|
<blockquote>Puerto Rico, by virtue of its long political association with the United States, is the most Protestant of Latin American countries, with a Protestant population of approximately 33 to 38 percent, the majority of whom are [[Pentecostal]]. David Stoll calculates that if we extrapolate the growth rates of evangelical churches from 1960 to 1985 for another twenty-five years Puerto Rico will become 75 percent evangelical. (Ana Adams: "Brincando el Charco..." in ''Power, Politics and Pentecostals in Latin America'', Edward Cleary, ed., 1997. p. 164).<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.english.turkcebilgi.com/Protestants+in+Puerto+Rico |title=Protestants in Puerto Rico |publisher=english.turkcebilgi.com |access-date=April 21, 2013}}{{dead link|date=May 2017 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref></blockquote>
An [[Associated Press]] article in March 2014 stated that "more than 70 percent of whom identify themselves as Catholic" but provided no source for this information.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.foxnews.com/world/2014/03/12/catholic-church-and-puerto-rico-officials-at-odds-in-widening-sex-abuse.html |title=Catholic Church and Puerto Rico officials at odds in widening sex abuse investigation |authoragency=Associated Press<!--Staff writer(s); no by-line.--> |date=12 March 2014 |website=FOXFox News |access-date=17 February 2017 |archive-date=18 February 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170218145958/http://www.foxnews.com/world/2014/03/12/catholic-church-and-puerto-rico-officials-at-odds-in-widening-sex-abuse.html |url-status=live }}</ref>
The [[CIA World Factbook]] reports that 85% of the population of Puerto Rico identifies as Roman Catholic, while 15% identify as Protestant and Other. Neither a date or a source for that information is provided and may not be recent.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/countries/puerto-rico/ |title=Puerto Rico People and Society |author=<!--Staff writer(s); no by-line.--> |date=2015 |website=CIA Library |publisher=CIA |access-date=17 February 2017 |quote=Roman Catholic 85%, Protestant and other 15% |archive-date=5 January 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210105163943/https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/countries/puerto-rico/ |url-status=live }}</ref> A 2013 Pew Research survey found that only about 45% of Puerto Rican adults identified themselves as Catholic, 29% as Protestant and 20% as unaffiliated with a religion. The people surveyed by Pew consisted of Puerto Ricans living in the 50 states and DC and may not be indicative of those living in the Commonwealth.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.pewhispanic.org/2015/09/15/hispanics-of-puerto-rican-origin-in-the-united-states-2013/ |title=Hispanics of Puerto Rican Origin in the United States, 2013 |last=LÓPEZLópez |first=Gustavo |date=15 September 2015 |website=Pew Research |publisher=Pew Research Center, DC |access-date=17 February 2017 |quote=Puerto Ricans in this statistical profile are people who self-identified as Hispanics of Puerto Rican origin; this means either they themselves were born in Puerto Rico1 or they were born in the 50 U.S. states, the District of Columbia or elsewhere, but trace their family ancestry to Puerto Rico. |archive-date=10 October 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181010153809/http://www.pewhispanic.org/2015/09/15/hispanics-of-puerto-rican-origin-in-the-united-states-2013/ |url-status=live }}</ref>
[[File:Catedral de San Juan Bautista a.jpg|thumb|[[Catedral Metropolitana Basílica de San Juan Bautista|Cathedral of San Juan]], built between 1535 and 1802.|alt=]]
By 2014, a Pew Research report, with the sub-title ''Widespread Change in a Historically Catholic Region'', indicated that only 56% of Puerto Ricans were Catholic, 33% were Protestant, and 8% were unaffiliated; this survey was completed between October 2013 and February 2014.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.pewforum.org/2014/11/13/religion-in-latin-america/ |title=Religion in Latin America |author=<!--Not stated--> |date=13 November 2014 |website=Pew Research |publisher=Pew Research Center |access-date=21 February 2017 |archive-date=30 March 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220330015000/https://www.pewforum.org/2014/11/13/religion-in-latin-america/ |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="auto3" />
An [[Eastern Orthodox]] community, the Dormition of the Most Holy Theotokos / St. Spyridon's Church is located in Trujillo Alto, and serves the small Orthodox community in the area.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.orthodoxchurchpr.org/|title=Orthodox Church PR |website=www.orthodoxchurchpr.org|access-date=1 November 2020|archive-date=7 November 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201107101903/https://www.orthodoxchurchpr.org/|url-status=live}}</ref> In 2017, the church entered communion with the Roman Catholic Church, becoming the first [[Eastern Catholic Church]] in Puerto Rico.<ref>[{{cite web |url=https://parma.org/news/puerto-rico-welcomes-first-ever-eastern-catholic-parish ''PUERTO|title=Puerto RICORico WELCOMESWelcomes FIRSTFirst-EVEREver EASTERNEastern CATHOLICCatholic PARISH'']Parish {{Webarchive|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230406163941/https://parma.org/news/puerto-rico-welcomes-first-ever-eastern-catholic-parish |archive-date=6 April 2023 }} |first=Martin |last=Barillas. As published in |work=Horizons, |date=10 September 2017. Accessed |access-date=1 November 2020.}}</ref> This affiliation accounted for under 1% of the population in 2010 according to the Pew Research report.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://parish.orthodoxtheologicalinstitute.org/Dormition_of_the_Theotokos/Welcome.html |title=Welcome |publisher=Parish.orthodoxtheologicalinstitute.org |access-date=25 November 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110304223521/http://parish.orthodoxtheologicalinstitute.org/Dormition_of_the_Theotokos/Welcome.html |archive-date=4 March 2011 }}</ref> There are two [[Eastern Orthodox Church]]es in the territory; the [[Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia|Russian Orthodox]] [[Missionary|Mission]] Saint John Climacus in [[San Germán, Puerto Rico|San German]] which is expected to become a full Parish within the coming years and the Saint George [[Greek Orthodox Patriarchate of Antioch|Antiochian Orthodox Church]] in [[Carolina, Puerto Rico|Carolina]],. bothBoth have services in English and Spanish and on available visiting clergy Arabic and Russian might be also used.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://misionsanjuanclimaco.org/ |title=¡Bienvenidos! |publisher=Misión Ortodoxa San Juan Clímaco] |language=es |access-date=9 August 2024}}</ref><ref>[{{cite web |url=https://iglesia-ortodoxa-patriarcado-de-antioquia.business.site/] {{Webarchive|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230911012457/https://iglesia-ortodoxa-patriarcado-de-antioquia.business.site/|archive-date=11 September 2023 |title=Iglesia Ortodoxa Patriarcado de Antioquia |url-status=dead}} </ref>There is a small [[Syriac Orthodox Church|Syriac]] Orthodox church in [[Aguada, Puerto Rico|Aguada]] which is also the only [[Oriental Orthodox Churches|Oriental Orthodox]] in the Island and serves a small growing community in the area. In 1940, [[Juanita García Peraza]] founded the [[Mita Congregation]], the first religion of Puerto Rican origin.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://webpub.allegheny.edu/group/LAS/LatinAmIssues/Articles/Vol13/LAI_vol_13_section_I.html |title=Latin American issues Vol. 3 |publisher=Webpub.allegheny.edu |access-date=6 February 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101202221418/http://webpub.allegheny.edu/group/LAS/LatinAmIssues/Articles/Vol13/LAI_vol_13_section_I.html |archive-date=2 December 2010}}</ref> [[Taíno people|Taíno religious practices]] have been rediscovered/reinvented to a degree by a handful of advocates.<ref>[https://globalpressjournal.com/americas/puerto-rico/puerto-rican-indigenous-communities-seek-recognition-return-ancestral-lands/en/ ''Puerto Rican Indigenous Communities Seek Recognition, Return of Their Ancestral Lands: The Jíbaro and Taíno indigenous communities are not recognized by the Puerto Rican government. But two organizations dedicated to preserving their respective history and traditions are working to gain recognition as indigenous groups, as well as unrestricted access to their ancestral lands.''] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201023151251/https://globalpressjournal.com/americas/puerto-rico/puerto-rican-indigenous-communities-seek-recognition-return-ancestral-lands/en/ |date=23 October 2020 }} Coraly Cruz Mejias. Global Press Journal. Washington, DC. 14 October 2019. Accessed 23 October 2020.</ref> Similarly, some aspects of African religious traditions have been kept by some adherents. African slaves brought and maintained various ethnic African religious practices associated with different peoples; in particular, the [[Yoruba religion|Yoruba]] beliefs of [[Santería]] or [[Ifá]], and the [[Kongo people|Kongo]]-derived [[Palo Mayombe]]. Some aspects were absorbed into syncretic Christianity. In 1952, a handful of [[American Jews]] established the island's first [[synagogue]]; this religion accounts for under 1% of the population in 2010 according to the Pew Research report.<ref name="EG">''Eduardo Giorgetti Y Su Mundo: La Aparente Paradoja De Un Millonario Genio Empresarial Y Su Noble Humanismo''; by [[Delma S. Arrigoitia]]; Publisher: Ediciones Puerto; {{ISBN|978-0-942347-52-4}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.prairieschooltraveler.com/html/world/pr/Korber.html |title=Korber House |publisher=Prairieschooltraveler.com |access-date=6 February 2011 |archive-date=11 May 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110511203424/http://www.prairieschooltraveler.com/html/world/pr/Korber.html |url-status=live }}</ref> The synagogue, called ''Sha'are Zedeck'', hired its first rabbi in 1954.<ref name="JVL"/> Puerto Rico has the largest Jewish community in the Caribbean, numbering 3000 people,<ref>{{cite news |title=The Jewish Palate: The Jews of Puerto Rico |url=http://www.jpost.com/Food-Index/The-Jewish-Palate-The-Jews-of-Puerto-Rico |author=Dennis Wasko |date=11 July 2011 |access-date=18 February 2017 |newspaper=The Jerusalem Post |archive-date=23 December 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161223130050/http://www.jpost.com/Food-Index/The-Jewish-Palate-The-Jews-of-Puerto-Rico |url-status=live }}</ref> and is the only Caribbean island in which the [[Conservative Jews|Conservative]], [[Reform Jews|Reform]] and [[Orthodox Jews|Orthodox Jewish]] movements all are represented.<ref name="JVL">{{cite web |url=https://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/vjw/Puerto_Rico.html |title=The Virtual Jewish History Tour Puerto Rico |publisher=Jewishvirtuallibrary.org |access-date=6 February 2011 |archive-date=26 December 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151226202626/https://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/vjw/Puerto_Rico.html |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="LN">{{cite web |url=http://www.luxner.com/cgi-bin/view_article.cgi?articleID=1237 |title=Luxner News |publisher=Luxner.com |date=3 August 2004 |access-date=6 February 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20051107203700/http://www.luxner.com/cgi-bin/view_article.cgi?articleID=1237 |archive-date=7 November 2005 }}</ref> In 2007, there were about 5,000 [[Muslims]] in Puerto Rico, representing about 0.13% of the population.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.iiie.net/index.php?q=node/65 |title=Number of Muslims and Percentage in Puero Rico |publisher=Institute of Islamic Information and Education |date=8 February 2006 |access-date=30 October 2011 |archive-date=27 September 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110927003145/http://www.iiie.net/index.php?q=node/65 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.religiousintelligence.co.uk/country/?CountryID=29 |title=Percent Puerto Rican population that are Muslims |access-date=14 February 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070927194154/http://www.religiousintelligence.co.uk/country/?CountryID=29 |archive-date=27 September 2007 }} Retrieved {{Nowrap|8 June}}, 2009.</ref> Eight [[mosquesmosque]]s are located throughout the island, with most Muslims living in [[Río Piedras]] and [[Caguas]]; most Muslims are of Palestinian and Jordanian descent.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.pupr.edu/msa/mosques.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111002214355/http://www.pupr.edu/msa/mosques.html |archive-date=2 October 2011 |title=Muslim mosques in Pto. Rico |publisher=Pupr.edu |access-date=30 October 2011 |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.saudiaramcoworld.com/issue/198706/muslims.in.the.caribbean.htm |title=Muslims concentrated in Rio Piedras |publisher=Saudiaramcoworld.com |access-date=6 February 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120505090834/http://www.saudiaramcoworld.com/issue/198706/muslims.in.the.caribbean.htm |archive-date=5 May 2012 |url-status=dead }}</ref> There is also a [[Baháʼí Faith|Baháʼí]] community.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://bahaipr.org/index.php/en/|title=Home|website=Bahá'ís of Puerto Rico|access-date=8 May 2018|archive-date=7 July 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200707012751/https://bahaipr.org/index.php/en/|url-status=dead}}</ref> In 2023, [[the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints]] dedicated a [[Temple (LDS Church)|temple]] in [[San Juan Puerto Rico Temple|San Juan]],<ref>{{cite web |title=San Juan Puerto Rico Temple {{!}} ChurchofJesusChristTemples.org |url=https://churchofjesuschristtemples.org/san-juan-puerto-rico-temple/ |website=Temples of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints |access-date=4 May 2023 |archive-date=3 April 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230403182924/https://churchofjesuschristtemples.org/san-juan-puerto-rico-temple/ |url-status=live }}</ref> and reported having a membership of approximately 23,000 in the commonwealth.<ref>{{cite web |title=Statistics and Church Facts {{!}} Total Church Membership |url=https://newsroom.churchofjesuschrist.org/facts-and-statistics/country/puerto-rico |website=newsroom.churchofjesuschrist.org |language=en |access-date=4 May 2023 |archive-date=17 May 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230517132219/https://newsroom.churchofjesuschrist.org/facts-and-statistics/country/puerto-rico |url-status=live }}</ref> In 2015, the 25,832 [[Jehovah's Witnesses]] represented about 0.70% of the population, with 324 congregations.<ref>''2016 Yearbook of Jehovah's Witnesses'', pp. 184–85</ref> Buddhism in Puerto Rico is represented with [[Nichiren Buddhism|Nichiren]], [[Zen]] and [[Tibetan Buddhism]], with the [[Khenchen Palden Sherab Rinpoche|New York Padmasambhava Buddhist Center]] for example having a branch in San Juan.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.buddhanet.net/l_tibet.htm |title=BuddhaNet |publisher=Buddhanet.net |access-date=6 February 2011 |archive-date=12 March 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110312005910/http://www.buddhanet.net/l_tibet.htm |url-status=live }}</ref> There are several atheist activist and educational organizations, and an atheistic parody religion called the [[Pastafarian]] Church of Puerto Rico.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.facebook.com/IglesiaPastafarianaPuertoRico |title=Iglesia Pastafariana de Puerto Rico |publisher=Facebook |access-date=29 June 2018 |archive-date=28 July 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200728043318/https://www.facebook.com/IglesiaPastafarianaPuertoRico |url-status=live }}</ref> An [[International Society for Krishna Consciousness|ISKCON]] temple in Gurabo is devoted to [[Krishna]], with two preaching centers in the San Juan metropolitan area.
===Education===
|