Witnessing Religious Liberty in Cuba

Quiero ser más como Tú 

Ver la vida como Tú! 

Saturarme de tu Espíritu 

Y reflejar al mundo tu amor.

I bear witness to the presence of religious liberty in Cuba. 

On a recent visit to Cuba I heard Pentecostal worshippers speaking in tongues and singing coritos, songs that are a part of every Latino evangelical worship service. I prayed the Lord’s Prayer shoulder-to-shoulder with Catholics, Nazarenes, Presbyterians, Methodists, Baptists, and others in an ecumenical service attended by hundreds in Havana. I talked openly with pastors about Bible translations with pastors. I worshiped at both registered and unregistered congregations, prayed before meals in homes and restaurants, and nearly broke noise ordinances with loud worship music. When I preached a sermon in the presence of Communist leaders, I felt no threat of harm or silencing.

So, from this visitor’s perspective, I bear witness to the presence of religious liberty in Cuba.  

I know. The realities for privileged outside visitors are always different than for those within the confines of a context or community. This is the case in any country, city, or household. And I understand the topic of religious liberty is a complicated one for Cubans to discuss. Cuba’s own definition of religious liberty has come so far, from declaring itself an atheist country in 1962 to opening the door to greater religious expression in the 1990s. The visit of Pope John Paul II is still a crowning moment in the advancement for religious liberty in Cuba that is celebrated inside the country as well as outside. That I could have the spiritual experience I did is a testament to the progress of peacemakers who have been building bridges of love and anchoring deeply in the hope of reconciliation one day. 

But I agree that I may not have the full story. I watched two years ago with anguish at the internal conflict on July 11, and as a Baptist peacemaker, I decry any action of violence perpetrated against individuals professing their faith according to how the Spirit may lead them. Those who are unjustly incarcerated should receive justice and fair treatment and I believe all should have the freedom of conscience to express their deeply held beliefs. 

I also believe that a sovereign state recognized by 185 of 193 countries in the United Nations objecting to the U.S. Cuban Embargo and seeking to bring Cuba into full communion with the global community certainly has the right to define religious liberty on its own terms, in its own context. Cuba does not express religious liberty in the same format as liberal democracies have for centuries, nor is it required to do so. 

So I must bear witness to the presence of religious liberty in Cuba and the deep faith of the persons with whom I was blessed to meet. 

In December, the United States Department of State designated Cuba as a “country of particular concern,” or CPC, for engaging in or tolerating systematic, ongoing, and egregious violations of religious freedom.” I bear witness to the presence of religious liberty in Cuba and the deep faith of the persons with whom I was blessed to meet. The State Department should remove Cuba’s designation as a “country of particular concern.”

In my view, I do not believe that such an elevated designation “advance[s] human rights around the globe,” as the U.S. State Department holds. I hold that the United States’ further harsh sanctions against the Cuban government by placing them on a list with  other countries with whom the United States has full diplomatic relations, only serves to further damage and destroy the lives of the Cuban people, a people who have suffered tremendously and uniquely over the past 64 years of blockade and alienation from the global community.

So I also must say I bore witness to the testimonies of a people in crisis, of stories that tell of the extreme damage the U.S. blockade continues to inflict upon the Cuban population. Numerous international studies support my own personal anecdotal evidence, of which I must bear witness.  Externally produced medicine, food, and medical technology is nearly impossible to find in Cuba because of the U.S. embargo imposing sanctions and threatening other countries that trade with them.

The situation in Cuba is broken in so many ways. The effects of the global pandemic and the economic crisis with runaway inflation have affected Cuba more acutely than many other nations. It is for Cubans to decide their own future and decide the answers to their problems they perceive before them within their own systems. Problems of this scale require wide coordination and mobilization, and they are not easy. 

But as a U.S. American, I must hold my government accountable for the harm that has affected so many over the past six decades and that it continues to affect. Many of the people I spoke with vocally affirmed that the problems in their country are not solely due to the U.S. blockade. 

I bear witness to Cubans declaring freely and openly that the Cuban system is not perfect. The Cubans I spoke with did not mince words about the nature in which their own government is dealing with its problems.

On January 13, on a publicly controlled television station debate show, the national historian at the University of Havana posited that Cuba should be focused on creating a “patriotism that allows us to truly arrive at a better future by designing a country that is successful, and prosperous for its own citizens, and capable of understanding plurality and diversity that marks the reality that is Cuba.” Cubans are having important conversations which seek to move into a future of change and growth. I applaud all voices leading toward this reality.

 But further alienation and ostracizing of Cuba by the United States only exacerbates the conditions that are paralyzing Cuban society. The reality is that many are facing desperate times, some of the worst since the “Special Period” of the 1990’s. Families are being divided through the necessity of migration and the urgency of this moment is palpable for the global community.

In November, 2022, 185 nations voted for the U.S. to lift the blockade and embargo in Cuba, with two states dissenting, the United States and the State of Israel. From my vantage point, even if religious liberty is being stifled, this argument should not support exacerbating the harm done toward the Cuban people in this time of great necessity and isolation. This is not a battle of ideologies, this is an economic and humanitarian crisis that deserves the world’s focus and attention as an opportunity for moving toward peace and reconciliation.

 To say religious liberty is nonexistent in Cuba is a falsehood; to place Cuba on a list of other countries charged with religious liberty violations, countries that also enjoy full diplomatic connection to the U.S. is a hypocrisy. 

So I must bear witness to people exclaiming a desire to be more like God, to see life more from God’s eyes, to saturate themselves in the Holy Spirit, and to reflect God’s love to the world. Amen.