El Salvador: Possible recognition of Protestants in amended Constitution

A bill has been presented to parliament seeking an amendment to Article 26 of the Constitution of the Republic of El Salvador, as reported by La Prensa Grafica on 9 October 2017. The amendment, supported by the president of the Legislative Assembly, representatives of the Evangelical Christian Church and the political party "Great Alliance for National Unity", would give legal status to the Evangelical Church. Rossana Ramirez, persecution analyst at World Watch Research, comments: "The present Constitution of El Salvador guarantees the free exercise of all religions but only grants constitutional recognition to the Roman Catholic Church. There are reportedly over 2 million Protestants in El Salvador, so this amendment can be seen as a positive measure towards introducing equal treatment for all Christians, for instance in tax-exemption for places of worship. However, this amendment is not likely to include other denominations of non-traditional church communities at this stage. Further developments will be reported as they become known."