US embassy cable - 05SANSALVADOR2679

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 
------------------------------------- 
 
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? 
-------------------------------- 
 
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.