| Religious freedom in Cuba has experienced significant change in the last five decades. When Fidel Castro came to power in the 1960s, the country went from an overwhelmingly Catholic nation to approximately 30 years of enforced secularization, which included a ban on public celebrations of Christmas. But as Cuba entered its post-Soviet phase in the 1990s, atheism was dropped as the state's official creed and religious practice became more acceptable.;Now, nearly two decades later, religious groups, particularly the Roman Catholic Church, are playing a more prominent role in Cuban society. I went to Havana at Christmastime to report on how a shift in attitude toward religion provides a window into a country and people in transition. What I saw is a new kind of social contract at work that is renegotiating the terms of totalitarian rule: the Catholic Church and other religious groups are helping ease the burden of a stagnant economy by supporting social welfare programs, and in return they have more freedom of expression. |
