The relationship between family and religious freedom in Cuba today: contours and challenges

Authors

  • Denise Posse Lindberg International Center for Law and Religion Studies

Abstract

This paper examines the profound transformation of Cuban family law between 2018 and 2022, analyzing its relationship with religious freedom in the context of Latin American legal systems. The study traces Cuba’s journey from traditional definitions of marriage to the adoption of the 2022 Family Code, which legalized same-sex marriage, redefined parental authority from “parental power” to “parental responsibility,” and authorized assisted reproduction and surrogacy. The analysis reveals how the Cuban state successfully overcame organized religious opposition through a phased implementation strategy, while systematically excluding religious institutions from civil marriage. It explores three key dimensions: the state’s ability to neutralize religious resistance; the reconceptualization of family authority structures; and the establishment of a model of secularization that marginalizes religious influence. The Cuban experience highlights both the possibilities and risks of stateled social modernization.

Downloads

Download data is not yet available.

Author Biography

Denise Posse Lindberg, International Center for Law and Religion Studies

Senior Fellow, International Center for Law and Religion Studies, J. Reuben Clark Law School, Brigham Young University; Senior Judge, State of Utah Judiciary.

J.D., magna cum laude, Brigham Young University (1988); Ph.D., Univ. Of Utah (1980); M.S.W., Univ. Of Utah (1979); M.S., Univ. Of Utah (1973); B.A., Brigham Young University (1970). Recent awards: Alumni Achievement Award (2025), J. Reuben Clark Law School, Brigham Young University; J. Clifford Wallace Award (2024), J. Reuben Clark Law Society; University Distinguished Alumni Award, Brigham Young University (2022); Topics: rule of law, judicial independence, religious freedom, and human dignity; academic writing focuses on Cuban law. Recent publications: Derechos Constitucionales, Control Politico: La regulacion de asociaciones religiosas en Cuba, Derecho y Religion (forthcoming); Matrimonios, uniones consensuales y otras formas de organizacion familiar bajo el marco legal de Cuba y la Republica Dominicana (with Arelis Ricourt); Derecho y Religion, vol. XIX (2024); Book chapter: La libertad de conciencia, religion o creencias y la libertad de expresion en la Cuba actual,  en Derecho y Religión en las Américas (Juan Navarro Floria y Gary Doxey, eds.) (forthcoming).

Downloads

Published

2026-01-22

Issue

2025: The relationship between family and religious freedom. Outlines and challenges

Section

Research articles

License

Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.

Revista IUS, published by the Legal Sciences Institute of Puebla A.C., is distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International (CC BY-NC 4.0) license.

We authorize collaborators to upload a copy of their published work on their personal websites or any Open Access repository, provided that Revista IUS is specifically cited as the original source, indicating the year and issue of the respective example and adding the link to the webpage on which this publication can be freely consulted in toto and without charge: http://www.revistaius.com

Readers are free to:

Share, copy and redistribute the material via any medium or format.

The licensor cannot revoke these freedoms as long as you follow the license terms.

Under the following terms:

 

Attribution: You must give appropriate credit, provide a link to the license, and indicate if changes were made.

You may do so in any reasonable manner, but not in any way that suggests the licensor endorses you or your use.

NonCommercial – You may not use the material for commercial purposes.

If you remix, transform or build upon the licensed material, its distribution is not permitted.

Charges for managing articles: Revista IUS will not charge for receiving, processing or publishing articles (Article Processing Charge, or APC) submitted by authors.

Most read articles by the same author(s)