Santa Ana Catedral Nuestra Señora de Santa Ana 2

El Salvador El Salvador (; , meaning " The Saviour"), officially the Republic of El Salvador ( es, República de El Salvador), is a country in Central America. It is bordered on the northeast by Honduras, on the northwest by Guatemala, and on the south b ...

's approximately 6.2 million inhabitants are mostly Christian. For percentages it cites the Institute of Public Opinion of the University of Central America May 2017 survey.

Evangelical Protestantism Evangelicalism (), also called evangelical Christianity or evangelical Protestantism, is a worldwide interdenominational movement within Protestant Christianity that affirms the centrality of being "born again", in which an individual experi ...

is experiencing rapid growth in recent decades while the Catholic share of the population is on decline. El Salvador is a secular country and the freedom of religion is enshrined in the nation's constitution. However, the constitution grants automatic official recognition to the Roman Catholic Church and requires other religious groups to apply for official recognition through registration.

Historical Trends

*Sources: Based on Pew Center Research (including historical percentages of Catholicism) and CID-Gallup surveys, top of non-religious population based on the National Technological University Investigation at ends 2003Religions in El Salvador (2003)
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Religious affiliation

There is some debate about percentages, the Institute of Public Opinion of the University of Central America in May 2017 found 47.5% of the population as

Roman Catholics The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

, and 35.1% as Protestant, 14.5% as not having a religion and the remainder (about 3%) being

Jehovah's Witnesses Jehovah's Witnesses is a millenarian restorationist Christian denomination with nontrinitarian beliefs distinct from mainstream Christianity. The group reports a worldwide membership of approximately 8.7 million adherents involved in ...

, International Society of Krishna Consciousness, Muslims, Jews, Baháʼís,

Buddhists Buddhism ( , ), also known as Buddha Dharma and Dharmavinaya (), is an Indian religion or philosophical tradition based on teachings attributed to the Buddha. It originated in northern India as a -movement in the 5th century BCE, and gra ...

, Latter-day Saints (Mormons), and members of indigenous religions. However, Latinobarómetro in 2017 found 39% were Catholic, 28% Protestant, 30% atheist/agnostic/not religious, 2% other religions, and 1% did not answer. It also found in 1996 that 67% of the population considered themselves Catholic and 15% Protestant.

Churches of El Salvador

Iglesia El Rosario, frente a Plaza Libertad.jpg, Iglesia El Rosario,

San Salvador San Salvador (; ) is the capital and the largest city of El Salvador and its eponymous department. It is the country's political, cultural, educational and financial center. The Metropolitan Area of San Salvador, which comprises the capital i ...

File:Catedral Metropolitana de San Salvador.png, San Salvador Cathedral CATEDRAL DE SAN MIGUEL, EL SALVADOR - panoramio.jpg, Cathedral Basilica of Queen of Peace, San Miguel Iglesia Don Rua.JPG, Iglesia Don Rua,

Fachada principal de la Iglesia El Calvario.JPG, Iglesia El Calvario,

El Carmen SantaTecla.jpg, Iglesia El Carmen,

Basílica Sagrado Corazón de Jesús.jpg, Basílica del Sagrado Corazón de Jesús,

Iglesia Santa Lucía de Suchitoto.JPG, Iglesia Santa Lucía,

Suchitoto Suchitoto is a municipality in the Department of Cuscatlán, El Salvador that has seen continuous human habitation long before Spanish colonization. Within its municipal territory, Suchitoto holds the site of the original founding of the Villa ...

Iglesia Catolica Dulce Nombre de Maria.jpg, Church in Dulce Nombre de María Santa Ana Iglesia El Carmen.jpg, Iglesia El Carmen,

Santa Ana, El Salvador Santa Ana () is the second largest city in El Salvador, after the capital of San Salvador. It is located 64 kilometers northwest of San Salvador, the capital city. Santa Ana has approximately 374,830 (2017)) inhabitants and serves both as the c ...

Iglesia Nuestra Señora de la Asunción..jpg, Iglesia Nuestra Señora de la Asunción,

Ahuachapán Ahuachapán () is a city, and municipality, and the capital of the Ahuachapán Department in western El Salvador. The municipality, including the city, covers an area of 244.84 km² and as of 2007 has a population of 110,511 people. Situat ...

Zacatecoluca Catedral Nuestra Señora de los Pobres 2.jpg, Our Lady of the Poor Cathedral, Zacatecoluca San Salvador Iglesia Nuestra Señora de Candelaria.jpg, Iglesia Nuestra Señora de Candelaria,

San Salvador Department San Salvador () is a department of El Salvador in the west central part of the country. The capital is San Salvador, which is also the national capital. The department has North of the Rio Lempa Valley, the "Valle de las Hamacas" (Hammock Valley) ...

Iglesia del Cristo Negro de Juayua.jpg, Iglesia del Cristo Negro, Juayua Iglesia de San Pedro Perulapán.jpg, Iglesia de

San Pedro Perulapán San Pedro Perulapán is a municipality in the Cuscatlán department of El Salvador. San Pedro Perulapán is a town whose origins are pre-Columbian; it received the title of city on April 28, 1921. The Battle of San Pedro Perulapán occurred h ...

Iglesia Parroquial de Santiago Apostol, Santiago Texacuangos, San Salvador.jpg, Iglesia Parroquial de Santiago Apostol, Santiago Texacuangos,

Iglesia del Perpetuo Socorro.JPG, Iglesia del Perpetuo Socorro,

Iglesia El Calvario San Miguel El Salvador.jpg, Iglesia El Calvario San Miguel, San Miguel, El Salvador Iglesia Parroquial de San José Guayabal.JPG, Iglesia Parroquial de

San José Guayabal San José Guayabal is a municipality in the Cuscatlán department of El Salvador El Salvador (; , meaning " The Saviour"), officially the Republic of El Salvador ( es, República de El Salvador), is a country in Central America. It is bor ...

Catedral San Vicente.jpg, Cathedral of San Vicente, El Salvador Iglesia Parroquial San Miguel Arcangel en Ilobasco.JPG, Iglesia Parroquial San Miguel Arcangel in

Ilobasco Ilobasco is a municipality in the Cabañas department of El Salvador. It is located 30 miles (48 kilometers) northeast of the capital, San Salvador. This town is known country wide (and internationally) for its clay (other materials also used) ...

Iglesia San Francisco Gotera - panoramio.jpg, Iglesia San Francisco Gotera Iglesia Santa Barbara en Sensuntepeque, Cabañas.jpg, Iglesia Santa Barbara en Sensuntepeque Iglesia de Chalchuapa.jpg, Parroquia Santiago Apostol, Chalchuapa IGLESIA EL CALVARIO.JPG, Iglesia el Calvario,

Iglesia de San Pedro Nonualco.JPG, Iglesia de San Pedro Nonualco Iglesia de la Parroquia Nuestra Señora de los Dolores Izalco.jpg, Iglesia de la Parroquia Nuestra Señora de los Dolores Izalco Catedral de Sonsonate.jpg, Sonsonate Cathedral Iglesia Parroquial San Juan Evangelista, San Juan Opico, El Salvador. Fachada.jpg, :Iglesia Parroquial San Juan Evangelista, San Juan Opico 100 4073.JPG, Iglesia de Panchimalco

Protestant denominations

Mision Cristiana Elim Internacional is a large pentecostal denomination started in El Salvador. It claims that its main church in San Salvador has 120,000 attending. The

Assemblies of God The Assemblies of God (AG), officially the World Assemblies of God Fellowship, is a group of over 144 autonomous self-governing national groupings of churches that together form the world's largest Pentecostal denomination."Assemblies of God". ...

claim 285,226 members (2007). The Mormons claim 120,317 people in 164 congregations and 1 temple (2015) which if correct would be just under 2% of the population. An IUDOP study in 2009 found that Mormons were 2% of the Protestants they surveyed or about .8% of the total population. They started evangelizing in El Salvador in 1951. The Anglican Church in El Salvador (a diocese of the province of the Anglican Church in Central America) claims 6,000 members in 18 congregations. The Baptist Association of El Salvador claims 4,427 members and the Salvadorean Lutheran Synod about 15,000 in 68 congregations.

Religious freedom

The constitution of El Salvador provides for the freedom of religion and prohibits religious discrimination. Publicly offending others' religious beliefs or damaging religious objects is punishable by imprisonment. Members of the clergy may not hold senior government positions, and are forbidden from joining political parties.
International Religious Freedom Report 2017 El Salvador
', US State Department, Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor. Religious groups may register with the government for the purposes of tax-exemption and acquiring building permits. Special visas are required for individuals who wish to travel to El Salvador to engage in proselytizing. Public school education is secular. Private schools may include religious content in their curricula, but do not receive government support. Since 2016, clergy have limited access to prisons, due to concerns that some members of the clergy were using prison visits to smuggle items into prisons.

References

CIA.gov

External links

* {{North America topic, Religion in