Cuba: the situation of Pentecostal Protestant Christians, including treatment by the authorities and society; state protection (2001-November 2013)

1. Pentecostal Protestant Christians

The International Religious Freedom Report for 2012 published by the United States Department of State states that, according to Cuba's National Office of Statistics, in 2012, Cuba's population was approximately 11 million (US 20 May 2013, Sec. I). According to the report, five percent of the population is Protestant, and "Baptists and Pentecostals are likely the largest Protestant denominations" (ibid.). An article on religion in Cuba, published in the journal Socialism and Democracy, also stated that Pentecostalism, which is growing in popularity, has become the main Protestant tendency in Cuba (Alonso 30 Mar. 2010, 158). According to an article published in 2010 by Global Post, an international news agency based in Boston, the fastest-growing evangelical strain in Cuba is Pentecostalism; the first American Pentecostal missionaries arrived in Cuba before Fidel Castro's 1959 revolution (Global Post 16 Oct. 2010).

Global Ministries, an organization based in the United States that has over 270 partner churches around the world (Global Ministries n.d.b), states that the Christian Pentecostal Church of Cuba (Iglesia Cristiana Pentecostal de Cuba, ICPC) was established in 1956 by Puerto Rican missionaries (ibid. n.d.a). According to Global Ministries, there are about 15,000 ICPC members in Cuba (ibid.). Corroborating information could not be found among the sources consulted by the Research Directorate within the time constraints of this Response.

1.1 Treatment by the Authorities

The Annual Report 2013 published by the United States Commission on International Religious Freedom states that

[t]he Cuban government largely controls religious denominations through government-authorized surveillance and harassment, and at times detentions, of religious leaders, and through its implementation of legal restrictions. The government requires religious communities to undergo an invasive registration procedure with the Ministry of Justice. Only registered religious communities are legally allowed to receive foreign visitors, import religious materials, meet in approved houses of worship, and apply for travel abroad for religious purposes. Local Communist Party officials must approve all religious activities of registered groups (US Apr. 2013, 226).

According to the Annual Report 2013,

[t]he government also restricts religious practices by: denying permits to construct or repair houses of worship; denying access to state media and exit visas; requiring the registration of publications; limiting the entry of foreign religious workers; denying religious literature, such as Bibles, to persons in prison; and denying permission to hold processions or [religious] events outside religious buildings (ibid.).

Corroborating information could not be found among the sources consulted by the Research Directorate within the time constraints of this Response.

Christian Solidarity Worldwide (CSW), an organisation working for religious freedom (CSW n.d.), states that, in 2012, it received numerous reports of violent beatings of Protestant pastors in different parts of the country (ibid. 1 Apr. 2013, 3). The organization pointed out that scores of men, women and even children were physically and brutally dragged away by state security agents from Sunday morning religious services (ibid.). Many were imprisoned and then released after the conclusion of the religious services (ibid.).

The International Religious Freedom Report for 2012 states also that, in 2012, the authorities "harassed and fined" parishioners of evangelical Protestant churches because they were gathering to worship (US 20 May 2013, Sec. II). According to that same report, "pastors were sometimes arrested or detained for attempting to preach in public" (ibid.). Without providing details, the Annual Report 2013 states that during separate incidents, on 25 February 2012, 11 August 2012 and 6 October 2012, three evangelical pastors were beaten and detained for several hours after preaching in public (US Apr. 2013, 226).

According to several sources, a pastor of a Pentecostal church in the province of Holguín was assaulted (US 20 May 2013, Sec. II; Vatican Insider 1 Sept. 2013; CSW 3 Jan. 2013) by some unknown assailants in 2012 (CSW 1 Apr. 2013, 14). The International Religious Freedom Report for 2012 states that, in February 2012, the pastor was "found ... on the street after an apparent assault" (US 20 May 2013, Sec. II). The pastor suffered brain damage (ibid.). Vatican Insider, a project run by the Italian daily La Stampa, also states that the pastor suffered "permanent" brain injuries (1 Sept. 2013). According to the International Religious Freedom Report for 2012, "[a]t the time of the assault, [he] was on his way to lodge a protest of the government's confiscation of a church vehicle. The only thing stolen from him was the paperwork showing the church's title to the vehicle" (US 20 May 2013, Sec. II). The report explains that the Office of Religious Affairs is "responsible for issuing permits allowing religious groups to purchase and operate motor vehicles" (ibid.). Sources state that, according to the pastor, the incident was planned by the local Communist Party (Vatican Insider 1 Sept. 2013; CSW 3 Jan. 2013).

The Vatican Insider article states that, on 1 September 2013, no inquiry into the case had been carried out (1 Sept. 2013). Christian Solidarity Worldwide states that the police refused to carry out an investigation (1 Apr. 2013, 14). According to the International Religious Freedom Report for 2012, if there was an investigation into the incident, the government did not make the results public (US 20 May 2013, Sec. II).

1.2 Treatment by Society

According to the International Religious Freedom Report for 2012, in 2012, "there were no reports of societal abuses or discrimination based on religious affiliation, belief, or practice" (US 20 May 2013, Sec. III). Corroborating information could not be found among the sources consulted by the Research Directorate within the time constraints of this Response.

2. State Protection

Information on state protection provided to Pentecostal Protestants in Cuba could not be found among the sources consulted by the Research Directorate within the time constraints of this Response.

This Response was prepared after researching publicly accessible information currently available to the Research Directorate within time constraints. This Response is not, and does not purport to be, conclusive as to the merit of any particular claim for refugee protection. Please find below the list of sources consulted in researching this Information Request.

References

Alonso, Aurelio. 30 March 2010. "Religion in Cuba's Socialist Transition." Socialism and Democracy, 147-159. [Accessed 4 Dec. 2013]

Christian Solidarity Worldwide (CSW). 1 April 2013. "Cuba: Religious Freedom in Cuba." [Accessed 3 Dec. 2013]

_____. 3 January 2013. "Cuba: Dramatic Increase in Religious Freedom Violations in 2012." [Accessed 29 Nov. 2013]

_____. N.d. "About Us." [Accessed 6 Dec. 2013]

Global Ministries. N.d.a. "Christian Pentecostal Church of Cuba." [Accessed 29 Nov. 2013]

_____. N.d.b. "What is Global Ministries?" [Accessed 4 Dec. 2013]

Global Post. 13 October 2010. Nick Miroff. "Religion: Born Again Cuba." [Accessed 29 Nov. 2013]

United States (US). 20 May 2013. Department of State. "Cuba." International Religious Freedom Report for 2012. [Accessed 4 Dec. 2013]

_____. April 2013. Commission on International Religious Freedom. "Cuba." Annual Report 2013. [Accessed 5 Dec. 2013]

Vatican Insider. 1 September 2013. "Cuba in 2012: Zero Reforms and Growing Religious Repression." [Accessed 5 Dec. 2013]

Additional Sources Consulted

Oral sources: Attempts to contact representatives of the following organizations were unsuccessful: Global Ministries; Institute for Cuban and Cuban-American Studies, University of Miami; Saint Paul University in Ottawa. The representative of the Pentecostal Church in Ottawa and the representative of La Iglesia Cristiana Pentecostal in Havana were unable to provide information within the time constraints of this Response.

Internet sites, including: Amnesty International; Asociación Cubana de las Naciones Unidas; BBC; Caribbean Conference of Churches; The Christian Broadcasting Network; Christianity Today; Christian World News; Consejo Latinoamericano de Iglesias; Cuba - Ministerio de Justicia, Ministerio de Relaciones Exteriores; Cuban Council of Churches; Cuban Studies, Harvard University; Desarrollo Cristiano; ecoi.net; Enrichment Journal; Factiva; Freedom House; The Havana Reporter; Havana Times; The Huffington Post; Institute for Cuban and Cuban-American Studies, University of Miami; International Crisis Group; Latin American Council of Churches; Miami Herald; National Council of Churches; National Public Radio; New York Times; Noticiacristiana.com; Persecution.org; Religious Freedom Coalition; Saint Paul University in Ottawa; United Nations - Human Rights Council, Refworld; World Council of Churches; Worthy News.

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