Colombia -Religious liberty, freedom of conscience

Executive summary

Religious persecution is rarely associated with Colombia. The complexity of the internal conflict which has convulsed the country for almost half a century, together with the overwhelmingly disastrous human rights situation have both contributed to a lack of awareness of the precise impact of the conflict on communities of faith. Internationally known mega-churches in the largest cities and rapid church growth over the past decades have contributed to a widespread but erroneous perception held both in and outside of the country that, although some Christians may be caught in the crossfire of the decades-long conflict, they are not singled out and persecuted because of their religious beliefs and practices.

While it is undeniable that many Christians in Colombia exercise their right to meet and worship freely, the daily reality for a significant percentage of Colombian Christians is very different. These men and women, particularly those living in conflict zones or areas controlled by illegal armed groups, but also many living in the supposed safety of major urban areas, suffer direct and indirect persecution because of their faith. Across the country, churches have been closed and religious activity forbidden by order of the armed groups, entire Christian communities have been displaced, pastors and church leaders have been marked for assassination. In many cases these threats have been carried out.

In addition to these more direct forms of persecution, Christians pay a high price for actions rooted in theirfaith. Christian adults and youths who refuse to join illegal armed groups for reasons of conscience and converts to Christianity who wish to leave the armed groups must go into hiding or be killed. Christian families and communities who resist the armed groups’ demands, which they find incompatible with their faith, and who, consequently refuse to cooperate, often face horrific and inhumane consequences.

Religious persecution within the context of the conflict is not a new phenomenon. Members of the communities most affected by the violence confirm that violations of religious liberty have been taking place for decades. Unfortunately, a lack of understanding or interest in their situation and a failure to methodologically document these cases has resulted in their almost complete lack of visibility.

The majority of victims come from already historically marginalised communities with little public voice; a significant percentage are campesinos, small-scale and subsistence farmers, living in rural parts of the country, and many are from Afro-Colombian or indigenous communities. Since 2003, however, Christian organisations in Colombia have been working to empower members of these communities to document and report violations of religious freedom taking place in their communities. Despite the risks, men and women across the country have been carrying out this work in a coordinated effort to make their plight known. The numbers are sobering – over the past five years more than 200 churches have been forcibly closed, more than 35 pastors and church leaders assassinated, and a further 50 have reported receiving death threats. It should be noted that these numbers refer to documented cases only; they are likely only the tip of the iceberg.

Violations of religious freedom on indigenous reserves, though of a different nature, are also serious. Colombian courts have essentially ruled, in contradiction to Colombia’s international human rights obligations, that, when it comes to religious freedom, indigenous Colombians do not have the same rights as the rest of the population. This has resulted in indigenous Christians being subjected to discrimination, corporal punishment and, in the worst cases, banishment from their lands for refusing to reconvert back to traditional beliefs – all with the tacit support of the state. Indigenous Christians, however, are working together across linguistic, ethnic and geographic barriers to document the violations of religious freedom occurring in their communities and to fight for the respect of their fundamental rights, as set out in the Colombian Constitution and in international covenants.

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