Religion in Honduras
The pre-Hispanic people that lived in actual Honduras were polytheistic Mayans and other groups. In the 16th century Christianity was introduced.
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History [edit]
Ancient Religion [edit]
Maya religion was an important religion in Copan (Honduras), between fourth and seventh century.
Post-Colonial Religion [edit]
The first catholic mass celebrated in continental American territory was carried out on August 14, 1502 in Punta Caxinas, which was two weeks after the discovery of Honduras by Christopher Columbus. Since then, the Spanish took charge inculcating the catholic faith among the Honduran natives.
Independence and Freedom of religion [edit]
The Constitution provides for freedom of religion, and other laws and policies contributes to the generally free practice of religion.[1] The law at all levels protects this right in full against abuse, either by governmental or private actors.[1] The Government generally respects religious freedom in practice.[1] In 2008, the US Government received no reports of societal abuses or discrimination in Honduras based on religious affiliation, belief, or practice.[1]
Twentieth Century [edit]
The principal religious groups are Catholic, Episcopal, Lutheran, Jehovah's Witness, Mennonite approximately 300 evangelical Protestant groups, and the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (Mormon).[1]
Nowadays the catholic church in Honduras is composed by eight dioceses: Tegucigalpa, Comayagua, Choluteca, Olancho, Yoro, San Pedro Sula, Trujillo and Copán which are a part of the Conference Espiscopal of Honduras.
Other religions like the diverse Protestant churches are structured by three confederacies: The Shepherds' Association of Honduras, the Evangelical Brotherhood of Honduras and the Apostolic Network of Honduras.
In recent years, both the Roman Catholic Church, and a big number of subdivisions of the catholic church as well as the Protestant churches, especially the Pentecostal denominations, have experienced an important growth in the number of new parishioners. This is perhaps, the result of the progress in routes of communication, which allows the Catholic church as well as the evangelicals to make useful time of the T.V. stations, radio, newspapers, universities and Internet pages.
In June, 2006, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints announced that it would build a temple in Tegucigalpa, Honduras, making it one of the six LDS temples in Central America.
The most prominent evangelical churches include the Abundant Life, Living Love, and Great Commission Churches.[1] A growing number of evangelical churches have no denominational affiliation.[1] The National Association of Evangelical Pastors represents the evangelical leadership.[1] There are small numbers of Muslims and Jews.[1] San Pedro Sula has a mosque and a synagogue, and Tegucigalpa has a synagogue.[1]
Statistics [edit]
There are no reliable government statistics on religious affiliation in Honduras.[1] In a 2007 nationwide survey, CID-Gallup reported that:
47 percent of respondents identify themselves as Roman Catholics, 36 percent as evangelical Protestants, and 17 percent either provide no answer or consider themselves "other".[1]
See also [edit]
References [edit]
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l International Religious Freedom Report 2008: Honduras. U.S. Department of State (2008).
This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the 
