Christianity in Cuba - Protestants in Cuba During The Colonial Period 1498-1898

Protestants in Cuba During The Colonial Period 1498-1898

The earliest accounts of Protestants in Cuba were in the 1500s. Protestants were not warmly welcomed in Cuba because of the Catholic Spanish colonization of Cuba. By the mid-1800s, the majority of Cubans had become more indifferent toward religion, while Spanish domination of the island was steadily gaining support from the Catholic clergy. However, the richest history of Cuban Catholicism during the colonial period occurred in the 1800s. New immigration laws and other changes brought foreigners from various Protestant nations into Cuba for commerce and diplomacy primarily; the abolition of slavery was the agenda for some Protestants secondarily. Protestants living in Cuba had religious beliefs that contended with religious rules of the land, but Protestants accommodated differently to colonial regime

While the 19th century placed Cuba in a more prominent position; the late 1800s particularly gave rise to Protestantism in Cuba. The first year of importance was the year 1866. In New York City, a Cuban expatriate named Joaquin de Palma founded the St. James Episcopal Church, with a primarily Cuban congregation. Cuban Protestants were discriminated against and after the Ten Year War many Cubans were obliged to move to the United States; it was not until 1878 émigrés returned with certain freedoms promised from the Spanish government due to a peace treaty. Subtle changes were produced in 1869 from the declaration of religious tolerance. Reverend Edward Kenney was the first Protestant minister to be given consent to perform religious duties; arriving from the United States, Kenney arrived in 1871 organizing the first Episcopalian mission, but was only allowed to proselytize foreigners due to limitations by colonial authorities.

The most significant years of Protestantism in Cuba were in the year 1882 and 1883. These years are important because of the establishment of Cuban Protestantism:

As with the Anglicans and Methodists, the Baptists found their initial converts working among Cuban exiles in Florida. In 1882, Juaquín de Palma, who became a Baptist in Florida, returned to Cuba as a Bible distributor with the American Bible Society. He was joined in 1883 by colporteurs Alberto J. Díaz and Pedro Duarte, who were Episcopalian laymen. Later in 1883, Diaz established an independent Protestant church in La Havana, which became Iglesia Bautista Getsemaní in 1886 after Diaz became an ordained Baptist minister in 1885 under the Reverend William F. Wood of Key West, Florida, and became affiliated with the Southern Baptist Convention (SBC).

Religious tolerance until 1886 existed only for foreigners until the Episcopal minister Pedro Duarte went directly to the Spanish Crown citing injustices done to him by local authorities. As a result, the Spanish Constitution of 1876 extended to Cuba in 1886.

The difficulties experienced leads and coincides with the next. Protestantism in Cuba was until 1898 Cuban. The foreign presence after Spain contributed to this change:

In 1898 North American intervention brought full religious lawful equality to Cuba. The arrival of large numbers of returning Cuban exiles and foreign missionaries also contributed to a growing number of Protestant churches. The years following the U.S. intervention were years of sway for the North American Mission Boards in Cuba… Their activities were not limited to organizing churches, but many also invested in founding schools and hospitals. The large U.S. missionary presence in Cuba to a certain point eclipsed the original native missionary efforts, and tensions between foreign and local leaders occurred in virtually every Protestant denomination.

The 20th century would be followed by what would be considered the Americanization of Protestantism.