Panama is a predominantlyCatholic country.
A survey in 2020 showed that 72.31% of the population wereCatholic, 9.85% wereProtestant, 8.87% were otherChristian, 5.5% followed another religion and 4.36% had no religious beliefs.[2]
Christianity was introduced to the country with the Spanishconquistadors and centuries of missionaries. Like the rest of Latin America, theCatholicism of the conquest began to shift as aspects of indigenous, African and other spiritualities were acculturated. In recent decades, however,EvangelicalProtestant churches, especially those denominations strongest in North America, have been gaining ground.
The National Institute of Statistics and Census carried out a survey in 2022 and found that while most of the country followed Catholicism, theEpiscopalian community had 11,000 members, theMethodist Church had 1,500 members, and theLutheran Church had 1,000 members; other denominations includedSeventh-day Adventists,the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints,Jehovah’s Witnesses andPentecostals.[3]
Like the rest of the continent, Panamanians celebrateCarnaval before Lent, and towns and regions have their own festivals at different parts of the year. The most famous of these is the festival of the Cristo Negro, the Black Jesus Christ, in the town ofPortobelo in theColón Province on October 21. InLas Tablas andHerrera provinces, festivals are held for the Jesus Cristo de Azuero, named after the peninsula.
