Religion in Ecuador
I have been talking about this to a couple of people:
When it comes to religion, the Ecuadorian society is relatively homogeneous, with Christianity being the primary religion. Catholicism is the main Christian denomination in the country. There are also small minorities of other religions.
There are many old and new churches throughout the country and many more are being built by the Catholic Church. The Evangelical Missionary Union represents many Protestants in Ecuador; Anglican churches in Ecuador belong to Province 9 of the Episcopal Church in the United States of America. Other religions are present in small numbers: Eastern Orthodoxy, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Buddhism, Judaism, Hinduism and Islam.
According to Latinobarómetro's 2018 public opinion survey, approximately 92 percent of respondents have a religious affiliation or belief. Of those, 74.8 percent are Catholic; 15.2 percent are evangelical Christian (including evangelical Baptists and Methodists); and 1.2 percent are Jehovah's Witnesses. Approximately 1.4 percent identify as members of other religious groups, including Seventh-day Adventists, the Church of Jesus Christ, Jews, and Protestants. Of those who do not identify with a religion, 0.8 percent identify as atheists while 6.1 percent have no religion.
According to the Ecuadorian National Institute of Statistics and Census in 2012 (the most recent year for which there are government statistics available), approximately 92 percent of the population professes a religious affiliation or belief. 80.4% are Catholic, 11.3% are Protestants, 1.29% are Jehovah's Witnesses, and 6.96 have other religions or none.
80.4% Catholics
11.3% Protestants
1.29% Jehovah's Witnesses
6.96% Other or none
After the Spanish colonization, Ecuador became a Christian country. The Catholic Church had and still has an important place in the Ecuadorian government and society. After the Constitution of 1869, the official religion became Catholicism[7] and only Catholics could obtain citizenship. In 1899, the liberal government of Eloy Alfaro made a new constitution which respected all religions and guaranteed freedom of religious choice. Public education became free of religious influence. Nevertheless, private catholic schools still existed. Monsignor Antonio José Cardinal González Zumárraga is the emeritus Archbishop of Quito. He is in charge of the Ecuadorian Catholic Church.
In Latin America, Protestants are most often called Evangelicals (Evangelicos). Ecuador has now about 11% of the population calling itself Protestant. Most are Pentecostals, but many denominations are active.
According to the 2020 census by Statista, Protestant community representing 16.8% from Ecuador's population, includes unspecified Evangelical (10.6%), Pentecostalism (3.7%), Seventh-day Adventist (1.2%), Baptist church (0.9%) and Methodist (0.2%).
The separation of state and religion is since 1986 guaranteed.
The Ecuadorian Constitution of 1998 includes two articles providing for freedom of worship:
Art. 23: States, among others that "all people are legally born free and equal and that they will not be discriminated on the basis of religion". It guarantees also the freedom of religion. "Freedom of religion is guaranteed. Every individual has the right to freely profess his/her religion and to disseminate it individually or collectively. All religious faiths and churches are equally free before the law." The right to declare or not about ones religious affiliation is also guaranteed.
Art. 81: Prohibits publicity that encourages violence, racism, sexism, religious or political intolerance.
In 2023, the country was scored 4 out of 4 for religious freedom.
The Catholic Church's relatively weak presence in the countryside and in squatter settlements, coupled with the nominal, syncretistic practice of most Catholics, created a fertile ground for Protestant evangelical and Pentecostal missionary activity. Although multidenominational groups such as the Gospel Missionary Union (GMU) had been active in Ecuador since the beginning of the twentieth century, significant levels of conversion did not occur until the late 1960s. By the late 1970s, the GMU reported that it had converted 20,000 Sierra Indians in Chimborazo Province alone. The Christian and Missionary Alliance indicated that conversions among Indians in Otavalo climbed from 28 in 1969 to 900 in 1979. By the mid-1980s, an estimated 50,000 Ecuadorians had converted to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Other significant forces in the Protestant camp included World Vision, an evangelical development group based in California, and the Summer Institute of Linguistics (SIL). The Texas-based SIL dispatched linguists to remote areas of Ecuador to study and codify tribal languages. The eventual goal of such efforts was to translate the Bible.
The phenomenal pace of conversion — some observers estimated that evangelicals and Pentecostals totaled 40 percent of the population in Chimborazo Province in the late 1980s — affected social relations in rural areas. Change in religious affiliation was a major rupture with an individual's past traditions and social ties, effectively removing them from participation in fiestas—a major focus of much of community life. Families and extended families found the break with the rest of the community easier in the company of fellow converts. Protestantism replaced the patterns of mutual reciprocity characteristic of peasant social relations with a network of sharing and support among fellow believers. This support system extended to migrants; converts who left for the city or the coast sought out their coreligionists for assistance in finding lodging and employment even as Catholics looked to their compadres.
When it comes to religion, the Ecuadorian society is relatively homogeneous, with Christianity being the primary religion. Catholicism is the main Christian denomination in the country. There are also small minorities of other religions.
There are many old and new churches throughout the country and many more are being built by the Catholic Church. The Evangelical Missionary Union represents many Protestants in Ecuador; Anglican churches in Ecuador belong to Province 9 of the Episcopal Church in the United States of America. Other religions are present in small numbers: Eastern Orthodoxy, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Buddhism, Judaism, Hinduism and Islam.
According to Latinobarómetro's 2018 public opinion survey, approximately 92 percent of respondents have a religious affiliation or belief. Of those, 74.8 percent are Catholic; 15.2 percent are evangelical Christian (including evangelical Baptists and Methodists); and 1.2 percent are Jehovah's Witnesses. Approximately 1.4 percent identify as members of other religious groups, including Seventh-day Adventists, the Church of Jesus Christ, Jews, and Protestants. Of those who do not identify with a religion, 0.8 percent identify as atheists while 6.1 percent have no religion.
According to the Ecuadorian National Institute of Statistics and Census in 2012 (the most recent year for which there are government statistics available), approximately 92 percent of the population professes a religious affiliation or belief. 80.4% are Catholic, 11.3% are Protestants, 1.29% are Jehovah's Witnesses, and 6.96 have other religions or none.
80.4% Catholics
11.3% Protestants
1.29% Jehovah's Witnesses
6.96% Other or none
After the Spanish colonization, Ecuador became a Christian country. The Catholic Church had and still has an important place in the Ecuadorian government and society. After the Constitution of 1869, the official religion became Catholicism[7] and only Catholics could obtain citizenship. In 1899, the liberal government of Eloy Alfaro made a new constitution which respected all religions and guaranteed freedom of religious choice. Public education became free of religious influence. Nevertheless, private catholic schools still existed. Monsignor Antonio José Cardinal González Zumárraga is the emeritus Archbishop of Quito. He is in charge of the Ecuadorian Catholic Church.
In Latin America, Protestants are most often called Evangelicals (Evangelicos). Ecuador has now about 11% of the population calling itself Protestant. Most are Pentecostals, but many denominations are active.
According to the 2020 census by Statista, Protestant community representing 16.8% from Ecuador's population, includes unspecified Evangelical (10.6%), Pentecostalism (3.7%), Seventh-day Adventist (1.2%), Baptist church (0.9%) and Methodist (0.2%).
The separation of state and religion is since 1986 guaranteed.
The Ecuadorian Constitution of 1998 includes two articles providing for freedom of worship:
Art. 23: States, among others that "all people are legally born free and equal and that they will not be discriminated on the basis of religion". It guarantees also the freedom of religion. "Freedom of religion is guaranteed. Every individual has the right to freely profess his/her religion and to disseminate it individually or collectively. All religious faiths and churches are equally free before the law." The right to declare or not about ones religious affiliation is also guaranteed.
Art. 81: Prohibits publicity that encourages violence, racism, sexism, religious or political intolerance.
In 2023, the country was scored 4 out of 4 for religious freedom.
The Catholic Church's relatively weak presence in the countryside and in squatter settlements, coupled with the nominal, syncretistic practice of most Catholics, created a fertile ground for Protestant evangelical and Pentecostal missionary activity. Although multidenominational groups such as the Gospel Missionary Union (GMU) had been active in Ecuador since the beginning of the twentieth century, significant levels of conversion did not occur until the late 1960s. By the late 1970s, the GMU reported that it had converted 20,000 Sierra Indians in Chimborazo Province alone. The Christian and Missionary Alliance indicated that conversions among Indians in Otavalo climbed from 28 in 1969 to 900 in 1979. By the mid-1980s, an estimated 50,000 Ecuadorians had converted to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Other significant forces in the Protestant camp included World Vision, an evangelical development group based in California, and the Summer Institute of Linguistics (SIL). The Texas-based SIL dispatched linguists to remote areas of Ecuador to study and codify tribal languages. The eventual goal of such efforts was to translate the Bible.
The phenomenal pace of conversion — some observers estimated that evangelicals and Pentecostals totaled 40 percent of the population in Chimborazo Province in the late 1980s — affected social relations in rural areas. Change in religious affiliation was a major rupture with an individual's past traditions and social ties, effectively removing them from participation in fiestas—a major focus of much of community life. Families and extended families found the break with the rest of the community easier in the company of fellow converts. Protestantism replaced the patterns of mutual reciprocity characteristic of peasant social relations with a network of sharing and support among fellow believers. This support system extended to migrants; converts who left for the city or the coast sought out their coreligionists for assistance in finding lodging and employment even as Catholics looked to their compadres.
