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Costa Rica

Section III. Status of Societal Respect for Religious Freedom

According to UCR polling, the demographic shift to fewer adherents of the Catholic Church continued. Approximately half of those who left the Catholic Church joined evangelical Christian groups, while the other half gave up religious affiliation altogether.

Catholic leaders noted during the year they again received a significant increase in requests from members seeking to formally disaffiliate with the Catholic Church, including removal from baptism ledgers, because of their disagreements with the Church on social policy.

In contrast with 2019, the Israelite Zionist Center of Costa Rica reported remarks on social media regarding Israel posted by anonymous users, some of which they considered anti-Semitic. In August, the Israelite Zionist Center of Costa Rica reported it was conducting a pilot project called “Antidiscrimination Web Observatory,” which compiles anti-Semitic incidents and messages from social networks.

A personal project at the Museum of Empathy begun by an Interludio leader became a permanent exhibition of the history of the different ethnic and religious minorities settled in the country, in collaboration with the Ministry of Culture and directors from the country’s other museums. During the year, the Museum of Empathy promoted a Resilience Academy, which provided psychological and spiritual support to populations especially vulnerable due to the COVID-19 pandemic, with a focus on the elderly and on single mothers. The academy held its first session in July.

International Religious Freedom Reports
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U.S. Department of State

The Lessons of 1989: Freedom and Our Future