A strong Catholic and Protestant influence
The vast majority of Panamanians are Christian, either Catholic or Protestant. Catholics are by far the most numerous (between 64% and 85% of Panamanians, depending on the source), and their practice is most often rooted in family tradition. Catholicism arrived in America with the first conquistadors, and was imposed on the indigenous populations as part of the colonization process.
Over the past thirty years, as in the rest of Central America, many Catholics have turned to Protestant Christian churches. These churches, known in Spanish as cristianas, belong to a variety of movements. The Lutheran Church is mainly represented in the provinces of Bocas del Toro and Colón. Most of its members are descendants of Panamanian canal workers from Jamaica and the Lesser Antilles. As for the Methodist and especially Evangelical churches (Baptist, Pentecostal, Seventh Day Adventist, etc.), they have temples in every town. Protestantism has had no trouble gaining acceptance in a country with a strong North American influence, which is predominantly Protestant. It has moved into underprivileged neighborhoods, prisons and isolated indigenous communities to reach out to those most in need, offering them a faith presented as being closer to the realities of everyday life. Numerous preachers take to the roads, Bible in hand, to spread the word. Switching from one religious movement to another is common, and it's not uncommon to see as many as three churches of different denominations in one village! If you're traveling inland by bus, you'll no doubt be treated to a visit from one of these preachers along the way. The fiery sermons, punctuated byAmén!, are taken up wholeheartedly by the passengers. There's also no escaping the evangelical music(musica cristiana) played on local radio stations... Among these missionaries, Jehovah's Witnesses and the Mormons of theIglesia de Jesús Cristo de los Santos de los Últimos Días are particularly numerous.
A significant religious diversity
Panamá is open to other religions and religious movements. In Panamá City and Colón, there are a few Orthodox churches, frequented by the Greek and Russian communities. Muslims are generally descendants of merchants of Lebanese, Syrian and Palestinian origin, who arrived in Panamá at the end of the 19th century. Mosques can be found in Panamá City, Colón and David. The Jewish community, for its part, is especially present in the Punta Paitilla and Bellavista districts of the capital, where synagogues and religious schools abound. As we have seen, Panama, which is predominantly Catholic, is the only country apart from Israel to have had two openly practicing Jewish presidents of the Republic: Max Delvalle (1964-1968), and his nephew, Eric Arturo Delvalle (1985-1988). Buddhists are numerous among the Chinese-Panamanian community, while Hindus and Sikhs are found mainly among the descendants of Indian and Pakistani immigrants. The country also boasts a little-known spiritual community, the Bahais. They number around 60,000, many of them of Ngäbe origin. The Casa Bahá'í, built in 1972 on the summit of Cerro Sonsonate in the San Miguelito district, near Panamá City, is the first Baha'i house of worship in Latin America, of which there are eight worldwide. Finally, Panamá also boasts a number of Rastafarian groups. Jamaicans Marcus Garvey and Leonard Howell, historic figures of the Rastafari movement, lived for a time in Bocas del Toro and Colón. They left an important influence on Panama's Afro-Caribbean population.
Animism and syncretism
Animism is a set of beliefs in the spirits or souls of Mother Earth, animals or ancestors, accompanied by rituals and standards of conduct. Some consider it to be a religion, others a way of living and conceiving the world. Animism is still practised by indigenous American peoples, although they are increasingly incorporating elements of the Catholic and Protestant religions. Indigenous populations therefore often believe in a Christian God, while at the same time practicing ceremonies and rites in homage to their own deities or spirits, whether beneficial or evil. Among the most important syncretist movements, Mamä Tatdä was born in the Ngäbe Bugle comarca in 1962. It followed the appearance of the Virgin Mary ("Mama") and Jesus Christ ("Tatda", or "papa") to a young Ngäbe girl named Besikö Kruningrobu. Mamä Tatdä adopts elements of Catholicism such as representations of the Virgin Mary and Jesus, while incorporating traditional ceremonies such as the " cantalele ", with facial painting and ritual dances and songs lasting several hours. Mamä Tatdä is said to have over 200,000 followers in the Ngäbe Bugle communities of Panama and Costa Rica.
WYD and the visit of Pope Francis
Religious pilgrimages draw large crowds. Pilgrims often walk or kneel for miles to reach a festive place of worship. Portobelo's Black Christ processions are the most spectacular. But the most striking event of recent years was World Youth Day, in January 2019. This major gathering of Catholic youth was the occasion for Panamá to receive the visit of Pope Francis, following that of John Paul II, in 1983. The Argentine pontiff was warmly welcomed by 700,000 young Catholics from all over the world. Some arrived by sailboat from Europe, like the experience of a group of young Frenchmen described in Cap sur Panamá! -a book published by Éditions du Cerf.
Just before the WYD, the World Meeting of Indigenous Youth took place in the Ngäbe-Buglé comarca. Thousands of indigenous people from all walks of life were able to exchange views on their faiths and customs, as well as reflect on how to defend their rights.
