The vast majority of the 45 million inhabitants of Colombia are Christian.  The Catholic Bishops’ Conference estimates that 90 percent are Catholic, but according to the Colombian Evangelical Council (CEDECOL), about 15 percent are Protestant. Animism and various syncretic beliefs are also present.

“The [1991] constitution provides for freedom of religion, and other laws and policies contributed to the generally free practice of religion. The constitution specifically prohibits discrimination based on religion.”  

Before the 1991 constitution, the Catholic Church was the official state religion and enjoyed a unique relationship with the Colombian government.  Pre-1991 constitutions generally favored the Catholic Church and some feel that they “had the effect of discounting other religious groups and denying these groups the possibility of vindicating their basic rights.”  Others argue that early constitutions—even when recognizing the Catholic Church as the official state church—generally promoted religious tolerance. For example, the 1853 Constitution established religious freedom as an absolute right, and the 1886 Constitution promoted tolerance of religions that were not contrary to Christian values. 

The 1991 constitution explicitly protects various fundamental human rights and privileges that promote religious freedom including:

• Free personal development 
• Freedom from slavery, servitude, and human trafficking 
• Freedom of conscience, including the right to not act against one’s conscience 
• Right to profess religion beliefs and disseminate them individually or collectively  
• Freedom to express and define one’s thoughts and opinions, receive true and impartial information, and to establish mass media 
• Right to move about freely throughout Colombia 
• Right of free association to promote various activities 
• Recognition by civil law of religious marriages 
• Right of individuals to create educational institutions and refrain from receiving religious instruction in state institutions 
• Right of parents to decide what education their children receive 
• Right to seek protection against violations of these rights from a Constitutional Court 

The constitution further promotes religious freedom by stating that its text should be interpreted in accordance with international human rights treaties that Colombia has ratified. 

The 1991 constitution does not declare an official state religion or church and states that all religions and churches are equal before the law. Though a 1973 Concordat between the Colombian government and the Vatican remains in effect,  Colombia has distanced itself from its historical characterization as a Catholic state. Specifically, “some of [the] articles [of the Concordat] are unenforceable because of constitutional provisions on freedom of religion.”