Is there religious freedom and religious tolerance in Belize?

There is plenty of religious freedom in Belize. We have Asian religions, Muslims and Buddhists. Just recently, I was driving around in the city, and I saw a Muslim school. There are many Christians and Catholics here, but we also have other religions from all over the world. So there is a lot of religious tolerance here. I don't think anybody points anybody out for believing in one thing or the other; I think people here in Belize really don't care about another...

There is plenty of religious freedom in Belize. We have Asian religions, Muslims and Buddhists. Just recently, I was driving around in the city, and I saw a Muslim school. There are many Christians and Catholics here, but we also have other religions from all over the world. So there is a lot of religious tolerance here. I don't think anybody points anybody out for believing in one thing or the other; I think people here in Belize really don't care about another person’s religion.

People do whatever religious activities they want here in Belize. We have a mixture of Muslims, Christians, and everybody exists here harmoniously with no problem at all.
 
The Muslims here are not aggressive. You see women with their choice of scarf. I haven’t seen a Muslim woman wearing an abaya. There are a lot of Lebanese, Syrians, and Jordanians who live here in Central America, in addition to a lot of Chinese, too, so there are Buddhists. Belize is Catholic-based...

People do whatever religious activities they want here in Belize. We have a mixture of Muslims, Christians, and everybody exists here harmoniously with no problem at all.
 
The Muslims here are not aggressive. You see women with their choice of scarf. I haven’t seen a Muslim woman wearing an abaya. There are a lot of Lebanese, Syrians, and Jordanians who live here in Central America, in addition to a lot of Chinese, too, so there are Buddhists. Belize is Catholic-based because of the way it was set up, but nobody seems to have a problem. We even have the Rastafarian culture, too.
 
I feel completely safe in every way. That is important because I will be on the beach, sometimes, in a bikini and that might not be consistent with other people's belief as to how a woman should be dressed, but they do not try to impose their beliefs on me, and likewise for me on them. People might be commenting to each other, but they are not commenting on me being out of place. Belize is a beautiful and harmonious place.
 
The church in the center of the town here in San Pedro and there is a big Roman Catholic Church. That is where the majority of the celebrations are based, like Christmas or Easter. The Seventh Day Adventists here in Belize really dress up for their Saturday affairs. It is around 85 degrees Fahrenheit and about 80 % humidity and they are in their dress shirts with an undershirt and even a tie. The women are all dressed up in heels and a hat. Likewise, on a Sunday, the kids at home will dress up and on a Sunday morning, they go to church.  They have the same practice in various parts of the country, from down south to San Ignacio.
 
Weekends are a time to pay homage to whatever deity that you have in Belize. It is a family affair and they take it very seriously.

In Belize, we have such a conglomeration of different religions. If you are, for example, Catholic and your friends are Seventh Day Adventists, it does not matter. People are all the same in Belize. There are a lot of religions here in Belize and they are accepted. There is religious freedom and acceptance in Belize.

 

In the US, I believe the religious freedom is being challenged in so many different ways, whereas in Belize, it is not even an issue. Here in...

In Belize, we have such a conglomeration of different religions. If you are, for example, Catholic and your friends are Seventh Day Adventists, it does not matter. People are all the same in Belize. There are a lot of religions here in Belize and they are accepted. There is religious freedom and acceptance in Belize.

 

In the US, I believe the religious freedom is being challenged in so many different ways, whereas in Belize, it is not even an issue. Here in Belize, you can have one religion and your friends have a different religion and yet people are the same here.

 

(Roman Catholic church in San Antonio, Belize, pictured.)

There's a lot of religious freedom here in Belize. We have a lot of different religions in Belize and nobody bothers anybody else. That's one thing that I've always loved about Belize. Nobody ever takes over anybody else's situation. Religion, creed, color, or anything like that is not important here. I've grown up with that in my whole life here and I have not seen that changed.  

 

(Mennonite children in Belize, pictured.)

There's a lot of religious freedom here in Belize. We have a lot of different religions in Belize and nobody bothers anybody else. That's one thing that I've always loved about Belize. Nobody ever takes over anybody else's situation. Religion, creed, color, or anything like that is not important here. I've grown up with that in my whole life here and I have not seen that changed.  

 

(Mennonite children in Belize, pictured.)

Belize is a very diverse country, and while we are small (about 330,000 people in the entire country), our people not only belong to, but respect all different religions. Catholics, Evangelicals, Baptists, Jehovah’s Witness and Muslims live side by side in peace in Belize.
 
We respect the right of others to hold different religious beliefs.

 

(Frederick C. Hopkins, Catholic bishop in British Honduras [later Belize] at the turn of the 20th century,...

Belize is a very diverse country, and while we are small (about 330,000 people in the entire country), our people not only belong to, but respect all different religions. Catholics, Evangelicals, Baptists, Jehovah’s Witness and Muslims live side by side in peace in Belize.
 
We respect the right of others to hold different religious beliefs.

 

(Frederick C. Hopkins, Catholic bishop in British Honduras [later Belize] at the turn of the 20th century, who wrote The Catholic Church in British Honduras, pictured.)

There is religious freedom in Belize. Majority of the religious organizations are more based on the relationship that you have with the Holy One than to say that another religion is inappropriate. Most of the time, people socialize on the streets or in a party and religion is just another common topic in these gatherings. There is no discrimination between a Christian and a non-Christian here in Belize. People judge you based on how you carry yourself and not by your religious belief.
...

There is religious freedom in Belize. Majority of the religious organizations are more based on the relationship that you have with the Holy One than to say that another religion is inappropriate. Most of the time, people socialize on the streets or in a party and religion is just another common topic in these gatherings. There is no discrimination between a Christian and a non-Christian here in Belize. People judge you based on how you carry yourself and not by your religious belief.
 
The most common religion here in Belize is Christianity but there are also some Hindus, Jewish, Muslims, Catholics and other religions. Christianity is more common here because there are a lot of US organizations here that fund and promote the Christian churches.
 
I live in a village with 3,075 people and there are at least twelve churches in our village alone. The churches here are not really small but they are also not humongous like the churches in the States. The Christian churches here get a lot of support from the churches in the US and from time to time they receive containers with food, clothing, and supplies from the US, which tend to attract people who want to be a part of these activities.

 

(Justine Lawson, Belize, pictured.)

There is religious freedom and religious tolerance in Belize. There are a bunch of different religious ethnicities from Belizeans, Mayans, Americans, and Europeans of different church groups. There are a lot of generic churches in Belize where all different religions come together.
 
Generally, the different religious groups get left alone. I haven’t heard of any religious group that is against another. There is no religious tension or racial tension in Belize. The people...

There is religious freedom and religious tolerance in Belize. There are a bunch of different religious ethnicities from Belizeans, Mayans, Americans, and Europeans of different church groups. There are a lot of generic churches in Belize where all different religions come together.
 
Generally, the different religious groups get left alone. I haven’t heard of any religious group that is against another. There is no religious tension or racial tension in Belize. The people of Belize are very friendly and you wouldn’t find that “me attitude” that exists in the States. Belizeans are very thankful that they live in a beautiful country like Belize and I am very thankful I get to go to Placencia once a month. It is refreshing and beautiful. I look forward to each trip and the people there are just great people. Religion and racial perspectives really do not come into play in Belize because everyone sees the bigger the picture, which is the beauty of the country.

 

(Mayan ruin, El Castillo at Xunantunich, Belize, pictured.)