Central American Religions

Introduction

Central America’s religious beliefs and practices inform individual and collective thinking and behaviors, psychologists conclude. Central America is comprised of El Salvador, Belize, Guatemala, Honduras, Panama, Costa Rica, and Nicaragua. Some countries in Central America are termed “The Northern Triangle”: Guatemala, El Salvador, and Honduras. During colonialism, Central America was introduced to the religions of Europeans, including the Spanish. The Spanish brought with them Roman Catholic and Christian views and thereafter forced the inhabitants of these countries to surrender their religious traditions and practice and acknowledge these new religious ideologies. Such decision, along with the oppressive government and military regimes during colonialism caused natives living in Central America to lose their ties to their ancestry and religion, and as a result of such maltreatment, natives felt inferior and nihilistic. Researchers observe also that during European...