El Salvador

Constitutional changes have significantly shaped the presence of Christianity in El Salvador. In the country's 13 Constitutions, different positions have been taken on religion, moving from Catholic hegemony towards a secular society. The current Constitution (1983) guarantees the freedom of all religions as part of the provision for individual freedom. Although El Salvador as a country became independent (from Spain in 1821 and from the Central American Union in 1823), it remained ecclesiastically united to the Archdiocese of Guatemala until 1842. This was a controversial matter due to distrust and resentment inherited from colonial times, which increased due to political conflicts between Guatemala and El Salvador. As an independent nation, El Salvador experienced a conflict between liberals and conservatives from 1824 to 1870. When Protestant foreign missionaries began to arrive in the 1840s and 1850s, they were not allowed to proselytise. With the liberal reforms of 1871 a process of secularisation began, which gradually reduced Catholic ecclesiastical power. However, it was not until 1898 that Roberto Bender established the first Evangelical church in San Salvador.

From 1932 to 1970, the military dictatorship was consolidated, with the tacit support of the still dominant Catholic Church and the incipient Evangelical churches. In this period, the Evangelical churches began to grow slowly, especially in places the Catholic Church could not reach; the Baptists, Pentecostals and Assemblies of God established a significant presence. Meanwhile, the Second Vatican Council (1962–5) promoted the development of a deeper social commitment, with a preferential option for the poor. This inspired some Catholic priests in El Salvador – notably Alfonso Navarro, Rutilio Grande and Ernesto Barrera Motto, who were all assassinated in 1977–8. In 1979, Octavio Ortiz, Rafael Palacios and Alirio Napoleon were also killed, by right-wing death squads. By this time, Protestant churches were developing a higher profile, not as a homogeneous or predominant group but through finding opportunities to establish their presence in peripheral sectors of society. Particularly in areas neglected by the Catholic Church, Evangelical pastors found opportunities to plant churches. The murders of Catholic leaders continued, including Oscar Romero, Archbishop of San Salvador since 1977, who was assassinated on 24 March 1980, and the American sisters Ita Ford, Maura Clarke, Dorothy Kazel and Jean Donovan in the same year.