Costa Rica

Roman Catholicism is the state religion of Costa Rica and its institutions permeate the national infrastructure. The percentage of the population that identifies as atheist, agnostic or without religion has slowly but steadily grown in recent years, from 8% in 2011 to 17% in 2018.[ref]https://www.refworld.org/docid/502105cc69.html; https://www.state.gov/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/COSTA-RICA-2018-INTERNATIONAL-RELIGIOUS-FREEDOM-REPORT.pdf[/ref]

Constitution and government Education and children’s rights Family, community, society, religious courts and tribunals Freedom of expression advocacy of humanist values
There is systematic religious privilege
There is an established church or state religion
State-funding of religious institutions or salaries, or discriminatory tax exemptions
There is state funding of at least some religious schools
Discriminatory prominence is given to religious bodies, traditions or leaders
State-funded schools offer religious or ideological instruction with no secular or humanist alternative, but it is optional
No fundamental restrictions on freedom of expression or advocacy of humanist values
Constitution and government
There is systematic religious privilege
There is an established church or state religion
State-funding of religious institutions or salaries, or discriminatory tax exemptions
Education and children’s rights
There is state funding of at least some religious schools
State-funded schools offer religious or ideological instruction with no secular or humanist alternative, but it is optional
Family, community, society, religious courts and tribunals
Discriminatory prominence is given to religious bodies, traditions or leaders
Freedom of expression advocacy of humanist values
No fundamental restrictions on freedom of expression or advocacy of humanist values
Use of Conscientious Objection clauses resulting in the denial of lawful services to women and LGBTI+ people
Religious or ideological instruction is mandatory in all or most state-funded schools with no secular or humanist alternative
Insufficient information or detail not included in this report
Insufficient information or detail not included in this report

Countries: Kazakhstan

The state is secular, with separation of religious and political authorities, not discriminating against any religion or belief
Insufficient information or detail not included in this report
No fundamental restrictions on freedom of expression or advocacy of humanist values
Insufficient information or detail not included in this report

Countries: no countries relate to this boundary condition

No condition holds in this strand
No condition holds in this strand

Countries: Andorra

No condition holds in this strand
Religious courts or tribunals rule directly on some family or ‘moral’ matters; it is legally an opt-in system, but the possibility of social coercion is very clear
No condition holds in this strand

Countries: no countries relate to this boundary condition

Localised or infrequent but recurring and widespread social marginalisation or prejudice against the non-religious

This condition is unusual in that it is applied in cases where there is some social discrimination, but it is not pervasive or nationwide. This condition is applied when there is sufficient background evidence to warrant the assertion that discrimination is not anomalous but widespread, and this condition may be applied for example even where if there is no legislative discrimination or where the non-religious may have legal recourse against such discrimination. However, societal discrimination (i.e. discrimination by peers, as opposed to state or legal discrimination) is not easily measured, and for this reason the Report does not currently have similar more severe boundary conditions to capture higher levels of social discrimination per se. In principle these may be introduced in future. However, we consider that countries with actual higher levels of social discrimination against the non-religious will generally already meet other higher level (more severe) boundary conditions under this thematic strand.

Countries: Botswana, Greece, Serbia, United States of America

The dominant influence of religion in public life undermines the right to equality and/or non-discrimination

Applied when the influence of religion on public life undermines others’ rights, such as SRHR, women’s rights, LGBTI+ rights.

May be applied when the influence is overt (i.e. when religious laws are applied to undermine others’ rights) or covert (i.e. where religious pressure groups exert influence to affect policy)

Countries: Andorra, Antigua and Barbuda, Armenia, Bahamas, Belize, Bolivia, Brunei Darussalam, Congo, Democratic Republic of, Croatia, Cuba, Dominica, Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Eswatini, Fiji, Gambia, Ghana, Guatemala, Guinea, Hungary, Iran, Italy, Jamaica, Jordan, Liberia, Lithuania, Mexico, Moldova, Montenegro, Mozambique, Nicaragua, North Macedonia, Oman, Paraguay, Qatar, Romania, Russia, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Saudi Arabia, Senegal, Slovakia, Solomon Islands, Sri Lanka, Suriname, Timor-Leste (East Timor), Trinidad and Tobago, Ukraine, Zambia

The non-religious are persecuted socially or there are prohibitive social taboos against atheism, humanism or secularism
Complete tyranny precludes all freedoms of expression and thought, religion or belief

Applied when overriding acts of oppression by the State are extreme, to the extent that the question of freedom of thought and expression is almost redundant, because all human rights and freedoms are quashed by authorities.

Countries: North Korea

Expression of core Humanist principles on democracy, freedom and human rights is brutally repressed
Expression of non-religious views is severely persecuted, or is rendered almost impossible by severe social stigma, or is highly likely to be met with hatred or violence
There is significant social marginalisation of the non-religious or stigma associated with expressing atheism, humanism or secularism
Religious or ideological indoctrination is utterly pervasive in schools
There is a nominal state church with few privileges or progress is being made toward disestablishment

Countries: Bulgaria, Norway, Peru, Rwanda

The non-religious are barred from some government offices (including posts reserved for particular religions or sects)
‘Apostasy’ is outlawed and punishable with a prison sentence

Countries: Bahrain, Comoros, Jordan, Kuwait

‘Apostasy’ or conversion from a specific religion is outlawed and punishable by death
Some religious courts rule in civil or family matters on a coercive or discriminatory basis
Religious authorities have supreme authority over the state

Countries: Iran

State legislation is partly derived from religious law or by religious authorities
Preferential treatment is given to a religion or religion in general

This condition is applied where there are miscellaneous indicators that organs of the state offer various forms of support for a religion, or to religion in general over non-religious worldviews, suggesting a preference for those beliefs, or that the organs of that religion are privileged.

Countries: Albania, Algeria, Andorra, Antigua and Barbuda, Argentina, Australia, Austria, Bahamas, Belize, Bhutan, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Brazil, Burundi, Canada, Cape Verde, Chile, Colombia, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Dominican Republic, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Finland, Germany, Ghana, Guatemala, Guyana, Haiti, Iceland, India, Indonesia, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Jamaica, Japan, Kuwait, Kyrgyzstan, Liberia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Madagascar, Malawi, Malaysia, Mali, Malta, Mauritania, Mauritius, Montenegro, Mozambique, Nepal, New Zealand, Nigeria, North Macedonia, Oman, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Philippines, Poland, Qatar, Romania, Rwanda, San Marino, Serbia, Seychelles, Sierra Leone, Singapore, Slovakia, Solomon Islands, Sri Lanka, Tajikistan, Tanzania, Timor-Leste (East Timor), Tunisia, Turkey, Tuvalu, United Kingdom, Vanuatu, Venezuela, Zimbabwe

There is a pattern of impunity or collusion in violence by non-state actors against the nonreligious
State-funded schools provide religious education which may be nominally comprehensive but is substantively biased or borderline confessional
Religious or ideological instruction in a significant number of schools is of a coercive fundamentalist or extremist variety

This condition highlights countries where schools subject children to fundamentalist religious instruction with no real opportunity to question fundamentalist tenets, or where lessons routinely encourage hatred (for example religious or ethnic hatred). The wording “significant number of schools” is not given a rigid quantification (sometimes the worst-offending schools are unregistered, illegal, or otherwise uncounted); however the condition is not applied in cases where only a small number of schools meet the description and may be anomalous, as opposed to being indicative of a widespread problem.

Countries: Bangladesh, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia

State legislation is largely or entirely derived from religious law or by religious authorities
Anomalous discrimination by local or provincial authorities, or overseas territories
Religious or ideological instruction is mandatory in at least some public schools (without secular or humanist alternatives)
‘Blasphemy’ or criticism of religion is outlawed and punishable by death
Government figures or state agencies openly marginalize, harass, or incite hatred or violence against the non-religious
Government authorities push a socially conservative, religiously or ideologically inspired agenda, without regard to the rights of those with progressive views
It is illegal to advocate secularism or church-state separation, or such advocacy is suppressed
Prohibitive interreligious social control (including interreligious marriage bans)
Quasi-divine veneration of a ruling elite is enforced, or a single-party regime holds uncontested power, subject to severe punishment
Legal or constitutional provisions exclude non-religious views from freedom of belief
It is illegal to register an explicitly Humanist, atheist, secularist or other non-religious NGO or other human rights organization, or such groups are persecuted by authorities
There is a religious tax or tithing which is compulsory, or which is state-administered and discriminates by precluding non-religious groups
The non-religious are barred from holding government office
Some concerns about children's right to specifically religious freedom

This condition may apply if specifically religious education, religious materials, or specific religious denominations are so tightly controlled that children are in fact over-protected from exposure to religion and are likely unable to explore or construct their own worldview in accordance with their evolving capacities. This condition helps us to classify states (perhaps with secular constitutions) which have criminalized specifically religious beliefs or practices. This condition is not applied if the restricted beliefs or practices are found to be outlawed due to their being of an extremist variety. While this condition does not directly reflect discrimination against non-religious persons or non-religious ideas, it does represent an overall threat to freedom of thought, conscience, religion or belief; such restrictions could spill over to affect non-religious beliefs later; and they pose a risk of backlash against over-zealous secular authorities or even against non-religious individuals by association.

Countries: China, Congo, Democratic Republic of, Cuba, Equatorial Guinea, Ethiopia, Guinea, Guyana, Italy, Kazakhstan, Laos, Madagascar, Mexico, North Macedonia, Romania, Serbia, Tajikistan, Togo, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Zimbabwe

It is illegal or unrecognised to identify as an atheist or as non-religious
It is made difficult to register or operate an explicitly Humanist, atheist, secularist or other non-religious NGO or other human rights organization
Legend
 
Systemic Discrimination
Mostly Satisfactory
Free and Equal
More information about rating table

Constitution and government

Article 75 of the Constitution[ref]https://www.constituteproject.org/constitution/Costa_Rica_2011.pdf[/ref] provides for freedom of religion, but establishes Roman Catholicism as the official state religion and affords the Church several benefits. The state has an obligation to contribute to the Church’s maintenance, but is not allowed to infringe on others’ right to freely exercise their religions that “do not impugn universal morality or proper behavior.” The government does not put restrictions on the establishment of churches.

The constitution provides for freedoms of assembly and association, and Costa Rica is home to a vibrant civil society with many active nongovernmental organizations (NGOs).

The Constitution states that no one, clergy or lay, may invoke religious doctrine as a means to a political goal. The constitution prohibits Catholic clergy from occupying any political position but does not prohibit non-Catholic clergy from doing so.

Religious bias

The Catholic Church has special legal recognition. Part of the government budget goes to the Catholic churches for construction, maintenance and repair. The Catholic Church is exempt from income and property taxes. The Catholic Church is also granted land by the government occasionally. Besides civil marriages, only the Catholic Church may perform state-recognised marriages. Couples married in other religious communities must also go through a civil ceremony to receive state recognition.[ref]state.gov/documents/organization/208680.pdf[/ref]

2017-2018 General Election

Costa Rica’s 2017-2018 general election saw a resurgence of openly conservative, religious, misogynistic and homophobic rhetoric. Fabricio Alvarado became the forerunner for the presidential race on a platform that promised to restrict women’s access to abortions, end sex education in schools and fight “gender ideology”, the theory advanced by conservative Christian groups that gay- and feminist-led movements are determined to destroy the traditional family and “natural order” of society. Though he ultimately lost the election to a pro-LGBTQ+ candidate, Carlos Alvarado Quesada, Costa Rican society was heavily polarised by the toxic debate.[ref]https://www.theguardian.com/world/2018/apr/02/costa-rica-quesada-wins-presidency-in-vote-fought-on-gay-rights[/ref]

Since the election, things have moved in a positive direction. A significant victory was won on 26 May 2020 when Costa Rica became the first Central American country to allow same-sex marriage following a decision of the Inter-American Court of Human Rights.[ref]https://www.hrw.org/news/2020/05/26/costa-rica-first-central-america-legalize-same-sex-marriage[/ref] However, the influence of the Catholic Church means that abortions continue to remain illegal for women unless the life or health of the pregnant mother is at risk.

Education and children’s rights

State schools give Catholic religious instruction. Students may be exempted from it with parental permission, but they and their teachers and school principal must agree on an alternative course.

In July 2012 the Evangelical Alliance opposed a new state sex-education program called Education in Affectivity and Sexuality with the objective of reducing teenage pregnancies.[ref]nacion.com/2012-07-17/ElPais/evangelicos-desatan-ofensiva–contra-educacion-sexual.aspx[/ref] When the program was approved in 2013, the Catholic Church also opposed it, saying that the subject should be approached within the family context. The Church also argued that sex education and religious beliefs could not be separated. The constitutional court later ruled that students should get permission from their parents before attending the sex education course.

Freedom of expression, advocacy of humanist values

Freedom of expression is respected, and the media is free of censorship and government control. Access to the internet is not restricted.