Religion in El Salvador

Haha, I'm finally writing a blog after excess procrastination :). Originally, my topic of concentration was: Prevalent Gangs in El Salvador such as MS-13. But, within a couple days of being in-country, I noticed that gangs were not as "out there" as I orginally imagined. I would probably have to seek out signs of gang existence. Probably not a good idea.

Therefore, I decided to change my topic to Religion in El Salvador.

86% of Salvadorians are Roman Catholic(I would cite this, but I found it on Wikipedia), while religions such as Islam, Judaism, Mormonism and Jehovah Witnessess are also represented in El Salvador.

Religion is EVERYWHERE. Parks, Billboards, Murals, etc...

Crosses, Rosaries, and Catholic paintings are present at every store or stand that sells trinkets for tourists.



I have a few first hand stories-

Before we even embarked on our adventure, on our flight from Houston to El Salvador, I sat next to a young Seventh-Day Adventist missionary on the airplane. And by young, I mean he was older than me (about 26). It was interesting to hear his life story and how he got to where he was. It was his first time out of the country and I could tell within seconds. He was wearing a suit, tie, and loafers to a place that was 80 degrees Farenheit with humidity. I think his name was Jacob. Jacob's church sent him to a small town near the Guatemalen-Salvadorian border to build a location where Christains can worship. Apparently a lot of Seventh-Day Adventists are present in El Salvador. Hmm Interesting.

Also,

The first morning we woke up in El Salvador, and decided that we were going to walk around. Salvador Del Mundo, a statue of significance in San Salvador, has a surrounding park with beautiful palm trees and other luscious greenery. There were men in uniform putting up Christmas decorations in the park. Lights, garland, ornaments, murals, EVERYTHING! It was crazy. My first thought was, "Uhhh, it's not even Thanksgiving!" I found out that the local government pays for all the decorations in all the parks across the city. I wonder how much that costs, because there are people impoverished on the streets!?

Later,

We visited the church where Monsenor Romero died. His legacy is still so important to the Salvadorian People. People have shirts with his picture or famous quotes he said. Monsenor Romero was the Archbishop of El Salvador during the Civil War. He spoke out in on behalf of the victims during the Civil War. He was assasinated in 1980, by a right-wing group leader. His legacy lives on throughout the entire country.


Im sure I will have more stories as the trip progresses!


Hasta Leugo

Nikki