LATIN AMERICAN SOCIO-RELIGIOUS STUDIES PROGRAM - PROGRAMA LATINOAMERICANO DE ESTUDIOS SOCIORRELIGIOSOS (PROLADES) ENCYCLOPEDIA OF RELIGIOUS GROUPS IN LATIN AMERICA AND THE CARIBBEAN: RELIGION IN THE DOMINICAN REPUBLIC By Clifton L. Holland, Director of PROLADES Last revised on 21 October 2010 PROLADES Apartado 1524-2050, San Pedro, Costa Rica Telephone (506) 2283-8300; FAX (506) 2234-7682 Internet: http://www.prolades.com/ E-Mail:
[email protected] Religion in the Dominican Republic Country Summary The Dominican Republic is a Caribbean nation that occupies the eastern two-thirds of the island of Hispaniola, so named by the early Spanish explorers. Its coastline borders the Caribbean Sea, while its western border is shared with Haiti. Both by area and population, the Dominican Republic is the second largest Caribbean nation after Cuba, with 48,442 sq km (18,704 sq mi) and an estimated 10 million people in 2009 (U.N. report). The nation is divided into 31 provinces. Hispaniola is located between the islands of Cuba to the west and Puerto Rico to the east, within the Atlantic Ocean’s hurricane belt . This mountainous land has the highest mountain, Pico Duarte (3,098 meters = 10,164 feet), in all the Caribbean islands, and Lago Enriquillo is the Caribbean's largest lake and its lowest elevation: approximately 44 meters below sea level. Today, the nation has an average temperature of 26°C (78.8° F) and great biological diversity. Hurricane “David” devas- tated the nation in 1979. One-thousand people died and an estimated 200,000 people lost their homes. Other hurricanes that have caused considerable damage in the Dominican Republic since 1965 were: Inez (1966), Beulah (1967), David (1979), Hortense (1996), Georges (1998), Jeanne (2004) and Hanna (2008).