Bolivia

The Plurinational State of Bolivia is a landlocked country and a democratic republic located in South America.

In 2006, the assumption of power by the first indigenous president of Bolivia, Evo Morales, was followed by a review of the role of the Catholic Church in the country and its influence on government. In 2009, this culminated in the adoption of a new Constitution following a national referendum, which declared the country a secular State. The Catholic Church nevertheless remains a prominent force in State politics.

According to estimates, approximately 70% of the population identifies as Roman Catholic, 14.5% as Protestant (including evangelical Protestant and Pentecostal groups). Approximately 5% identify as non-religious.¹ The Government did not include questions pertaining to religious affiliation in the country’s census in 2012, and reportedly rejected requests to include such questions in the delayed 2022 census (rescheduled to take place in March 2024).²

Constitution and government

Secular reform

The Constitution and other laws and policies protect freedom of thought, conscience, and religion, as well as freedom of opinion and expression.

In 2009, Bolivia voted in a referendum to approve a new secular Constitution that removed Catholicism as the official state religion. The 2009 Constitution provides a number of guarantees with respect to the right to freedom of religion or belief.

Article 4 states that: “the State respects and guarantees freedom of religion and spiritual beliefs according to their view of the world. The State is independent of religion.” Article 21 states that all Bolivians have the right “To freedom of belief, spirituality, religion and cult, expressed individually or collectively, in public and in private, for legal purposes.”

Despite the separation between religion and State guaranteed by Article 4, the Catholic Church is granted a number of prerogatives and privileges by the State, including exemptions from income, real estate, and property taxes. This is due to a number of formal agreements between the Holy See and the State of Bolivia (the first of which was signed in 1957).

In April 2019, the government passed the law on religious freedom, religious, and spiritual organizations (Ley de libertad religiosa, organizaciones religiosas y de creencia espirituales).³ The law establishes a clear distinction between religious organizations and NGOs, and builds on Article 21 of the Constitution. Article 6 of the law grants natural persons the following rights in relation to their exercise of “freedom of religion and spiritual beliefs”:

A) To freely choose one’s religion, cult or spiritual belief in accordance with their worldview;

B) To profess one’s religion or spiritual belief in accordance with their worldview without discrimination of any from in any circumstance;

C) Freely attend or belong to a religious or spiritual organization and to leave it when they choose;

D) Participate in ceremonies, worship, and other religious or spiritual practices in accordance with their religion, cult, or spiritual belief related without being obliged to take part in any ceremony or cult against their religion or spirituality;

E) Disseminate, teach and cite religious texts or religious or spiritual information in accordance with their worldview, in oral, written or digital form in public or in private;

F) Voluntarily support the functioning of religious or spiritual belief organizations;

G) Receive religious or spiritual assistance in accordance with their worldview in hospitals, clinics, military and police facilities, rehabilitation centers, prisons, orphanages, children’s homes and adult care homes;

H) Exercise funeral wedding and other rites in accordance with their religious or spiritual beliefs;

I) Freely practice the wisdom, knowledge and ancestral worldviews of the indigenous nations and peoples of rural and Afro-Bolivian descent;

J) Celebrate religious and spiritual festivals in accordance with their worldview;

K) Disagree regarding the fulfilment of an obligation that contravenes their religious convictions or spiritual beliefs, with the exception of the obligations established in the Political Constitution of the State and the Law

L) Not to belong to any religious or spiritual belief organization, in conformity with the secular State.

Catholic influence in politics

Alongside seeing in the new secular Constitution in 2009, the Government also signed an agreement – the Agreement on Inter-Institutional Cooperation (Convenio Marco de Cooperación Interinstitucional) – with the Catholic Church in Bolivia.⁴ According to the civil society organization, Catholics for the Right to Decide-Bolivia (Católicas por el Derecho a Decidir-Bolivia), the agreement strengthened the status of the Church in the country, “which continues to act with a low profile in all aspects of social and political life in the country.” The Church’s ties to business sectors with large economic capacity has also been strengthened by the agreement, according to Católicas por el Derecho a Decidir-Bolivia, “especially in the eastern region, which is the centre of the opposition to the current social and political process.”⁵

Former President Morales identifies as a Catholic, but did not shy away from criticizing the Catholic Church, associating it with the Spanish colonization of Latin America in the 16th century. As a defender of indigenous rights and beliefs, he described his presidency as the “decolonization” of Bolivia. Morales’ secular reforms angered and spurred a counter-reaction from religious right-wing groups. Bolivia’s interim president Jeanine Áñez, who took over from Morales after he fled following accusations of election tampering in 2019, notably chose to invoke the Bible in her first public appearance, declaring God as the source of political power. Both religion and class were leveraged during this period of political insecurity.⁶

In 2020, the Catholic Church was one of three stakeholders – the other two being the United Nations and the European Union – to mediate the disputed 2019 elections, paving the way for a re-run of the elections themselves. Later that year, Morales’ party, MAS, returned to power with Luis Arce assuming the Presidency.

In 2023, it was reported that the Government had instructed three bishops to appear before the court on charges of having participated in a “coup” against then-President Evo Morales. Critics raised concerns that the move was evocative of the targeting of the Catholic Church under the Ortega administration in Nicaragua.⁷

Registration and tax requirements

The registration of religious and belief groups is regulated by the law governing religious freedom, and religious and spiritual organizations (Law No. 1161).⁸

Religious organizations must fulfill a number of requirements in order to register with the Government, including the submission of notarized legal documents, information on members and details on the organization’s finances and other activities. Pursuant to a Concordat with the Holy See, the Catholic Church is exempt from these registration requirements.

Education and children’s rights

Part of the Morales Government’s secular reform process involved changes to the education curriculum, including the requirement that schools be secular.⁹

Religious organizations are permitted to provide religious education in accordance with Article 14 of Law No. 1161,³ Article 122 of Law No. 548,¹⁰ Law No. 070,¹¹ and Article 86 of the Constitution

Article 86 of the Constitution states that:

“Freedom of thought, faith and religious education, as well as the spirituality of the nations and the rural native indigenous peoples, shall be recognized and guaranteed in the educational centers. Mutual respect and coexistence among persons of diverse religions shall be promoted, without dogmatic imposition. There shall be no discrimination on the basis of religious choice with respect to the acceptance and permanence of students in these centers.”

Article 3(6) of the Law on Education (Law 070 of 2010) establishes that education is:¹²

“Secular, pluralist and spiritual, recognizing and guaranteeing freedom of conscience, of faith and of religious instruction, as well as the spirituality of the indigenous nations and peoples of rural descent, fostering respect and mutual coexistence between people with different religious options (sic), without dogmatic imposition, and promoting interreligious dialogue.”

By law, religion classes are optional and the school curriculum should teach ethics courses that promote religious tolerance.¹

Historical Child Sexual Abuse

In May 2023, President Arce reportedly wrote to the Pope of the Catholic Church requesting action to address allegations of sexual abuse and paedophilia on the part of Catholic priests. The president also sought the Pope’s office’s cooperation in accessing all files related to allegations held by the Holy See to facilitate criminal investigations within Bolivia.¹³ In tandem, the Ministry of Education stated that it would review its agreements with institutions operated by the Catholic Church to ensure proper safeguarding mechanisms were in place.¹⁴

Family, community and society

Increasing social polarization

According to a report published by the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights in 2024, the social transformations provoked by the passage of the 2009 Constitution – including the recognition of indigenous, economic, social and cultural rights, and gender equality, as well as reshaping the State’s socio-economic model – have produced advances in addressing structural issues such as inequality, however, in tandem, they have led to the increasing polarization of society. The report indicates that this increasing polarization has led to increased violence, human rights violations, and a deterioration in trust of democratic institutions.¹⁵

Gender equality and reproductive rights

Abortion is criminalized in Bolivia except when the life or health of the woman or girl is at risk or when the pregnancy is the result of rape or incest.¹⁶

At the end of 2017, Bolivia issued a newly revised Criminal Code expanding the grounds for abortion before the eighth week of pregnancy to a broader range of circumstances. However, the reform was subject to large protests from anti-choice groups throughout the country. One of the key driving forces behind the protests was the Platform for Life and Family (Plataforma por la Vida y Familia), whose president described its work as “necessary to defend the four principles postulated by Benedict XVI, since they are completely threatened in the country.”¹⁷ Also backing the call to repeal the new law was the Catholic Church¹⁸ and international lobbying groups such as the Catholic anti-abortion group, Human Life International and the USA based Christian advocacy group Alliance Defending Freedom International.¹⁹ As a consequence of the backlash, in January 2018, the Code was repealed in its entirety.

According to Human Rights Watch, 90% of healthcare personnel interviewed in 44 public hospitals did not know the circumstances under which an abortion is legal in Bolivia.²⁰

LGBTI+ rights

Bolivia’s Constitution and laws are relatively progressive on the subject of LGBTI+ rights.²¹ Article 14 of the Constitution bans discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation or gender identity. Article 58 recognizes the right of children to express themselves in a gender identity of their choice as a right “inherent to their development”.

In 2016, a Gender Identity Law²² was approved allowing transgender individuals to change their gender on official documents, and in 2019, Bolivia’s legislature made further progress by passing a law that criminalized hate crimes on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity.²³

Despite these legal gains, Bolivia remains a relatively conservative country and the public has been resistant to the idea of full marriage equality.²⁴ The Constitution limits marriage to that between a man and a woman.

In December 2020, after a two-year legal battle, a court in La Paz granted two men the right to register a civil union, which activists hope will set a precedent for other LGBTI+ couples to access recognition.²⁵ However, despite this, in 2021 Bolivia’s national civil registry (Registro de Servicio Cívico, SERECÍ) discriminated against a lesbian couple by rejecting their application to register their relationship as a union. The registry reportedly claimed it was awaiting the outcome of the Constitutional Court’s review of the aforementioned case before it could register the union.²⁶

In March 2023, the Constitutional Court made public a ruling recognizing civil unions for same-sex couples. The court called upon the legislature to modify national legislation related to LGBTI+ rights in accordance with international standards.²⁷ However, according to Human Rights Watch:

“The ruling did not address the rights of transgender people to enter into civil unions, which is prohibited by a 2017 decision by the same court. The 2017 ruling also denied their rights to adopt children and be elected to public office and curtailed their privacy rights with respect to the gender they were assigned at birth.”

Freedom of expression, advocacy of humanist values

The Constitution guarantees freedom of expression and freedom of the press. However, in a highly polarized political environment, some journalists report intimidation and harassment by opponents, criminals, and the ruling party.²⁸

Under Morales’ government, Front Line Defenders reported that activists “who engage on environmental issues have been subjected to intimidation, threats, surveillance, and criminalisation,” that “the defence of indigenous peoples’ rights in the face of development projects is especially stigmatised by the Bolivian government” and that judicial harassment against lawyers who work on environmental and indigenous issues was common.²⁹

During the interim presidency of Jeanine Áñez, the government initiated a violent military crackdown against government protesters, journalists and those guilty of a broadly defined offence of “sedition,” resulting in at least 30 deaths.³⁰

Senator Áñez, whose interim presidency was associated with a resurgence of Christian nationalism, also expressed anti-indigenous views publicly and on Twitter, writing “I dream of a Bolivia without satanic indigenous rituals, the city isn’t made for Indians, they need to go back to the countryside!” During her tenure, there was a wave of anti-indigenous sentiment and violence, some involving members of the Church. For instance, a hardline pastor reportedly attacked traditional indigenous beliefs as evidence of “witchcraft” and claimed that “[Under Morales] we were turning into a backwards nation – people wanted to legalize abortion, to legalize gay marriage, they wanted to legalize the satanistas [satanists]!”³¹

Freedom of assembly

According to CIVICUS, civic space is “obstructed.”³² Bolivian law protects the right to peaceful assembly. However, many past protests have been marred by clashes between demonstrators and police, as well as physical confrontations between protesters and counterprotesters. Journalists covering protests are frequently attacked.³³

1. “Bolivia” chapter in 2022 Report on International Religious Freedom, Office of International Religious Freedom, U.S Department of State, https://www.state.gov/reports/2022-report-on-international-religious-freedom/bolivia/ [↩][↩]
2. “Características de la población” in Censo de Población y Vivienda 2012 Bolivia, National Institute of Statistics (Instituto Nacional de Estadisticas – INE), Plurinational State of Bolivia, February 2015, https://bolivia.unfpa.org/sites/default/files/pub-pdf/Caracteristicas_de_Poblacion_2012.pdf; EFE, “Bolivia acuerda aplazar su censo de población hasta mediados de 2024”, Swiss Info, 12 July 2022, https://www.swissinfo.ch/spa/bolivia-acuerda-aplazar-su-censo-de-poblaci%C3%B3n-hasta-mediados-de-2024/47747768; “Catholic Church in Bolivia insists religion question be included in national census”, La Croix International, 16 June 2022, https://international.la-croix.com/news/world/catholic-church-in-bolivia-insists-religion-question-be-included-in-national-census/16250 [↩]
3. Unofficial translation of Law No.1161, Law on Religious Freedom, Religious and Spiritual Belief Organizations, 11 April 2019, Official Gazette of the Plurinational State of Bolivia, http://gacetaoficialdebolivia.gob.bo/normas/buscar/1161, accessed 18 March 2024 [↩][↩]
4. “Convenio Marco de Cooperacion interinstitucional entre la Iglesia Catolica en Bolivia y el Governo del Estado Plurinacional de Bolivia”, CEMSE, accessed 21 March 2024, https://cemse.edu.bo/wp-content/uploads/manuales-reglamentos/Convenio_Estado_Iglesia.pdf [↩]
5. Teresa Lanza Monje, Challenging Religious Fundamentalisms in Bolivia: The inclusion of sexual and reproductive rights in the Constitution, AWID, accessed 21 March 2024, https://www.awid.org/sites/default/files/atoms/files/feminists_on_the_frontlines_-_bolivia_-_inclusion_of_sexual_and_reproductive_rights.pdf[↩]
6. Matthew Casey-Pariseault, “Old religious tensions resurge in Bolivia after ouster of longtime indigenous president”, the Conversation, 19 November 2019,
   https://theconversation.com/old-religious-tensions-resurge-in-bolivia-after-ouster-of-longtime-indigenous-president-127000; Eduardo Campos Lima, “With election over, Catholics in Bolivia hope to bridge country’s religious divisions, National Catholic Reporter, 30 October 2020, https://www.ncronline.org/news/election-over-catholics-bolivia-hope-bridge-countrys-religious-divisions; Brady McCombs, “Bolivia religious debate: The Bible vs Andean earth deity”, Associated Press, 25 January 2020, https://apnews.com/article/caribbean-ap-top-news-international-news-la-paz-lifestyle-5b2c57adfe878163be4b0288890d7bf3; Tom Phillips, “’Satan, be gone!’: Bolivian Christians claim credit for ousting Evo Morales”, The Guardian, 27 January 2020, https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/jan/27/bolivian-christians-evo-morales-indigenous-catholic-protestant [↩]
7. Humberto Vacaflor Ganam, “Modelo Nicaragua: el Gobierno de Luis Arce apunta a los obispos bolivianos”, Infobae, 13 February 2023, https://www.infobae.com/america/america-latina/2023/02/13/modelo-nicaragua-el-gobierno-de-luis-arce-apunta-a-los-obispos-bolivianos/ [↩]
8. In Spanish: “Ley de Libertad Religiosa, Organizaciones religiosas y de creencias espirituales”, Official Gazette of the Plurinational State of Bolivia, 16 April 2019, http://gacetaoficialdebolivia.gob.bo/normas/buscar/1161 [↩]
9. Jesse Adam Shidlovski Strauss, Decolonizing Bolivian Education: A Critical Look at the Plurinational State’s Vision, January 2010,
   https://educationanddevelopment.files.wordpress.com/2008/04/decolonizing-bolivian-education-a-critical-look-at-the-plurinational-states-vision.pdf
   [↩]
10. In Spanish: “Ley No. 548”, Asamblea Legislativa Plurinacional de Bolivia, 17 July 2014, https://www.comunicacion.gob.bo/sites/default/files/docs/Ley%20N%C2%B0%20548%20Codigo%20Ni%C3%B1o%20Ni%C3%B1a%20Adolescente.pdf [↩]
11. In Spanish: “Ley No. 070 – Ley de la Educación “Avelino Siñani – Elizardo Pérez”” – Asamblea Legislativa Plurinacional de Bolivia, 20 December 2010, https://siteal.iiep.unesco.org/sites/default/files/sit_accion_files/ley_70-2010.pdf[↩]
12. Unofficial translation of official text “Es laica, pluralista y espiritual, reconoce y garantiza la libertad de conciencia y de fe y de la enseñanza de religión, así como la espiritualidad de las naciones y pueblos indígena originario campesinos, fomenta el respeto [sic] y la convivencia mutua entre las personas con diversas opciones [sic] religiosas, sin imposición dogmática, y propiciando el diálogo interreligioso.”[↩]
13. “Luis Arce le envió una carta al papa Francisco para hacerle conocer las denuncias por abusos en contra de varios sacerdotes”, Infobae, 23 May 2023, https://www.infobae.com/america/america-latina/2023/05/23/luis-arce-le-envio-una-carta-al-papa-francisco-para-hacerle-conocer-las-denuncias-por-abusos-en-contra-de-varios-sacerdotes/; Matthew Casey-Pariseault, “Events in Bolivia and Brazil may signal a turning point for the Catholic Church’s sexual abuse crisis in Latin America”, The Conversation, 14 June 2023, https://theconversation.com/events-in-bolivia-and-brazil-may-signal-a-turning-point-for-the-catholic-churchs-sexual-abuse-crisis-in-latin-america-207292 [↩]
14. “Ministerio de Educación revisará acuerdos que se tienen con unidades educativas de convenio administradas por la Iglesia Católica”, Ministry of Education, 23 May 2023, https://www.minedu.gob.bo/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=6717:ministerio-de-educacion-revisara-acuerdos-que-se-tienen-con-unidades-educativas-de-convenio-administradas-por-la-iglesia-catolica&catid=182:noticias&Itemid=854 [↩]
15. Cohesión social: el desafío para la consolidación de democracia en Bolivia, Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (Organization of American States), 20 January 2024, https://www.oas.org/es/cidh/informes/pdfs/2024/CohesionSocial_Bolivia_SPA.pdf [↩]
16. “Bolivia’s Abortion Provisions”, Center for Reproductive Rights, accessed 18 March 2024, https://reproductiverights.org/maps/provision/bolivias-abortion-provisions/ [↩]
17. “Plataforma por la vida y la familia recauda al momento 30 mil firmas en cinco departamentos”, Urgente Bolivia, 11 December 2017, https://urgente.bo/noticia/plataforma-por-la-vida-y-la-familia-recauda-al-momento-30-mil-firmas-en-cinco-departamentos[↩]
18. Rose Gamble, “Church in Bolivia condemns draft law to allow abortion in cases of ‘extreme poverty’”, The Tablet, 15 March 2017, https://www.thetablet.co.uk/news/6857/church-in-bolivia-condemns-draft-law-to-allow-abortion-in-cases-of-extreme-poverty-[↩]
19. Deborah M. Piroch, “Battling Abortion in Bolivia,” Human Life International, 10 October 2017, https://www.hli.org/2017/10/abortion-battle-waged-bolivia/; Submission to the 34 th Session of the Human Rights Council’s Universal Periodic Review Working Group, ADF International (2019), https://www.upr-info.org/sites/default/files/document/bolivia_plurinational_state_of/session_34_-_november_2019/ai_upr34_bol_e_main.pdf[↩]
20. César Muñoz,”Girl’s Ordeal Exposes Bolivia’s Failure on Reproductive Rights”, Human Rights Watch, 6 December 2021, https://www.hrw.org/news/2021/12/06/girls-ordeal-exposes-bolivias-failure-reproductive-rights [↩]
21. “Bolivia”, Ilga World Database, accessed 19 March 2024, https://database.ilga.org/bolivia-lgbti [↩]
22. In Spanish: “Ley No. 807 – Ley de Identidad de Género”, Asamblea Legislativa Plurinacional, 21 May 2016, http://gacetaoficialdebolivia.gob.bo/normas/buscar/807; [↩]
23. “A tres años de la promulgacion de la ley 807 de identidad de género”, Public Defenders Office, 21 May 2019, https://www.defensoria.gob.bo/noticias/a-tres-anyos-de-la-promulgacion-de-la-ley-807-de-identidad-de-genero[↩]
24. Linda Farthing, “Will Bolivia’s First Same-Sex Union Lead to More LGBT Rights?”, World Politics Review, 1 April 2021, https://www.worldpoliticsreview.com/articles/29536/in-bolivia-lgbt-activists-look-to-build-on-a-historic-court-decision[↩]
25. Reuters, “Bolivia approves first same-sex union following legal battle”, NBC News, 14 December 2020, https://www.nbcnews.com/feature/nbc-out/bolivia-approves-first-same-sex-union-following-legal-battle-n1251099[↩]
26. “Bolivia: Lesbian Couple Denied Registration of Union”, Human Rights Watch, 8 July 2021, https://www.hrw.org/news/2021/07/08/bolivia-lesbian-couple-denied-registration-union [↩]
27. “Bolivia” chapter in World Report 2024, Human Rights Watch, https://www.hrw.org/world-report/2024/country-chapters/bolivia [↩]
28. “Bolivia” chapter in Freedom in the World 2023, Freedom House, accessed 19 March 2024, https://freedomhouse.org/country/bolivia/freedom-world/2023 [↩]
29. Submission to the Universal Periodic Review of Bolivia, Front Line Defenders, UPR-Info, accessed 21 March 2024, https://www.upr-info.org/sites/default/files/documents/2019-10/fld_upr34_bol_e_main.pdf [↩]
30. Bolivia: Interim Government Adopts Abusive Measures”, Human Rights Watch, 19 November 2019, https://www.hrw.org/news/2019/11/19/bolivia-interim-government-adopts-abusive-measures[↩]
31. Tom Phillips, “’Satan, be gone!’: Bolivian Christians claim credit for ousting Evo Morales”, The Guardian, 27 January 2020, https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/jan/27/bolivian-christians-evo-morales-indigenous-catholic-protestant
    [↩]
32. “Global Findings 2023”, CIVICUS, accessed 21 March 2024, https://monitor.civicus.org/globalfindings_2023/ [↩]
33. “Bolivia” chapter in Freedom in the World 2023, Freedom House, accessed 19 March 2024, https://freedomhouse.org/country/bolivia/freedom-world/2023; IACHR Press Office, “Protests in Bolivia: IACHR and Its Special Rapporteurship for Freedom of Expression Monitor Events in Santa Cruz de la Sierra, Bolivia”, Inter-American Commission on Human Rights, 17 January 2023, https://www.oas.org/en/iachr/jsForm/?File=/en/iachr/media_center/preleases/2023/005.asp; Inter-American Press Association, “Inter American Press Association condemns violence against the press in Bolivia”, IFEX, 9 January 2023, https://ifex.org/inter-american-press-association-condemns-violence-against-the-press-in-bolivia/; “Clashes during protests in La Paz lead to protester detentions and attacks on journalists”, CIVICUS, 5 January 2024, https://monitor.civicus.org/explore/clashes-during-protests-in-la-paz-lead-to-protester-detentions-and-attacks-on-journalists/; “Bolivia: Attacks on media outlets, journalists and social leader threaten freedom of association and expression”, CIVICUS, 14 September 2023, https://monitor.civicus.org/explore/bolivia-attacks-on-media-outlets-journalists-and-social-leader-threaten-freedom-of-association-and-expression/; “Right to protest undermined by security forces”, CIVICUS, 13 July 2023, https://monitor.civicus.org/explore/right-to-protest-undermined-by-security-forces/ [↩]