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Religious Beliefs and Spirituality in Paraguay

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The 1992 Paraguayan constitution recognizes religious freedom and does not recognize any state or official religion. The constitution guarantees the independence of religious organizations. Majority of the population identify themselves as Roman Catholics though their numbers have slightly decreased. These slight decreases maybe explain by the recent corresponding growth in membership of the Evangelical churches. There are also several indigenous religions as well as Buddhist, Muslim and Jewish sects in the country.

The Roman Catholic religion has a long history and importance in the country. In 1547 the church established the Bishopric of Asuncion. Several Catholic festivals are also national or public holidays which include Holy Thursday, Good Friday, and both the Feast of the Assumption of the Virgin Mary and Immaculate Conception as well as Christmas Day.

The first Baha’i local assembly was established in Asuncion in 1944 and recent estimate of members range from more than 5,000 to around 13,000. Sephardic Jews mostly coming from Greece, Palestine or Turkey built the first synagogue in 1917. Thousands more followed during the 1930s to escape the German persecution and after the end of the Second World War, a number of holocausts survivors joined them. Currently the Jewish community number around 1,000 members many of them staying in Asuncion. The latest census shows more than 800 Islamic followers with more than half of them staying in the Alto Parana area. The rest are located in Asuncion and Itapua. The Church of the Latter Day Saints meanwhile claims a membership of around 70,000 strong doubling for the past five years.