The impact of COVID-19 on religious regulation in Colombia, Cuba, Mexico, and Nicaragua

Abstract

In Latin America and globally, drastic sanitary measures were taken to combat the coronavirus. In this study, we investigate the consequences of these sanitary measures for religious regulation. We compare the situation before and after the sanitary measures taken in four Latin American countries (Colombia, Cuba, Mex- ico, and Nicaragua). We conclude that the COVID-19 measures mainly restricted the collective dimension of freedom of worship, bringing religious regulation to similar levels as that in some authoritarian regimes. We also found evidence that some governments took advantage of the situation to increase their repression of religious groups.