Faces of Costa Rica

Beyond Catholicism

The Costa Rican Constitution allows for free exercise of religion, though the state religion is Roman Catholicism. The country is home to communities of Protestants, including Evangelicals, Quakers, Mormans, Jehovah's Witnesses and Seventh Day Adventists, as well as Muslims, Jews and Hare Krishnas.

After Catholicism, Protestant religions are the next largest group. According to a poll by Demoscopia in 2001, 19 percent of Costa Ricans are Christian, but not Catholic. Evangelical Christians make up almost 14 percent of non-Catholic Christians.

Quakers from the United States founded the Costa Rican town of Monte Verde, now a popular tourist destination, in the 1950s. Jehovah's Witnesses live mostly on the Caribbean coast.

Ten percent of the population claims to practice no religion at all.

In general, the religious tolerance stated in the Constitution is practiced throughout the country. Tensions are minimal, and Costa Ricans tend to respect beliefs that differ from their own.