Venezuela

The religious landscape of the country of Venezuela, on the northern coast of South America, has undergone multiple readjustments over the past four decades. While the 2001 census figures point to the clear predominance of Catholicism (96%), the contemporary religious scene is characterized by a growing pluralism, with some apparent tensions. The sustained growth of Protestantism (2%), particularly since the 1970s, has been one of the principal factors in the redefinition of religion in Venezuela. Pentecostal and neo-Pentecostal evangelical movements have found a fertile niche among the popular classes, where they operate in capillary fashion. The success of the Universal Church of the Kingdom of God exemplifies the surge of Protestantism. The Brazilian-based movement appeared on the scene in Venezuela in the 1990s, and its adherents have subsequently established a wide network of congregations, thanks to a sophisticated marketing strategy that includes radio and television programming, a newspaper, and a website.

The flourishing of Protestantism has not, however, slowed down the rise of its principal historical rivals—an array of practices frequently grouped under the generic term brujería, or “witchcraft.” An example of such a group is the cult of María Lionza, which spread throughout Venezuela during the 20th century, in spite of tenacious government repression and persecution lasting until the 1960s. The highest expression of Spiritism in Venezuela, this possession cult is widely practiced in urban areas, where the pantheon of spirits has continued to grow and give rise to new modalities of trance. The Cuban religious forms known as Santería and Palería, introduced in Venezuela at the end of the 1960s and 1980s, respectively, are also in full expansion mode, and their influence on the malleable María Lionza cult seems increasingly apparent.

Another notable development has been the growing vitality of the esoteric and New Age movements, particularly since the 1990s. The wide range of practices and beliefs identified with these expressions (metaphysics, self-help, yoga, feng shui, cartomancy, astrology, crystal therapy, rebirth, angelology, etc.) enjoys tremendous popularity, especially in urban [Page 1350]centers. The growing number of talks, workshops, and seminars, as well as the growing body of specialized literature on these topics, indicates that the fascination with this new spirituality is still on the rise.

Religion in Venezuela has also undergone a series of transformations since the advent of the Bolivarian Revolution in 1998. One of these has been an interesting political mobilization on the part of certain religious movements, chiefly Pentecostals, and to a lesser extent santeros and spiritists, in support of the process of change introduced by the administration of Hugo Chávez. Another has been the loss of privilege suffered by the Catholic Church, whose ongoing confrontations with the government have made it one of the country's most emblematic opposition sectors.