International Religious Freedom Day offers a day to reflect on freedom of conscience and to examine how governments around the world observe or violate this fundamental freedom.
In Cuba, under the Castro regime, religious freedom has been under assault for over six decades. In May 1961 the dictatorship confiscated private schools and most seminaries in an attack on religion. In September 1961, the Castro regime at gunpoint collected 131 priests, brothers and a bishop, placing them on board the Spanish ship Covadonga and deported them from Cuba. Many of the remaining priests were sent to forced labor camps.
The Castro regime declared itself an atheist state, and openly hostile to religion. Christmas ended as a holiday in 1969. Following the collapse of the Soviet Union the dictatorship declared itself “secular” and Christmas returned to Cuba in 1997, but restrictions continue.
Cuban priests expelled from Cuba at gunpoint on September 17, 1961
Today, the Office of Religious Affairs (ORA), an arm of the Central Committee of the Cuban Communist Party, still oversees religious affairs in Cuba, and exists to monitor, hinder and restrict religious activities.
Christian Solidarity Worldwide documents violations of freedom of religion or belief around the world, and they have monitored the situation in Cuba over the years. The past five years have not been good ones for religious freedom in Cuba.
Over the past five years, since the protests of 11 July 2021, the Cuban dictatorship has steadily hardened its repression of all human rights, including freedom of religion or belief (FoRB).
Christian Solidarity Worldwide, July 9, 2026
Cuba’s New Normal: The Situation of Freedom of Religion or Belief Five Years After 11J
On 11 July 2021 people took to the streets of cities and towns across Cuba in spontaneous protests that grew in numbers as participants shared footage from the demonstrations on social media and messaging apps. At first it seemed that the protests were focused on shortages of food and medicine, exacerbated by the global COVID-19 pandemic, but, as their numbers swelled, there were clear calls for social and political reform. This demand for change left no room for misinterpretation as ‘Patria y Vida’, a song released earlier that year by a collaboration of Cuban hip hop artists on the island and in exile, became the anthem of the protests.
The title of the song, ‘Homeland and Life’ in English – a twist on the longtime slogan of the Cuban Communist Party, ‘Homeland or Death’ – was understood by the Cuban government as a direct attack on its legitimacy. President Miguel Diaz-Canel Bermúdez called ‘revolutionaries’ to the streets in a televised address and deployed security forces, including the Black Berets, a special internal rapid-response force trained by the Chinese, to put an end to the protests. Hundreds of people were imprisoned, including some who were held incommunicado for extended periods of time, thousands were physically attacked, and according to the non-governmental organisation Cuba Decide, five people were killed.
The Cuban people have been subjected to an ongoing crackdown ever since. Between January 2025 and June 2026, CSW documented 667 separate cases involving attacks on freedom of religion or belief (FoRB), almost all of which involved multiple types of FoRB violations. The government systematically violates the Nelson Mandela Rules inside Cuba’s prison system, including by arbitrarily refusing religious visits or the right to receive religious materials.
Religious leaders are under constant pressure to expel the family members of political prisoners from their congregations as part of a policy of social isolation. Children are subjected to physical and verbal abuse at school because of their religious beliefs. Leaders of unregistered religious groups are repeatedly harassed and threatened, while leaders of registered religious groups are targeted with intrusive surveillance, repeat interrogations and other pressure tactics. During the period covered by the report, CSW noted an uptick in the use of Actas de Advertencia, a document that justifies charges and imprisonment in the future for crimes not yet committed, as a method to threaten and intimidate religious leaders.
Religious groups of all types, including Afro-Cuban groups, Jehovah’s Witnesses, Protestants and Roman Catholics, registered and unregistered associations, including some that belong to the Cuban Council of Churches (CCC), reported FoRB violations. The government appeared particularly concerned with stopping religious leaders from calling on people to pray for Cuba privately or in organised prayer vigils.
Religious leaders and their congregations attempting to respond to humanitarian needs, which became even more acute in many parts of the island in 2025 and 2026, were harassed and fined. In many cases, the aid they were attempting to distribute was confiscated. Those considered by the government to be dissidents were repeatedly and systematically blocked from attending religious services, usually through short-term arbitrary detention.
Despite the efforts of the government to silence independent or critical voices, religious leaders from registered and unregistered groups alike continued to report and speak publicly about FoRB and other human rights violations, to be openly critical of legislation and government positions, and to speak frankly about the humanitarian crisis in the country. The government has made it clear that it rejects the idea of any political or social reform. Despite the threats, harassment and the possibility of imprisonment, Cubans across the country, including many religious leaders, continue to speak out against injustice, and up for those in their communities who are suffering.
U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF), October 27, 2026
USCIRF Commemorates International Religious Freedom Day
Washington, DC – Today is the 28th anniversary of the signing of the International Religious Freedom Act of 1998 (IRFA). This landmark, bipartisan legislation established the framework for international religious freedom to be a U.S. foreign policy priority. IRFA created government institutions, including the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) and policy tools, such as Country of Particular Concern (CPC) designations for countries with particularly severe violations of religious freedom. USCIRF makes policy recommendations to the President, the Secretary of State, and Congress with respect to matters involving international religious freedom, as well as elevates cases of those unjustly denied their right to freedom of religion or belief (FoRB).
“The United States government remains committed to highlighting religious freedom violations perpetrated or tolerated by foreign governments. Through the Commission, we can be a voice for the voiceless, stand with the oppressed, and advocate for religious freedom,” stated USCIRF Chair Asif Mahmood. “These efforts have not been in vain. We have seen prisoners of conscience set free, harmful policies changed, and greater engagement regarding FoRB. Yet there is so much more to be done to ensure religious freedom is truly for all.”
In 2016 the Frank R. Wolf Act amended IRFA. It added a Special Watch List (SWL) for countries that had severe violations of FoRB, but that did not meet the CPC definition. It also required USCIRF to maintain a victims list, to the extent practicable, of those who have been denied their freedom because they have advocated for FoRB rights or been denied those rights directly. Persecutors want the world to forget the names and faces of those they lock away, but sharing their stories ensures that we never will. USCIRF’s Frank R. Wolf Freedom of Religion or Belief Victims List is available on the Commission’s website.
“In addition to evaluating U.S. policy in response to religious freedom violations, USCIRF also evaluates countries taking deliberate steps and making significant improvement in respect for the right of religious freedom,” USCIRF Vice Chair CeCe Heil said. “Countries can demonstrate such improvements by repealing blasphemy laws, anti-conversion laws, and restrictive registration laws that are unjustly used to target religious communities, as we have seen in India, Nigeria, and Pakistan, among others.”
As IRFA enters another year of implementation, the right to FoRB is under increasing threat in many countries around the world. Religious believers and communities suffer violations of their rights to religious freedom as outlined in Article 18 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. IRFA’s enduring legacy is to stand against these violations as it reflects the U.S. government’s unwavering commitment to international religious freedom for all.
The U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) is an independent, bipartisan federal government entity established by the U.S. Congress to monitor, analyze, and report on religious freedom abroad. USCIRF makes foreign policy recommendations to the President, the Secretary of State, and Congress intended to deter religious persecution and promote freedom of religion and belief. To interview a Commissioner, please contact USCIRF at Media@USCIRF.gov.