Religion in Ecuador

Approximately 95% of Ecuadorians are Roman Catholic, and 4% are Protestants. In the rural parts of Ecuador, indigenous beliefs and Catholicism are sometimes syncretized. Most festivals and annual parades are based on religious celebrations, many incorporating a mixture of rites and icons.

With the Conquerors came the venerable (or ominous, depending on your point of view) "guns, germs and steel" and the Abrahamic desert religions, both of which were instrumental in the subjugation of the local people. Almost immediately after their arrival, the mixing of "white" blood and indigenous blood began. Today, "pure blooded" Euro-Americans, a distinct minority in Ecuador, wield an inordinate amount of the economic power. Mestizos (people of mixed blood), who come in every shape, size and color, are the majority of the Ecuadorian population and hence hold the political power. Mestizos also form Ecuador's vast "middle class."