Christianity is the largestreligion in Venezuela, withCatholicism having the most adherents.
Venezuela is asecular nation and its constitution guarantees freedom of religion. Before the arrival ofSpanishmissionaries, the people residing in the territory of modern day Venezuela practiced a variety of faiths.
The influence of theCatholic Church was introduced in itscolonization by Spain. According to a 2011 poll (GIS XXI), 88% of the population is Christian, primarilyRoman Catholic (71%), and the remaining 17%Protestant, primarilyEvangelicals (in Latin America Protestants are usually called Evangelicos). TheVenezuelans without religion are 8% (atheist 2% andagnostic or indifferent 6%), almost 3% of the population follow other religion (1% of them are ofsanteria).[2]
There are small but influentialMuslim,Druze,[3][4]Buddhist, andJewish communities. The Muslim community of about 95,000 is concentrated among persons ofLebanese andSyrian descent living inNueva Esparta State,Punto Fijo and theCaracas area; Venezuela is home of the largest Druze communities outside the Middle East,[5] and has a significantDruze community (60,000)[5] from the same countries (aformervice president is Druze, showing the small group's influence).[3] Buddhism in Venezuela is practiced by over 52,000 people. The Buddhist community is made up mainly ofChinese,Japanese, andKoreans. There are Buddhist centers in Caracas, Maracay, Mérida, Puerto Ordáz, San Felipe, and Valencia. The Jewish community numbers approximately 13,000 and is mainly concentrated in Caracas.
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (Mormons) claims 173,125 members (April 2022) mostly in and aroundCaracas.[6]
Jehovah's Witnesses claim 136,542 activepublishers, united in 1,734congregations; 319,962 people attended annual celebration ofLord's Evening Meal in 2020.[7]
Venezuela is also notable for its significantsyncretic religious traditions, most notably those revolving around the figures ofMaria Lionza andJose Gregorio Hernandez.
In Venezuela, a population ofSanteria followers has been growing since 2008.[8] Rituals in Santeria include the slaughtering of a rooster, a chicken, or a goat.[9]
| Affiliation | % of Venezuela population | |
|---|---|---|
| Christian | 88 | |
| Catholic | 71 | |
| Protestant and other Christians | 17 | |
| Other faiths | 3 | |
| Santería | 1 | |
| Atheist | 2 | |
| Agnostic/indifferent | 6 | |
| Don't know/refused answer | 1 | |
| Total | 100 | |
Theconstitution of Venezuela provides for the freedom of religion insofar as it does not violate "public morality or decency". A 2017 constitutional law criminalizes "incitement to hatred" or violence, including provisions specifically concerning the incitement of hatred against religious groups.[10]
Religious organizations must register with the government in order to obtain legal status. TheDirectorate of Justice and Religion, part of theMinistry of Interior, Justice and Peace, manages registrations, disburses funds to registered organizations, and promotes religious tolerance. Chaplain services in the military are available only for Catholics.[10]
Religious education is allowed in public schools, although it is not part of any official curriculum proposed by the government.[10] In the past, representatives of the Catholic Church-affiliatedNational Laity Council have claimed that the government has at times pressured school administrators to not teach religious courses, but that in other cases teachers had autonomy to include religious education as long as their curricula were otherwise compliant with the Ministry of Education's standards.[11]
Leaders of religious organizations who are vocal critics of the government faced verbal harassment by regime leaders. Jewish community leaders have accused state-funded media and some government officials of engaging in antisemitic rhetoric.[10]
In 2023, the country was scored 3 out of 4 for religious freedom.[12]
The Catholic Church in Venezuela has around 31 million faithful, which represents 98% of the population. There are 37 jurisdictions present including 25 dioceses, 9 archdioceses, 3 vicariates apostolic, plus separate jurisdictions for the Melkite and Syrian rites, and also a military ordenate.
The Catholic manifestations in Venezuela are very varied, which means that in many regions they venerate a Marian dedication or a specific saint, as well as the realization of various fairs, masses, processions and parties for each patron saint of Catholicism. In this way, for example, in Zulia the Chinita Fair is celebrated, inNueva Esparta the Virgen del Valle is celebrated and inLara, theDivina Pastora is celebrated.
Protestantism is a branch ofChristianity that has its origins in the reform initiated byMartin Luther and other theologians as acritical response to the Catholic Church at the time. In general,Protestantism inLatin America has constituted, since the beginning of the Spanish conquest and colonization of America, a very minority sector of the Christian population that has been growing exponentially every decade. Protestantism was successful in several European nations, becoming predominant in theScandinavian countries and inNorthern Germany. In the following decades, various theological currents allowed the birth of various denominations, such as:Presbyterianism (which in turn became the official religion of Scotland, as the State Churchde Kirk),Calvinism,Anabaptism inSwitzerland andThe Netherlands,Methodism inEngland, among others.
Motivated by poverty and in search of a better future, hundreds of thousands ofnorthwestern Europeans[13][14] saw their destiny in theUnited States of America and made it their new home, where they practiced theProtestant faith from different perspectives. The nation did not have a single national language officially, which allowed each church to celebrate its religious services in the languages of their countries of origin. That's why the existence of free evangelical (state) churches, regardless of denomination, with Swedish and Norwegian-Danish backgrounds,[15] in addition to the German, Dutch and also English-speaking ones. All this was seen in therevivals known as:First Great Awakening,Second Great Awakening,Third Great Awakening andFourth Great Awakening; being theThird Great Awakening the seedbed for the expansion of Protestantism towards Latin America and the Caribbean countries, and in the other continents.
InVenezuela, the increase in numbers began at the end of the 19th century after a series of religious openings.[16] Prior to 1830, English-speakingQuakers were present in the capital city. So that, Protestantism has gradually become the second largest Christian community in the country after Catholicism. In this sense, according to the Evangelical Council of Venezuela,[17] 20% of the population of Venezuela is evangelical Protestant.[18] This is the result of several missionary efforts done across the country with foreign and national believers. One of the first Protestant churches built in Caracas was the Lutheran Church serving especially to the German speaking community living in Caracas. Then, the first denomination established to new believers in the nation was thePresbyterianism. "El Redentor" Presbyterian Evangelical Church is named as the oldest congregation ofCaracas dating back to 1898, which merged from an earlierMethodist effort since 1878. The evangelicals have had a big motivation for establishing schooling with Christian belief emphasis, just like theChristiansen Academy, inRubio, Venezuela; as well asColegio Americano de Caracas (Presbyterian).
The spread of evangelical proselytizing was organized into different regions by diverse pioneer works:
| Region | Early pioneer missions and denominations |
|---|---|
| Western region:Zulian region,Andean region andSouth-Western region | Scandinavian Alliance Mission of theEvangelical Free Church of America |
| Central-Western region | German-AmericanEvangelical PentecostalHoliness movement[19] which mostly merged intoAssemblies of God, andBaptist Church mainly associated to theSouthern Baptist Convention. |
| Central region | The Swedish Evangelical Free Church of U.S.A. |
| Capital Region | Presbyterian Church of U.S.A (Presbyterian), and theChristian and Missionary Alliance (Presbyterian) |
| Guayana and Amazona region | Baptist Mid-Missions |
| Eastern region:Anzoategui, Sucre, Monagas, andMargarita Island | Orinoco River Mission which later merged intoThe Evangelical Alliance Mission[20] |
| Los Llanos region | In Guarico:The Swedish Evangelical Free Church of U.S.A. In Apure:Baptists which merged intoNative Church |
The Christian-Evangelical Churches of Venezuela, today, are mainly segmented into six major branches:[21]
| Protestant or Evangelical branch | % |
|---|---|
| Assemblies of God and otherPentecostals groups | 60 % |
| Baptist Churches: | 16 % |
| Plymouth Brethren Church | 9 % |
| Seventh-day Adventist Church | 4 % |
| Evangelical Free Church | 2 % |
| United Pentecostal Church | 1 % |
TheEastern Orthodox Church in Venezuela has existed in Venezuela with the purpose of satisfying the spiritual needs of this religious groups, mainly made up of Russian, Yugoslav (Serbian, Croat and Bosnian) immigrants who arrived in the country since the end of World War II. It does not obey a planned system of religious proselytism, since church services were held in the immigrants' languages. Added to that group are the Greeks, Romanians[22] and Ukrainians,[23] who with the passing of the decades their descendants have maintained that faith in the country.[24]
During the oil-related high-income years of the 1970s, there were around 400 non-resident Indians in the country. There are also several thousand ofIndo-Caribbeans fromTrinidad and Tobago,Suriname, andGuyana in the cities ofCiudad Guayana andCaracas.
The Indian community consisted of personnel from the petroleum and petrochemical sectors, as well as a large number of traders. Many of them had taken their families with them to Venezuela, whether from India or elsewhere. Most of the traders belonged to theSindhi community but there were also some people from Gujarat, Punjab and the southern Indian States.
When the oil boom ended in 1982, followed by devaluation of the local currency, many of the non-resident Indians decided to seek their fortunes elsewhere. Currently, the Diaspora has been whittled down to half its former size. There are now only about 45 Indian families in Venezuela who are mainly engaged in retail trade. There are also a small number of experts in high tech. industries such as telecommunications.
All of them have adapted themselves very well to their country of residence and are generally held in high regard by the local people on account of their hard work, expertise and non-political nature.
The Venezuelan Constitution guarantees equal rights without discrimination to all expatriate personnel. This has facilitated the Indian community's life.
Another interesting feature is that many local people are interested in Indian religions and spirituality.
Some members of the Indian community also attend their functions. Most of the non-resident Indians are well educated. However, given their small numbers, they have not formed themselves into an active representative body. But they remain in touch with one another and with the Indian Embassy in Caracas. Even though they have little time to engage in numerous cultural activities, they doget together to celebrate Indian festivals likeDiwali.
On the whole, the Indian community in Venezuela is quite prosperous and has a per capita income that is above the national average that is itself as high as US$8,300 in terms of PPP. They take an active part in mobilising donations to help in alleviating distress at times of national calamities in India.[citation needed]
In 2010, there were 580 Hindus in Venezuela according to theAssociation of Religion Data Archives.[25]One denomination, the Evangelical Association...was similar in doctrine to the Methodist Church but, because of difficulties involving the preaching of the gospel in the German language, Jacob Albright and his co-laborers thought it best to establish their own denomination. During the nineteenth century, the Evangelical Association was probably one of the outstanding holiness churches in America.
