It is estimated that 60% of Cubans are catholic despite the fact that Fidel Castro's arrival to power in 1959 meant that 3/4 of priests left the island as Cuba was declared atheist.

However, religious practices in cuba are a blend of the African traditions inherited from slaves and catholic beliefs: it is very difficult to distinguish one from the other. This is called folk catholicism and in fact it is different from African beliefs or Catholicism itself.