VENEZUELA
Legal framework on freedom of religion and actual application
The preamble to the Venezuelan constitution invokes[1] God’s protection for the establishment of a democratic society that upholds fundamental rights, including freedom from discrimination.
Under Article 59 of the constitution, the State guarantees freedom of worship and religion. The same article declares that everyone has the “right to profess their religious faith and worship” as well as “to express their beliefs in private or in public, by teaching and other practices, provided such beliefs are not contrary to morals, good customs and public order”.
The article goes on to guarantee the independence and autonomy of Churches and religious denominations and recognises the right of parents to educate their children in accordance with their beliefs.
Article 61 upholds freedom of conscience and expression. It also stipulates that conscientious objection cannot be invoked to avoid complying with the law.
Article 89.5 prohibits all forms of discrimination in the workplace.
The constitution recognises the rights of indigenous people under Article 119, including their right to religious belief. According to Article 121, indigenous people also have the right to maintain and develop their customs and values, including their spirituality and places of worship. These rights are protected by the country’s constitution and its laws.
Article 97 of the 2005 Organic Law on Indigenous People and Communities[2] recognises the spirituality and beliefs of indigenous communities as fundamental components of their worldview. Imposing religious beliefs on indigenous peoples is not permitted, nor is denying their practices and beliefs (Article 98). The religious education of indigenous children and adolescents is the responsibility of parents, relatives, and members of their community (Article 100). Furthermore, indigenous people have the right to protection from political and religious fanaticism (Article 107).
The Organic Law for the Protection of Children and Adolescents[3] recognises the right of children and adolescents to freedom of thought, conscience, and religion. Their parents or guardians have the right and duty to guide them in the exercise of this right. Minors have the right to their own cultural life, to profess and practise their religion or belief, and to use their own language, especially those who belong to ethnic, religious, or indigenous minorities.
The Organic Law on Education[4] declares the State to be secular and independent of all religions. This does not prevent the right of families to choose the religious education of their children.
The Ministry of Education and the Venezuelan Association of Catholic Education (AVEC) signed an agreement according to which the State provides financial support to Catholic schools in the country.[5]
In 2021, the Ministry changed the method through which it pays teachers, administrative staff, and employees of AVEC-affiliated schools, opting to send the money through a State agency rather than through AVEC. The Catholic Bishops’ Conference of Venezuela spoke out against this, calling it a violation of the State–Church agreement, and suggesting that it will harm school autonomy.[6]
The tax reform of 2014 eliminated exemptions once available to institutions dedicated to religious, artistic, scientific, and other activities.[7] Only charities and social welfare organisations can now claim tax exemptions.
Venezuela’s Penal Code[8] lists various types of conduct that threaten freedom of worship. Article 168 relates to the punishment of people who prevent or disturb religious services or ceremonies, and prescribes longer sentences for anyone who is violent or shows contempt towards these services.
The Constitutional Law against Hate, for Peaceful Coexistence and Tolerance[9] imposes penalties of up to 20 years’ imprisonment on anyone who disseminates hateful messages via public channels such as radio, television, press or social media, based on a person’s affiliation with certain groups defined by their social status, ethnicity, religion, political views, or sexual orientation, among other affiliations.
This law is overly broad and imprecise, and highly discretionary in its application. According to the NGO Espacio Público, it is a means of limiting freedom of expression and the sharing of opinions,[10] and has been used to silence journalists and priests.[11]
The Civil Code recognises Churches as legal entities.[12] According to an agreement with the Holy See signed in 1964, the Catholic Church is considered to be a body governed by public law with its own legal personality.[13]
In 1994, another agreement was signed with the Holy See regarding the provision of spiritual assistance in the armed forces.[14]
In April 2022, the Law on the Protection of Victims, Witnesses and Other Procedural Issues was reformed to protect indigenous people in accordance with their sociocultural standards and worldviews.[15]
In August 2024, the National Assembly passed the Law on the Control, Regularisation, Performance and Financing of NGOs and Social Organisations, which punishes them with dissolution in cases of non-compliance with the law’s terms, such as providing notice of funding or donations received, or a ban on receiving contributions intended for political organisations or organisations promoting fascism or hatred, among others.[16] [17] As with other laws that have recently been passed, this one is vague and discretionary.
In the same vein, in 2024 the Organic Simón Bolívar Liberator Law against the Imperialist Blockade and for the Defence of Venezuela was passed. This law punishes those who promote, facilitate or support international sanctions against Venezuela with up to 30 years in prison.[18] Unsurprisingly, the law does not clearly define the punishable offences, and also envisions sanctions against media that promote the same sanctions.[19]
Incidents and developments
Venezuela remains mired in a political, economic and social crisis that by May 2025 had led 7.9 million people to leave the country in search of a better life.[20] According to international organisations, the last presidential election, held in July 2024, was marked by widespread claims of illegitimacy and lack of transparency[21], which led to demonstrations that were harshly repressed by the government with a toll of at least 23 dead and thousands of people arrested.[22] The crisis of human rights and rule of law has intensified.[23]
In this context the government of President Nicolás Maduro has stepped up its overtures to Evangelical sectors with social programmes such as the “My Well-Equipped Church” plan, which was launched in January 2023 during the National Day of the Evangelical Pastor.[24] The policy includes the refurbishment of church spaces and the bestowing of social benefits for Evangelical leaders.[25] In November of the same year, Maduro announced the creation of the Interreligious University of Venezuela, aimed at providing formation to religious leaders and promoting dialogue between denominations.[26]
In March 2024, President Maduro announced new measures such as the simplification of legal formalities for Churches[27] and the incorporation of 20,000 pastors into the social welfare system.[28] In 2025, a Vice-ministry for Religious Institutions and Confessions was established, and the National Day of the March for Jesus was instituted.[29] Furthermore, a covenant was established to allow representatives from Christian Churches to access the prison system and spread their message there.[30]
Economic subsidies were also announced for Catholic communities. In October 2023, President Maduro ordered the construction of a new church dedicated to Our Lady of the Rosary of Aranzazú in the municipality of Santa Rita, after the roof of the original church collapsed destroying the building.[31] The government also approved a budget of 28.5 million Bolivars (around 790,000 USD) for restoration work on the church that hosts the image of the Divina Pastora – an invocation of the Virgin Mary which is widely venerated across the country – as well as its museum. This budget also extends to the improvement of infrastructure in the community of Santa Rosa, such as the water supply.[32] The government introduced these initiatives as part of an effort to strengthen the role of religious organisations in society. Nonetheless, some sectors of society – including the Evangelical Council of Venezuela[33] – expressed concern over the possible political instrumentalisation of the faith and loss of independence of Churches and their pastors. The Evangelical Council rejected the funding offered under the “My Well-Equipped Church” plan and stands in contrast to the Evangelical Christian Movement of Venezuela (MOCEV), which is close to the President and has been criticised for arrogating to itself the role of representing the Evangelical faith in the country.[34]
President Maduro took further steps that could be interpreted as an instrumentalisation of religious belief. In 2023, he claimed that “the Spanish empire crucified Jesus Christ”, which was interpreted by some sectors as an attempt to manipulate religious narratives to boost his ideological discourse.[35] In 2024, during an electoral campaign, the candidate president attended Evangelical religious services to try and increase his political connection with these communities.[36] In September of the same year, he ordered that Christmas should be changed to 1 October, with the Venezuelan Bishops’ Conference responding that the Christian feast “should not be used for personal propaganda or political purposes”.[37] In 2025, Maduro began a new presidential term with an esoteric oath, invoking deities from Santeria as part of a non-traditional ritual.[38]
In August 2024, Parliament passed a law to regulate non-governmental organisations which forces them to declare the sources of their funding, especially when they come from abroad, which could jeopardise the subsistence of Churches or congregations that receive foreign aid.[39]
Between 2023 and mid-2025, there were a variety of religious freedom violations in the period under review. The parish of St Ignatius of Loyola, in the capital, Caracas, was vandalised and had religious objects stolen including the sacred vessels used for the Eucharist. The Catholic community decried the theft as an act of sacrilege.[40] In October 2023, the National Telecom Commission (CONATEL) ordered the closure of the Espléndida and the Radio Fe y Alegria radio stations, which included religious programs, as part of a sustained government policy of control over media.[41] Meanwhile, the Colombian National Liberation Army (ELN) established control over some communities near the border with Colombia. Community and religious leaders were told to submit to the armed group’s “commandments” and are obliged to request permission to celebrate Masses, processions or pastoral activities. The control covers aspects such as schedules, mobility and use of places of worship, which represents a limitation on the religious freedom of the affected communities. According to some reports, priests have even been warned that if they broke the rules they would “disappear, although not exactly to heaven”.[42]
In February 2025, the families of political prisoners in the Penitentiary of Tocorón denounced the fact that inmates were being forced, under threat, to participate in Evangelical religious services against their will.[43] The government persecutes religious leaders who criticise the regime and who denounce the existence of prisoners of conscience, lack of due process and repression.[44] A similar experience was expressed by religious ministers during the elections of 2024, stating they were visited by government agents who investigated them, and several expressed fear of reprisals after the election. One pastor said that the government provides benefits to the Churches that support it but punishes the ones that refuse those privileges.[45]
The Bishops’ Conference continued to be attacked over its public statements about the social and political crisis in the country. In January 2023, President Maduro said that the Devil and evil wear a cassock.[46] Vice-President Diosdado Cabello stated that the Bishops’ Conference is a political party[47] and accused it of having a party-political stance.[48]
The Catholic Church continues to denounce the deterioration of democracy. In May 2024, the President of the Bishops’ Conference, Archbishop Jesús González de Zárate, described the upcoming elections as a “magnificent opportunity” to build a better country. He stressed the importance of a free, informed and responsible vote and called on citizens to actively participate in the electoral process and insisted on the need to guarantee the application of democratic principles, such as transparency .[49] Following the elections, the Bishops’ Conference condemned violence, whatever its source,[50] and demanded transparency to restore the trust of the people.[51] In 2025, the bishops highlighted the fundamental role of journalism in democracy and reiterated their support for freedom of expression as a fundamental right.[52]
Some religious events still take place in public spaces. In June 2023, in Caracas, Evangelicals marched against the draft bill on anti-discrimination and handed in a document at the National Assembly arguing that the bill attempted to impose gender ideology and was against family values.[53] In January 2024, around three million people accompanied the procession of the Divina Pastora in Barquisimeto.[54]
In November 2024, the mayor of Valencia established 13 November as a “holiday of rejoicing” in honour of the canonical coronation of Our Lady of Help, the city’s patron saint.[55] In April 2025, the government decreed three days of mourning for the death of His Holiness Pope Francis.[56]
The Wiesenthal Centre, a global Jewish human rights organisation, decried a worrying increase of antisemitism in Venezuela, following statements in an official programme that accused “the Jews of controlling world power”.[57] The organisation condemned the spread of conspiracy theories by state media, stressing that this feeds into religious hatred. It also warned about the danger represented by the draft “Law against Fascism, Neofascism and Similar Expressions”, saying that it penalises “ideological offences”.
There were proposals to categorise Zionism as a “Similar Expression”, which would in turn allow for antisemitic attacks and the persecution of Jews. [58] The highest authorities in the country made statements about Zionism which, despite it being a political concept, could be interpreted as bordering on religious intolerance. President Maduro accused “international Zionism” of being behind the civil unrest in Venezuela, a charge dismissed by a human rights observer as absurd and antisemitic, and encouraging religious hatred.[59] Vice-president Diosdado Cabello, on the other hand, accused opposition leader David Smolansky of corruption and of representing a “Zionist project in Venezuela”, which he considered a “hate project”.[60]
On 25 April 2024, Venezuela’s National Assembly received a draft bill titled the “Law Against Fascism, Neo-Fascism and Similar Expressions,” which would allow for the criminalisation of regime opposition, censorship of social media, and punishment for “ideological offences”. It also proposes the establishment of a commission to determine which international ideologies fall under the broad label of “Similar Expressions”. As mentioned above, government-affiliated activists have called for Zionism to be included, raising concerns of institutionalised antisemitism. Dr. Ariel Gelblung of the Simon Wiesenthal Center warned that such a move could criminalise expressions of Jewish identity, including support for Israel, further endangering Venezuela’s shrinking Jewish community.[61]
Some media made reference to the situation of indigenous communities in areas occupied by the guerrilla fighters who had become involved in gold mining and people trafficking. In September 2023, miners from the Yopacana National Park were violently evicted. The government justified the operation as an environmental measure, although several sources attributed it to economic and geopolitical motives, as well as the fact that indigenous people had made alliances with illegal operatives. Abuses, deaths and forced displacements were reported, which affected the indigenous communities, imposing limitations on their indigenous spiritual and territorial rights.[62]
Prospects for freedom of religion
The political crisis in Venezuela has grown deeper and international organisations have denounced serious human rights violations. As for religious freedom in particular, during the period under review the political instrumentalisation of religion intensified. The “My Well-Equipped Church” plan, and other such benefits that have been offered to religious communities, are presented as actions in support of religious denominations by the government, though they have also been criticised as an electoral strategy that compromises the autonomy and independence of Churches. Antisemitic tensions have also risen, fuelled by state-aligned rhetoric and legislative proposals targeting “Zionism”.
Freedom of religion and of belief is under increasing threat, both from laws that give the regime a wide scope of action to persecute its critics, and by the hijacking of certain denominations by the political power providing material support only to those who are ideologically aligned, eroding the principle of State neutrality. The prospects for the future remain negative.
Sources
Venezuela