theSpanish Orthodox Church under the jurisdiction of theSerbian Orthodox Church and in communion with the universal Orthodox Church. Its headquarters is in Puerto de la Cruz in Tenerife.[16]
There are also communities ofJehovah's Witnesses andthe Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints,[2] of which there are 3,300 members in the Canary Islands. On the island of Tenerife there are three Latter-day Saint centers: inSanta Cruz de Tenerife,Los Cristianos andSan Cristóbal de La Laguna; the latter is the only one in the Canary Islands built expressly as such.[17] On the island of Gran Canaria there are three other centers:Las Palmas de Gran Canaria,Telde, andVecindario. On other islands there are one on the island of Fuerteventura inPuerto del Rosario and one on the island of Lanzarote inArrecife. There is also a small group on the island of La Palma.
Islam is currently the second religion most practiced in the archipelago after Catholicism.[5] In 2022, there are 80.171 Muslims in the Canary Islands.[18]
TheMuslim communities were definitively established in the Canary Islands onTenerife andGran Canaria between the 19th and 20th centuries, later onFuerteventura andLanzarote, and still later onLa Palma.[2]
Currently, theIslamic Federation of the Canary Islands is the religious organization that brings together the associations and communities of the Canarian archipelago.[19]
Judaism came to the Canary Islands in the 15th century with the conquest, from theconverted Jews who moved from theIberian Peninsula and who would continue practicing their ancient religion in secret. Originally, the Canarian Jews resided mainly on the islands of Tenerife and La Palma.[20] The mother of the future Catholic saint,José de Anchieta, a missionary in Brazil born inSan Cristobal de La Laguna, Tenerife, was a descendant of Jewish converts.[21]
Just as in the rest of Spain, the Jews would suffer persecution from theHoly Inquisition, although to a much lesser extent than in the Iberian Peninsula. The current community ofSephardic exile origin in the Canary Islands began to settle in the islands in the middle of the 20th century.[20]
The Canary Islands is the region with the largest community ofHindus in Spain, in fact, almost half of the country's Hindus live in the archipelago.[2] Hinduism came to the Canary Islands from theIndian merchants who began settling there in 1870s of the 19th century.[2] They initially concentrated around the free ports ofLas Palmas de Gran Canaria andSanta Cruz de Tenerife, but have spread out. Tenerife is one of the few places in Europe whereGanesh Chaturthi is celebrated publicly.
Buddhist communities have emerged since the 1980s. At present, theTibetan Buddhist denominations are more prominent within the Buddhist community. In 2005, two Canarian Buddhist converts were recognized as Dharma teachers by the orthodox Buddhist institutions, Francisco Mesa (Denkō Mesa) and Alejandro Torrealba (Acharya Dharmamitra Dhiraji), as lay spiritual leaders of Buddhist centers in Tenerife and Gran Canaria respectively.[2]
There is also a presence oftraditional Chinese religions among immigrants from this country, and also members of theBaháʼí Faith.[2]
Due to the strong link existing withLatin American countries such asCuba andVenezuela, there is a presence in the islands of African-American practices such asSantería,Voodoo,Candomblé,Palo Mayombe andVenezuelan Spiritism.[2]
Freemasonry has had a great influence on the development of the history of the archipelago especially between the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. TheMasonic Temple of Santa Cruz de Tenerife was the largest Masonic center in Spain[22] before it was occupied by the military of theFranco regime.[22]
There are other small religious communities qualified as sects, such as theChurch of Scientology (of which its founderL. Ron Hubbard visited the Canary Islands several times in the 1960s and 1970s)[23] among others.
Especially singular is theChurch of the Guanche People, a neo-pagan religion founded in 2001 that tries to implement the Canarian aboriginal religion as anethnic religion in the current Canarian society.[24]
