La Iglesia Contra los Derechos Del Colectivo LGBTIQ+ Valoracion de las Relaciones Estado-Iglesia en Cuba, 1510-2020
Abstract
This dissertation joins a conversation in the social sciences about the effects of religion on civil rights. It takes Cuba as a case study, examining the influence of right-wing American evangelicals on the rights of LGBTIQ+ communities in Cuba. Churches today are playing a more prominent role in Cuban society by helping the government ease the burden of a stagnant economy by supporting welfare programs. In return, they have more freedom of expression. Cuban Protestants are a small but influential group in Cuba. They greatly depend on their U.S counterparts for theological training and financial resources. Alarm over evangelical Protestant influence in Cuba arose in 2019 after these groups threatened to vote ‘no’ in a referendum to amend the Cuban Constitution if article 68, allowing Same-Sex Marriage, was included. The Catholic Church also spoke out against the article. The government withdrew the amendment, largely because of this strong reaction from the churches. Protestant denominations and the Catholic Church have learned to work together to address the same moral issues, especially opposition to the same-sex union. Analyzing this relationship within the context of Church and State relations in Cuban history, my dissertation highlights the political effects of religion on Cuban society. I claim that the religious legacy of the Spanish and North American empires in Cuba, manifested in the Catholic Church and the Protestant denominations respectively, have constituted throughout the history of Cuba a force opposed to the decisions of the Cubans. This phenomenon reveals Cuba’s lack of national freedom, even under a dictatorship, and proves that Cuba is still ideologically linked to and influenced by the legacy of its imperial past.
Subject
Religion in CubaLGBTIQ+Rights
Catholic Church in Cuba
Protestant in Cuba
same marriage in Cuba
Constitution 2019 Cuba
Religión en Cuba
LGBTIQ+ Derechos
Iglesia católica en Cuba
Protestantes en Cuba
evangélicos en Cuba
matrimonio gay en Cuba
Oposición religiosa en Cuba
Citation
Diaz Sardinas, Leanee (2021). La Iglesia Contra los Derechos Del Colectivo LGBTIQ+ Valoracion de las Relaciones Estado-Iglesia en Cuba, 1510-2020. Doctoral dissertation, Texas A&M University. Available electronically from https : / /hdl .handle .net /1969 .1 /196343.