The Challenges and Opportunities of Christian Witness in Cuba; By Jean-Christophe Jasmin

The state of the Gospel in Cuba

The first Protestants in Cuba arrived during the period following British occupation of Cuba in 17411 and have been present on the Island continuously ever since. Although the history of the Baptist Church in Cuba has long been linked with that of its American neighbour, the Cuban revolution changed this. Although Christians played an important role in the Cuban Revolution that overthrew the Bautista Regime, some, such as Frank Pais2, even being honoured by the Marxist militias who renamed one of their guerilla units in his honour, this collaboration was short lived when the victors imposed a Soviet inspired atheistic regime on the island in 1959. The church in Cuba entered a period of clandestine activity that would last thirty years. Yet through this period, the Cuban Church and its leadership became more native. While religious restrictions were relatively eased in 1992, when the Marxist-Leninist regime revised its official atheistic stance to adopt a form of official state religious neutrality, repression continued against the church. Yet, the last twenty years saw a period of remarkable numerical growth for the evangelical churches in Cuba. Challenges: Today, although Freedom of Religion is officially guaranteed by the Constitution, the reality of the church shows that this freedom is frequently denied. According to a joint declaration of protestant leaders last September: Sin embargo, la verdad es que por poltica de las ms altas instancias del gobierno central la libertad religiosa sigue siendo pisoteada cada da. 3 According to a report on Religious Freedom in Cuba produced by Christian Solidarity Worldwide, reports of religious repression has increased threefold from 2011 to 2012. Examples of repression are numerous and, according to range from confiscation of Church property4, to arrests and imprisonments5 and mob attacks and beatings.6 The Oficina de Atencin a los Asuntos Religiosos , the government organ which plays the role of overseeing the religious affairs of the country, has such sour relations with churches that it "gives the

1 2

Baldwin. "U.S. Protestant Missions in Cuba: From Independence to Castro (review)," The Americas 61.2, 2004: 310.

(Stoll 1990)p.145 3 (Barrosso 2013) 4 (Christian Solidarity Worldwide 2013) 5 (Christian Solidarity Worldwide 2013) p.3 6 idem

impression that the office exists solely to monitor, hinder and restrict the activities of religious groups".7 On the other hand, Cuban society is experiencing tremendous social changes, and has seen the central state move back from many areas of civil society. And while many hope for a smooth transition to democracy, there are fears, according to Baptist pastor Rev. Mario Barrosso, that this political instability might lead to a new form of autocratic regime similar to Russia's.8 While the Church may be seen more and more as a threat from an unstable State, the vacuum marks a new opportunity for the Church to engage society.9 A difficult economy makes church based support networks a very real opportunity for Gospel Witness. And while persecution is not something to hope for, it gives visibility to the message of Hope that the Gospel brings. Yet, I believe that the most serious challenges to Christian Witness might come from within the Church. Religion in Cuba has always been dominated by syncretism, a mix of animism similar to vaudou and formal christianity. Throw together a period of national spiritual searching, fast church growth mixed with a difficulty finding well trained pastors and a growing influence from the "Prosperity Gospel" sweeping America and you could see a period of multiplication of "christian" cults and heresies that would bring discredit to the message of the True Church. This would not be so different from the challenges experienced by the Early Church. Paul's encouragement to Timothy "to find and train faithful men who would in turn teach others" should be heard by the Cuban Church with a sense of renewed urgency. The Cuban Church reports very practical needs: lack of Bibles10, lack of places of worship and difficulty training pastors11 and we, as Canadian Baptists, do have a moral responsibility to support Christian Witness in Cuba as well as we can. Reading reports on the Cuban church, I could not help but see parallels between Cubas evangelical revival and Quebecs revival of the 70s-80s. The challenges and opportunities are very similar: A growth creating tremendous pressure to train ministers and Christians, all the while lacking formal institutions to train them. A Young Church (both in age and Christian experience) that is marked by a Zeal to evangelize. Perhaps also the same mistakes could be made: a lack of renewal within the clergy after the period of growth has slowed, making many local churches "one-generational" and finding it increasingly difficult to reach the current

7 8

idem (Tamayo 13) 9 (Darlington 2011) 10 (Portes Ouvertes 2011) 11 (Portes Ouvertes 2011)

culture.

Yet, I also see the Cuban Church facing challenges today that will become more and more real to us, such as the challenge of keeping Gospel Witness in an increasingly atheistic and post-Christian culture. In this sense, we could learn a lot from their own experiences. What is certain is that the Cuban Church seems to have reached a crossroads: whatever lies ahead, we can rest in the comfort that Christ has already won the war. Let us pray that the battle for Cuba's soul will be won in this generation.