COLOMBIA
Legal framework on freedom of religion and actual application
Article 1 of the Constitution of Colombia[1] defines the country as a State bound by the rule of law. The constitution stipulates that the Republic is “democratic, participatory and pluralistic, founded on respect for human dignity, the work and solidarity of the individuals who belong to it, and the primacy of the general interest”.
Freedom of conscience and religion are recognised as fundamental rights in Articles 18 and 19 of the constitution, and the concept of religious freedom has been incorporated into the Law on Freedom of Religion and Worship (No. 33) of 1994.[2]
According to the Constitutional Court of Colombia, the country’s highest court for the protection of fundamental rights, freedom of conscience is guaranteed in that no one may be harassed or persecuted because of their beliefs, or obliged to reveal their convictions, or be forced to act against their conscience.[3]
Nevertheless, the court has ruled that the right to freedom of conscience is not absolute but comes with limits based on respect for the rights of others. For example, a patient does not have the right to demand a treatment that is medically unwise, especially if it endangers their life or conflicts with the professional and ethical convictions of the treating doctor.
Although closely linked, the right to freedom of conscience is understood in Colombia as distinct from that of religious freedom.[4]
Article 13 of the constitution prohibits all forms of discrimination, including discrimination on religious grounds. Articles 201 to 203 of the Penal Code punish violations of religious freedom.[5]
Article 19 of the constitution states that “all religious faiths and churches are equally free before the law”. To support this, Law 437 of 2018 of the Ministry of the Interior establishes a "Comprehensive Public Policy of Freedom of Religion and Worship”.[6]
Further to this, Law 2200 was enacted in February 2022, obliging departments (regions) to promote and implement public policies that guarantee freedom of conscience and religious freedom in their respective territories (Article 4).[7]
In 1973, a Concordat was signed between Colombia and the Holy See[8] confirming the relationship between the Apostolic Nuncio and the Religious Affairs Bureau of the Ministry of the Interior. The ministry is also responsible for granting legal recognition to non-Catholic religious groups.[9]
Article 68 of the constitution recognises the right of parents to choose their children’s education and declares that in state schools, no one may be compelled to receive religious education. Law No. 4500 of 2006 regulates the teaching of religion in educational establishments.[10]
In July 2022, the Council of State rejected a request to repeal a decree, which, it was claimed, violated freedom of religion and belief by making the provision of religious education in all schools compulsory and foundational.[11]
Article 42 of the constitution recognises the civil effects of religious marriages. In 2023, this recognition was extended to eight religious organisations, which were also allowed to provide religious education according to their doctrine, as well as religious assistance in hospitals, prisons, and the armed forces.[12]
Law 2294 of 2003 on the National Plan for Development aimed to provide a new social contract for peace. The plan includes the creation of a National System of Freedom of Religion, Worship and Conscience, involving public and private entities and aiming to implement policies on freedom of religion, worship and conscience.[13]
Incidents and developments
During the period under review there were several cases of murder or attempted murder of religious leaders, although some of these were apparently related to robbery rather than persecution.[14] Fr Javier González Pertuz was found dead in unusual circumstances;[15] a man confessed to the murder of Fr Darío Valencia Uribe, who had gone missing five months previously[16] and Fr Ramón Montes Peinado was stabbed and run over by assailants who then stole his car.[17]
Towards the end of 2024, Marlon Yanmith Lora, an Evangelical pastor, was murdered along with members of his family. This was widely reported around the country and sparked much indignation. Among the most prominent was that of President Gustavo Petro, who said: “An entire family was massacred in Aguachica. I ask that the Colombian National Police commit all their resources to identifying and bringing to justice those responsible for this crime.”[18] The Evangelical Confederation denounced the killing, saying it could have been related to his pastoral work, and noting that other religious leaders have been persecuted and threatened.[19] In Colombia, Father Ramón Arturo Montejo Peinado, parish priest of San José in Buenavista, was murdered during a robbery on 4th June.[20] In January 2025, another Evangelical pastor, Iván Darío García González, aged 29,[21] was killed. The Deputy Procurator for Human Rights, Javier Sarmiento, commented that the slain pastor was but one of many victims exposed to risks inherent in the exercise of religious leadership, an occupation which, he said, played a crucial role in the promotion of social cohesion and community values.[22]
There was also one case of sexual assault against a cloistered nun. The Conference of Religious of Colombia condemned the acts “violating the dignity of women and, even more so, of a nun”.[23]
There have also been cases of vandalism, including graffiti on churches in the city of Popayán during the International Women’s Day March;[24] desecration of religious images that were over 100 years old in the department of Antioquia;[25] the theft of a monstrance and the Crown of the Virgin Mary in the Diocese of Cúcuta;[26] the theft of ciboria with consecrated hosts from the Chapel of St John Paul II in the Diocese of Yopal;[27] threats to a priest during Mass[28] and, finally, throughout 2023, at least three priests falling victim to extorsion.[29]
In October 2024, the Office of the Ombudsman pointed to a 31 percent increase in violations of religious freedom between 2023 and 2024. Discrimination against Churches and religious communities and death threats against religious leaders were the two categories which showed the greatest increases. In particular, the number of death threats has increased by 100 percent, rising from four cases in 2023 to eight in 2024.[30]
During the reporting period, the government[31] has reaffirmed its commitment to religious freedom,[32] through meeting religious communities;[33] creating a National System of Religious Freedom;[34] commemorating the National Day of Religious Freedom and Worship;[35] encouraging participation in, and dialogue about, this day[36] and committing to increasing its relevance.[37] At the same time it has celebrated agreements which allow for Churches to make contracts with the State,[38] and encouraged co-funding projects with the religious sector.[39]
On the other hand, President Gustavo Petro’s government introduced a draft law for the “humanisation of penal policies”, which would decriminalise certain violations of religious freedom, such as disturbance of religious ceremonies and damage to objects related to worship.[40]
In October 2023, President Petro compared Israeli strikes on Palestinians to Nazi crimes and Gaza to the concentration camp in Auschwitz, comparisons which led to protests by the Jewish community.[41]
The Office of the Ombudsman called for respect for freedom of religion and worship,[42] held a seminar on violations of the law[43] and spoke of the need for programs to protect threatened religious leaders.[44]
A memo circulated by the Health Authority stated that the right of doctors who had a conscientious objection to abortion could not violate the fundamental rights of women who chose to have one and obliged the doctors to refer such women to a medical colleague. It also allowed minors to have abortions without the consent of their legal guardians.[45]
Local authorities have expressed their appreciation for religious freedom and promoted policies that would guarantee it.[46] Some have institutionalised Religious Freedom Day[47] and stressed that cooperation with the religious sector improves the social fabric.[48]
The city council of Armenia dealt with 20 cases of alleged violations of religious freedom in the first four months of 2024, mostly relating to religious groups who objected to paying taxes from which they thought they should be exempt.[49]
The courts have sought to resolve some cases regarding religious freedom. The Supreme Court upheld the house arrest of a bishop for delaying the release of information on cases of sexual abuse of minors to a journalist who had been granted access to them by court order.[50] The case – which covers several dioceses – was appealed to the Constitutional Court.[51] In May 2025, the Constitutional Court upheld the right of journalists to request and receive information about Catholic priests in the context of sexual abuse.[52]
The Constitutional Court also ordered the removal of a statue of the Virgin Mary from a Traffic Department office in Floridablanca, ruling that it violated the State’s neutrality in religious matters.[53] After years of legal petitions for its removal, the Supreme Court judges agreed to remove a crucifix from their own courthouse.[54] An appeal court in Bogotá ordered a priest who belonged to a religious congregation and had links to the military chaplaincy to make a public apology for sexual abuse, and to pay damages to the victims. The priest himself, the religious congregation and the military chaplaincy all refused to comply with the court orders.[55] In April 2024, a judicial discipline commission disqualified Ramiro Eliseo Flórez Torres, a judge from Cartagena, for 15 years because of his refusal to celebrate a same-sex marriage.[56]
In another ruling the Constitutional Court ordered a school to remove Catholic doctrinal content from its religious education curriculum, instructing it to focus instead on a neutral approach to religion.[57] The Bishops’ Conference expressed concern, arguing that the case was initially about the right to opt out of religious education, but ended up forbidding Catholic content in religious education, thereby ignoring the constitution, international treaties and the law.[58]
The same court confirmed that a university had the right not to provide funding to religious groups, and said that it must act according to the principle of secularism.[59] In another case, the Constitutional Court granted the request of a woman in prison who had asked for assistance in burying her son with the Catholic Rite of Committal.[60] A civil court in Medellín ordered the mayor’s office of El Retiro to abstain from holding religious activities on its premises.[61] The Constitutional Court ordered the Ministry of Health to update its norms regarding the euthanasia of non-terminal patients, and called on Congress to approve a law on euthanasia relating to conscientious objection by medical staff.[62]
Following the request from the court, a Senate commission approved a text that regulates access to euthanasia, and includes the right to conscientious objection by medical staff.[63] The Ministry of Health developed a resolution, creating an interdisciplinary committee to make provisions for the proposed right of medical staff, with permission from their patients, to carry out euthanasia, and establishing that its members could not be conscientious objectors to euthanasia.[64]
In September 2024, the Senate held a training course on Religious Freedom for religious leaders, aimed at dealing with their main concerns,[65] and bestowed decorations on spiritual leaders.[66]
The Catholic Church forms an important part of the national landscape. It has been a member – along with the World Council of Churches[67] – of the panel for dialogue between the government and the National Liberation Army. The Catholic Church has also played an important role in the dialogue between the government and Segunda Marquetalia, a dissident faction of FARC headed by Luciano Marín Arango, alias Iván Márquez. In February 2024, both parties formally announced the beginning of a “socio-political dialogue process” in which the Catholic Church and the UN were accompanying entities.[68] In June 2024, the bishops met to revise strategies in the face of armed conflicts taking place in some areas of the country, to better provide concrete responses to promote peace.[69] They called for prayers for peace and reconciliation[70] and condemned violence.[71]
In June 2024, the Apostolic Nunciature in Bogotá was invaded by a group of indigenous people who demanded that the government guarantee respect for life and security in their territories.[72] The group also requested negotiations with the government and the dismantling of paramilitary groups.[73]
In 2024, the Jewish community expressed its appreciation for the Office of Religious Affairs as a space for cooperation and interreligious dialogue, which welcomes minority religious communities.[74] In March 2025, a controversy broke out over President Petro’s nomination of a rabbi to the position of Director of Religious Affairs, after it came to light that the rabbi had declared himself an anti-Zionist and that his rabbinic qualifications were in doubt. The rabbi denounced what he called a violation of his right to religious freedom, while the Jewish community criticised his nomination, saying it eliminated their guarantees to practise their religion.[75]
Prospects for religious freedom
Colombia's courts are the most prolific in Latin America in ruling on cases of religious freedom and mostly appeal to “state neutrality”. Denying the right of some Colombians to conscientious objection in cases of euthanasia is a violation of religious freedom and renders the conscientious objectors into de facto second-class citizens, with fewer rights than their compatriots. The violence caused by drug trafficking and conflicts with guerrilla groups poses a serious risk, particularly to rural populations and religious leaders who stand up for their communities. The Catholic Church plays an important role in peace initiatives and dialogue, as well as providing many social services to the rural population. For this reason, the increase in cases of violence and intimidation against religious leaders should be viewed not only in relation to the perpetrators’ motives, but also to the effect on the community when a spiritual leader is eliminated. The landscape remains complex, and the prospects for religious freedom over the next two years, which were already negative, have grown worse.
Sources
Colombia