EL SALVADOR: THE DECLINING INFLUENCE OF THE ROMAN

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 SAN SALVADOR 002679

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PGOV SOCI PHUM ES
SUBJECT: EL SALVADOR: THE DECLINING INFLUENCE OF THE ROMAN
CATHOLIC CHURCH

REF: SAN SALVADOR 0750


1. SUMMARY: In the last 17 years, the Roman Catholic
Church has lost 12 percent of its share of the nation's
population, falling from 64 to 52 percent, and Catholicism
seems to have declined in power since the end of the
country's 1980-1992 civil war. The proportion of
Salvadorans belonging to Protestant sects has almost
doubled, from approximately 16 to 29 percent. However, the
nation's most affluent families are still predominantly
Catholic, and the most active Catholics join Protestants in
supporting the ruling center-right Nationalist Republican
Alliance (ARENA). Non-practitioners and atheists tend to
vote for the opposition leftist Farabundo Marti National
Liberation Front (FMLN). END SUMMARY.

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A SWING FROM LEFT TO RIGHT
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2. Background: Salvadoran culture has been largely shaped
by the influence of the Roman Catholic Church since the
religion's introduction by Spanish conquerors in the early
1500s. In more recent years, that influence has fluctuated
from a socially liberal to conservative orientation. In
1977, former Archbishop Oscar Arnulfo Romero adopted an
outspoken stance in favor of "liberation theology" that
alienated many of the church's most influential members.
Archbishop Arturo Rivera y Damas followed Romero's example
during his 1983-1994 tenure. Much changed in the years
following the 1992 Peace Accords, which ended repression and
violence on the part of government forces and guerrillas.
With the selection of Fernando Saenz Lacalle as Archbishop
of San Salvador in 1995, the Catholic Church entered a new
era during which it withdrew its support for "liberation
theology"; Saenz-Lacalle has placed a renewed emphasis on
individual salvation and morality. However, an underlying
division still exists within the Salvadoran Catholic Church
vis--vis such political issues.


3. According to Director Miguel Cruz of the University of
Central America's Institute of Public Opinion (IUDOP),a
silent struggle continues between the liberation-theology-
oriented Jesuits and the conservative Catholic group Opus
Dei, the latter of which counts Archbishop Saenz Lacalle as
a member. Many Jesuits who cling to liberation theology
believe that the church should place greater emphasis on
responding to the human needs of socially-marginalized
segments of society, while Opus Dei promotes spiritual
growth among its adherents through their everyday
activities, especially through works.

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PROTESTANT GROUPS HAVE ALMOST DOUBLED
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4. While the Salvadoran Catholic Church has struggled with
internal division, Protestant groups have grown rapidly. In
an in-depth study published in April, leading daily "La
Prensa Grafica" reported that since 1988, the Catholic
Church has lost 12 percent of its share of El Salvador's
population, while the proportion of the nation belonging to
Protestant sects has almost doubled, from approximately 16
to 29 percent. Catholicism enjoys its greatest percentage
of adherents (60.8 percent) among those above age 53, and
its lowest share (50.1 percent) among those aged 18-26.
Geographically, Catholicism reaches its highest percentage
of the population (circa 67 percent) in the nation's central
zone that includes the populous greater San Salvador
metropolitan region, while in the country's westernmost
provinces only 42 percent of the population identifies
itself as Catholic.


5. Although Protestantism has expanded rapidly in recent
decades, Protestants' presence in El Salvador dates from the
1896 establishment of the Central American Mission (CAM) in
El Salvador and Guatemala. Since then, Protestant
missionaries have been active, particularly those
representing American and Canadian evangelical
denominations. Between 1930 and 1945, membership in
Protestant sects grew 9 percent annually, dropping slightly
to 7.6 percent annual growth from 1945 to 1960, followed by
a dramatic resurgence in growth during the 1970s. Some
observers attributed this growth to a rejection of
politicized activism as embodied by liberation theology.
Others have interpreted the high rate of Protestant
conversion as a spiritual reaction against the violence and
social instability of the late 1970s, 1980s, and 1990s.
Some assert that the nation's predominantly Roman Catholic
elite found an ideological ally in this brand of
Protestantism, not only for its apolitical orientation, but
also for its work-oriented values and its readiness not to
blame the nation's social ills on the existing political and
economic system.
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CATHOLIC CHURCH REORIENTS ITSELF TOWARD ROME
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6. The Salvadoran Catholic Church has in effect been "re-
Romanized", and now centers its message on individual
salvation and morality. In 1998, Saenz Lacalle succeeded in
an effort to prohibit legally all types of abortion, by
busing Catholic schoolchildren to the Legislative Assembly
to stage anti-abortion demonstrations. In an effort to
influence legislators, Opus Dei also solicited thousands of
signatures for anti-abortion petitions from churchgoers
after Mass; some political observers viewed this as an
inappropriate intervention in national policy on the part of
the Catholic Church. Archbishop Saenz Lacalle has also
defended the family as society's core institution, and has
been outspoken in his stand against homosexual marriage.

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THE PERILS OF "BROTHER TOBY"
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7. Perhaps nothing better illustrates Protestants'
increasing clout (and a corresponding weakening in
Catholics' lock on access to political power) than President
Saca's decision to invite influential Protestant pastor Rev.
Edgar Lopez Bertrand, better known as "Brother Toby" to
deliver the invocation at his June 2004 inauguration. This
gesture on Saca's part, which marked the first appearance
ever of a Protestant minister at a Salvadoran presidential
inauguration, was a clear indication of Protestants' growing
numbers and influence.


8. Less than a year later on May 16, 2005, Bertrand was
arrested by U.S. immigration authorities on his arrival in
Houston, and charged with falsifying a birth certificate in
order to obtain a U.S. passport for an 11-year old minor who
he claimed was his daughter. Lopez, who heads the nation's
largest evangelical congregation, received numerous high-
level Salvadoran visitors during his incarceration,
including several Legislative Assembly deputies. He pleaded
guilty to the charges, and was released from custody August
24 with sentence of time served (101 days) plus legal costs.

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SOCIAL CLASSES AND RELIGION IN EL SALVADOR
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9. Notwithstanding their increasing influence at all levels
of Salvadoran society, a "prosperity gap" still exists
between the traditionally-Catholic elite families and
Protestants. A May IUDOP poll showed that Catholic families
are still disproportionately represented at higher-income
levels in comparison with Protestants and others. Some 11.7
percent of Catholic families have incomes above $576/month
(with 3.7 percent above $1,143/month),compared with 5.5
percent of Protestant families (only 1.0 percent of which
enjoy incomes above $1,143). A slight majority (51.5
percent) of those who practice no religion fell into the
lowest income bracket ($0-144/month).

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CATHOLICS, PROTESTANTS, AND ELECTIONS
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10. Religious groups of all kinds were politically active
in the March 2004 presidential election. Lutheran,
Episcopal, and "mainstream" Baptist church bodies endorsed
the FMLN candidate, while most charismatic Protestant groups
such as Assembly of God and Friends of Israel (the local
charismatic Baptist sect headed by "Brother Toby") actively
supported ARENA.


11. A May IUDOP poll revealed that 30.8 percent of
Catholics were inclined to vote for ARENA in municipal
elections next March, versus 17 percent who supported the
FMLN. Among Protestants, 35.8 percent planned to support
ARENA mayoral candidates, with only 11.1 percent for the
FMLN. In looking ahead to Legislative Assembly elections,
45.4 percent of Catholics favored ARENA, versus 15.6 percent
support for the FMLN. While 48.2 percent of Protestants
expressed support for ARENA Assembly candidates, 12.7
percent indicated an intention to vote for the FMLN. IUDOP
Director Miguel Cruz underscored these poll results, opining
that most Protestants and active Catholics will likely vote
ARENA in March 2006 municipal and Legislative Assembly
elections, while those not active in religion will favor the
FMLN.

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A MORE DIVERSE RELIGIOUS FUTURE?
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12. COMMENT: President Saca's tapping a Protestant
minister to preside at his inauguration was clearly an
acknowledgement of their increasing importance in Salvadoran
politics. If current trends continue, in less than a
decade, Roman Catholics will no longer be the nation's
majority religion. Although Saca's cabinet is wholly
Catholic, and a bare majority of Salvadorans continue to
identify themselves as Catholics, a more diverse religious
landscape, and the political ramifications that entails,
would appear to be an indisputable reality for the nation's
foreseeable future.