Cuban Churches Striving to Gather Despite the Communist Dictatorship
June 8th

For over 60 years, Cuba has been under communist dictatorship, marked by strict control and persecution.

Out of Cuba’s 11.5 million people, approximately 7 million (62%) identify as Christians. Among them, 46% are Catholics, 7.5% are Protestants, and over 11% are evangelicals—about 1.3 million in number. However, the majority of citizens are atheists, and many practice Santería, a folk religion formed in Cuba by blending Catholic and African spiritual traditions during the Spanish colonial period. Superstition and spiritualism also hold a significant presence.

Cuba became a one-party state under Fidel Castro’s Communist Party in 1959. His brother, Raúl Castro, took over the presidency in 2008, followed by Miguel Díaz-Canel in 2019. The Cuban government amended its constitution in 1992, officially transitioning from an atheist state to a secular one, allowing partial religious activities. Since then, the proportion of Christians has increased. A new constitution was adopted in 2019, reaffirming the country’s secular status, yet persecution of Christians has continued.

Cuba remained outside the top 50 in the global Christian persecution index. However, its ranking rose sharply from 61st place in 2020 to 37th place in 2022, reflecting increased repression of churches opposing the regime. The COVID-19 lockdowns restricted church and community activities and were used as a pretext to monitor religious leaders, arbitrarily arrest them, confiscate private property, and impose extortionate fines. Many Christian leaders from various denominations were among those arrested during the anti-government protests in July 2021.

Concerned about its international reputation, the Cuban government altered its persecution strategy. Officials frequently summon Christian leaders to meetings or detain them for up to 48 hours to intimidate them. The regime also employs hired thugs to attack churches while denying involvement. Church buildings are confiscated, and since the 1959 revolution, no new churches have been officially constructed in Cuba. Many believers gather in unregistered house churches, often meeting in pastors’ homes or extended sections of backyard barns to avoid detection. The government enforces severe penalties, such as complete denial of church licenses, heavy fines, property confiscation, and the demolition or closure of churches, including house churches. With state-controlled media and restricted access to the outside world, Cuban Christians face immense difficulty in communicating broadly within the country.

The government strongly opposes dissent, and any church leader or Christian activist who criticizes the regime faces arrest, church closures, business shutdowns, imprisonment, and ongoing harassment from both government authorities and their supporters. The number of political prisoners in Cuban jails has surged from 134 in December 2020 to 805 in recent years. The human rights organization Prisoners Defenders has reported these figures, stating that the actual number is likely higher due to difficulties in confirming all politically motivated incarcerations.

Despite the destruction of church buildings and pastors’ homes, Cuban Christians refuse to stop gathering.

In 2022, Pastor David Walter Peace, who serves a Baptist church in Cuba, continued to experience harassment from government officials. The first instance of persecution involved state security agents demolishing all the church’s walls, leaving only the ceiling intact. When the congregation persisted in gathering, authorities issued a ban prohibiting Peace and his congregation from meeting. However, undeterred by the government’s attempts to silence them, the church continued to grow, meeting in homes and open fields. Recently, they even baptized new believers.

In 2021, frontline ministers in Cuba baptized over 100 new believers, demonstrating that God’s Kingdom continues to expand despite adversity and opposition. One frontline minister stated, “Amid threats from opponents, a global pandemic, and the shadow of death from COVID-19, the Cuban Church continues to gather, worship, and move forward.”

In 2020, while officials in Santiago de Cuba demolished a church affiliated with the Assemblies of God, the congregation stood outside, weeping and singing hymns. Authorities had decided to destroy Los Pinos Church, which had been active for over 10 years in the southeastern part of Cuba. Officials gave Pastor Alain Toledano just 12 hours to demolish the church himself; otherwise, they would do it. National Security agents arrived at the scene and proceeded with the demolition while church members tearfully sang hymns. Not only was the church destroyed, but the wooden pastoral house was also torn down
. One Christian leader remarked, “A wave of persecution has reached the Church.”

The Church continued to grow as it worked hard to share the gospel. However, among the estimated 1 million Christians in the country, many have never owned a personal Bible. Although Bible distribution has improved in recent years, access remains limited. In 2017, Cuba permitted only members of ecumenical Protestant organizations to legally obtain Bibles, and most Christian literature remains illegal. There are no Christian bookstores on the islands, and a single Bible costs nearly 30% of a worker’s monthly income.

》Prayer Points

1. Let us pray for God to defeat Satan, the ruler of darkness, who works through Cuba’s communist dictatorship to oppress and exploit its people for over 60 years. This regime has suppressed religious freedom, deceiving the people by granting limited rights while preventing them from receiving the life-giving and powerful Word of God. May the light of the Gospel expose these lies and lead many Cubans to seek the truth and come to Christ.

14 The farmer sows the word.15 Some people are like seed along the path, where the word is sown. As soon as they hear it, Satan comes and takes away the word that was sown in them. 20 Others, like seed sown on good soil, hear the word, accept it, and produce a crop—some thirty, some sixty, some a hundred times what was sown.”(Mark 4:14-15,20,NIV)

2.Let us give thanks to God that, despite the Cuban government’s refusal to grant permits for church buildings—and even demolishing worship spaces and harassing pastors—believers continue to gather in homes and other places to worship. Let’s praise God for the churches that are growing, with new believers being baptized and strengthened in their faith through evangelism. Let us pray for the widespread distribution of Bibles so that Cuban Christians may read, meditate, and pray daily, standing firm in their faith despite persecution. And also may the Lord strengthen them to fight the good fight to the end, holding onto the Word of God and inheriting eternal life.    

12 Fight the good fight of the faith. Take hold of the eternal life to which you were called when you made your good confession in the presence of many witnesses.(1 Timothy 6:12,NIV)

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