The document compares Costa Rica and Uruguay to determine if Catholic beliefs negatively impact Costa Rica's economy. Costa Rica has a close relationship between the Catholic Church and state, while Uruguay enacted strict separation in 1917. Data shows Uruguay has higher GDP per capita, legal abortion, higher female education and employment. Catholic influence in Costa Rica appears to perpetuate gender inequality and stereotypes, which could hinder economic development, suggesting Catholic beliefs and practices may negatively impact Costa Rica's economy through their influence on human capital.

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Title:
Do Roman Catholic beliefs and practices negatively impact Costa Rica’s economy? (A
comparison between Latin American countries: Costa Rica and Uruguay)
Introduction:
Do Roman Catholic beliefs and practices negatively impact Costa Rica’s economy? A
comparison will be drawn between Costa Rica and Uruguay using the Most Similar Systems
design method. The answer to the question at hand is important because anything which impedes
economic development of a nation has dire consequences on its evolution. My hypothesis is that
Roman Catholic beliefs and practices in Costa Rica negatively impacts human capital,
consequently their economy. The method I will employ is utilization of empirical research,
quantitative research, surveys on religiosity, history of both countries, their constitutions and
public policy differences. I anticipate that I will find that Catholic beliefs and practices
negatively impacts the way Costa Rica is governed as well as how its citizens function in society.
The employment of previously conducted empirical research will lay the groundwork for my
research in the sense that correlations may have already been found tying the Catholic Church’s
influence on the general society and government that impede economic progress. Quantitative
data will provide me with the numbers regarding the mechanisms that possibly convey the
Catholic Church’s affect on economically damaging decisions, such as lack of sexual education
in secondary school and a pro-life stance, resulting in an increase of social spending and poverty
due to adolescent pregnancies. Also, the amount of women who are underutilized due to Catholic
teachings on subordination to their spouses and altruism. Surveys will demonstrate levels of
Catholic religiosity in both countries as well as their social and economic impact that might have
adverse consequences. The history of Costa Rica and Uruguay will illustrate their core

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differences and similarities that lead to the current state of their countries. More specifically, the
records that I will focus on will be their colonization, population and economic growth,
education and unemployment. The time range I will use to illustrate their progress will vary
based on available data but will not date back farther than 2006. Colonization will provide me
with the underpinnings of each country, population size and growth rate will be juxtaposed with
the economy’s growth rate to observe the relationship between the two, the education level of
females and levels of unemployment will be compared to examine their correlation. The
constitutions’ and public policies’ incorporation of Catholic ideology within their legislature will
conspicuously express the intermingling between church and state. Each part of the method will
be used to determine my conclusion by attempting to connect the dots between them in the hopes
of discovering whether or not my hypothesis is correct.
Background, Theory:
The previous research that I used to build upon was conducted in four areas: cultural
expectations of women, formal and hidden perpetuation of gender inequalities within the
education system, adolescent pregnancy and Catholic Church’s influence on Costa Rica’s
economy through social and political leadership. The reason that I chose to focus my research on
females in Costa Rica is because Catholic clergy teach that the Bible states that women must be
subservient to men and I’m interested in ascertaining how these beliefs translate into the
economy. The Catholic Church’s substantial role in the government permeates the country
through multiple areas beginning with the constitution; it explicitly states that Costa Rica must
contribute to the maintenance of the Catholic Church. According to the 2013 Global Gender Gap
Report, Costa Rica placed as the 31st most gender neutral country out of 136 countries but mostly
due to cultural expectations, women are less likely to be in high-powered positions; they are

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conditioned to place career secondary to their familial obligations. Despite the outward
appearance of women obtaining a higher level of education and the benefits of this
accomplishment, research shows that gender stereotypes are embedded into the curriculum; the
Catholic Church is held partially responsibility for the propagation. Catechesis is taught in many
schools, public and private, thereby inserting their religious ideology into the education system
and strictly prohibiting sexual education to be taught to the youth. Thus resulting in young
people who lack knowledge about sexually transmitted diseases and the fundamentals of
procreation. Catholic clergy appear to believe that by preventing students from learning about
sexual education they will “grasp” that sex before marriage is immoral and will not partake in it;
this is obviously not the case. Adolescent pregnancy continues to occur and impacts not only the
individuals and their support system but society as a whole due to the need for government
assistance and the inability to acquire higher education and wages. The connection between the
Catholic Church and the hindrance of female advancement in society appears to be very clear.
The line drawn between female education to Catholic promulgation of women’s subservience
more closely resembles a circle due to the cycle that it creates.
My contribution to previous research is drawing the links between the data and information that I
gathered and distilling the essentials into an illustration that is the microcosm of the Catholic
ideology. Catholicism, as the case is with most religious doctrine, has noble intentions that are
meant to serve the greater good of society. However, when doctrine harmfully impacts the
population that it sets out to enrich it must be questioned. Religiosity has declined in Costa Rica
but it still manifests itself in gender roles and inequality. My objective is to uncover the part that
Catholicism plays in preventing women from moving up the ladder and into more lucrative

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career fields. When conducting my research, I did not find anything that explicitly discusses this
subject matter in great detail.
Upon reading research material on the subjects of female cultural expectations, education,
adolescent pregnancy and the Catholic Church’s relationship with the state, I have deduced that
the pervasive Catholic dogma has a fundamental affect on human capital. Human Capital can be
defined as follows: “the stock of knowledge, habits, social and personality attributes, including
creativity, embodied in the ability to perform labor so as to produce economic value” (Human
Capital). My reasoning for this deduction is that Catholicism is deeply-rooted into the culture
and when comparing Costa Rica with the more secular, progressive and advanced country,
Uruguay, that is similar in size, government, trade agreements and literacy, one can surmise
ideology impacts economic development. Costa Rica and Uruguay are also similar in regards to
each being known as the “Switzerland of Latin America” but for different reasons. The parallel
between Costa Rica and Switzerland is drawn due to it’s permanent no standing army, neutrality
in international disputes and beautiful landscapes, whereas Uruguay is equated to Switzerland in
terms of it’s stable economy and social benefits. The stability of the economy was the deciding
factor in my selection of Uruguay in juxtaposing it with Costa Rica using the Most Similar
Systems design method. Both countries are superficially similar but Uruguay and Costa Rica
have different policies and ideologies that appear to impact their economies.
Method, Cases, Data:
The method which I used during my research is the Most Similar Systems design. Costa Rica
and Uruguay are similar in size, terrain, government type and dominant religion. However,
Uruguay’s government’s treatment of women is completely opposite from Costa Rica, as well as
its reverence of the Catholic religion. In Uruguay, men and women have equal rights to power,

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authority, and privileges. Whereas in Costa Rica, women are viewed as subservient to men and
must balance work and household responsibilities. Despite the fact that overall religiosity and
church attendance are declining in both countries (Religion in Latin America), Costa Ricans are
more likely than Uruguayans to possess a religious medallion or picture of a saint in their cars or
homes (Everyculture.com, Costa Rica and Uruguay) demonstrating that their Catholic beliefs are
ingrained. When Uruguay became secularized they removed religious references in their
constitution and from the names of their cities and villages (Religion in Latin America)
signifying their separateness from Catholic dogma.
GDP per capita is almost $6,000 higher in Uruguay than Costa Rica possibly. There seems to be
a correlation between the power the Catholic Church possess over each country and their
economic state. However, I have not found any research linking the effects of both countries
relationship with the Catholic Church and their economies.
According to state.gov. it is written into the Costa Rican constitution under Section II: Status of
Government Respect for Religious Freedom: “Catholicism (is) the state religion and requires that
the state contribute to its maintenance” and “The Catholic Church received exemptions from
income and real estate taxes.” “The law allows the government to provide land to the Catholic
Church” and “To address the separation of church and state, the constitution establishes that the
president, vice president, cabinet members, and Supreme Court justices may not be Catholic
clergy; however, clergy may serve in other political offices” (Costa Rica, state.gov).
There is no absolute division between church and state in Costa Rica and it is even apparent in
the public education system. “Catholic religious instruction (catechesis) is provided in public
school; however it is not mandatory” but “occasionally students were required to remain in the
classroom while Catholic doctrine was taught, in some cases due to lack of resources for

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alternate activities” (Costa Rica, state.gov). Uruguay’s constitution prohibits religious instruction
in public school and there is a “strict separation of church and state” (Uruguay, state.gov). In
Costa Rica, “It has been extremely difficult to eliminate teaching practices that reproduce the
prevailing gender domination system and segregation in the choice of careers, professions and
trades, as well as in the courses provided by education systems” (Guzman Stein, Laura, and
Anna Letendre Morales). “A ‘hidden curriculum’ still persists, which reproduces gender
stereotypes, gender roles and social relations that foster female subordination and discrimination
against women” Guzman Stein, Laura, and Anna Letendre Morales). The church also “block(ed)
the implantation of sex education” (Guzman Stein, Laura, and Anna Letendre Morales). The
Catholic Church is intertwined within Costa Rica government and this is very evident. There
religious beliefs and practices are widespread and nearly escapable.
According to news resource, QCostaRica their government gave the Catholic Church 425
million colones tax free in 2015 and 3.7 billion colones over the course of six years. 3.7 billion
colones (Costa Rican currency) averages out to over 7 million dollars. The funding came from
the Ministerio de Cultura and Ministerio de Educacion (Culture and Education ministries). I
selected the data shown in order to reveal the stark dissimilarities between Costa Rica and
Uruguay. The data and information are relevant to the subject matter and question: Do Roman
Catholic beliefs and practices negatively impact Costa Rica’s economy?
Results:
Costa Rica and Uruguay are quite similar in a superficial sense but their ideologies are vastly
different. The following table on the next page juxtaposes Costa Rica and Uruguay based on the
method criteria that I discussed in the introduction section, which are labeled in the left column
of the table.

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The above table displays the marked differences between the experiences of females within two
Latin America countries. Costa Rica is pro-life and Uruguay is pro-choice. Women in Costa Rica
are the primary caregivers and men rely on them to take care of the household duties which
include but are not limited to food preparation, childcare and cleaning. While women in Uruguay
are legally treated as equals. Female education is higher in Uruguay, as well as their employment
rate.
Costa Rica Uruguay
Location:
Population Size:
Type of Government:
Colonized by:
Roman Catholics:
Religious Beliefs:
GDP per capita:
Abortion Stance:
Division of Labor by Gender:
Female Education:
Female Unemployment Rate:
Below Poverty Line:
 Central America
 4,851,000
 Democratic Republic
 Spain
 80%
 The constitution establishes Catholicism as
the state religion and requires that the state
contribute to its maintenance. The Catholic
heritage remains important in everyday
language and culture. Even those who are
not religious like to have a religious
medallion or picture of a saint in their cars
or homes.
 15,534.03
 Illegal
 Women are still responsible for food
preparation, childcare, and cleaning. Men
rely on mothers and wives or hired help.
 14 years
 (2016) 11.0%
 21.7%
 South America
 3,310,000
 Constitutional Republic
 Spain
 47%
 The church and state have been
officially separated since 1917. The
constitution protects religious
freedom, but people are not devout
and daily life is highly secular.
More than one-third of the people
profess no religion.
 21,387.31
 Legal before the 2nd trimester
 There is a very high proportion of
women in the labor force. Legally,
men and women have equal rights to
power, authority, and privileges.
 17 years
 (2016) 9.1%
 9.7%

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The following charts are a closer look at both country’s GDP per capita progress between the
years of 2006 and 2014.
As can be observed from the charts, Uruguay has experienced steady growth meanwhile Costa
Rica’s growth has not been quite as constant.
The following is a line graph comparing the population growth between Costa Rica and
Uruguay.
Between the years of 2010 and 2014 the population growth in both countries has steadily
declined. When comparing the GDP per capita in both countries against the population growth it

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illustrates that both countries are steadily improving but Uruguay is doing so at a slightly faster
rate. The comparison between GDP per capita and population growth is drawn because I wanted
to inquire about the correlation between the two to see if Uruguay’s population has increased or
decreased alongside of the economy. If there was a strong correlation, I would gather that
perhaps there’s also a relationship between Catholic doctrine and procreation that possibly
impacts the economy. This relates back to Catholic ideology affecting women’s decisions and
rights to procreate. I can see that there isn’t a strong correlation between the two.
Pew Research Center conducted research on Religion in Latin America and the following is what
they found:
Catholics Costa Rica Uruguay
Importance of Religion:
Women: (Religion is Important):
Daily Prayer:
Religious Commitment:
Believe in God:
Abortion Morally Wrong:
Contraception Morally Wrong:
Wives Should Obey Husband:
Rich-Poor Gap as Major Problem:
Government Responsible to Provide for Poor:
Government Should Promote Religious Values:
Religion Should Be Kept Separate From Government:
75%
83%
79%
41%
98%
82%
22%
44%
69%
90%
50%
47%
28%
37%
33%
10%
81%
49%
6%
23%
82%
82%
21%
75%
The table above conveys the obvious differences between the Catholics whom reside in both
countries. The mechanism which I utilized to frame my research is the Catholic Church’s impact
on gender roles in Costa Rica and how it manifests itself within the economy. The Catholic
ideology and influence over Costa Rica is considerable due to it’s interconnection with the state.
The amount of monetary assistance which the Catholic Churches receive from the state,

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preferential tax breaks, the political power that they wield and their infusion into the education
system are substantial. The importance of the Catholic religion to the government and residents
of Costa Rica is incontrovertible. The above table and graphs clearly illustrate that because
church and state have such a solid connection there is high degree of certainty that Catholicism
affects Costa Rica’s economy. However, the degree of certainty that it is the beliefs and practices
that are associated with Catholic dogma is not conclusive.
Conclusion:
Catholic Churches and the Pope are well-known for advocating for the poor and helping the
down-trodden but considering the amount of power that they possess over the Costa Rican
government it is remarkable how their deep-rooted presence is doing the opposite. The amount
of money that they receive versus the amount that they contribute to betterment of the country
are greatly imbalanced. The research which I have conducted illuminates the considerable affect
that a religion can have on a society especially if the two are fused. The Catholic ideology dates
back to the colonization of both Costa Rica and Uruguay as well as Latin America as a whole.
Costa Rica has continued to maintain their relationship with the Catholic Church and appears to
be stuck in a time warp, whereas Uruguay, is clearly progressive; both conditions translate into
the economy in some fashion. Both countries’ residents believe in God as Pew Research reveals,
Costa Rica 98% and Uruguay 81% but the separation of church and state in Uruguay is evident
in every other way, commencing from its constitution.
Some limitations that I faced when conducting my research is that there isn’t much data and
information on the relationship between Catholicism and both of these countries’ economies.
Perhaps if I had dug a bit deeper and extended my research beyond the two countries I might
have found a stronger correlation. For example, I could have researched the same subject matter

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using other countries such as Italy, Spain and/or Portugal to see if there are any conclusions that I
could have tied into my own. I also could have focused a bit more on comparing women and
men in both countries to extract more information on gender inequality. Anyone who would like
to conduct a more extensive investigation on the impact of Catholicism on Costa Rica’s economy
or any other country’s economy should figure out why the Catholic Church still wields so much
power in Costa Rica. Perhaps if this information is uprooted then some positive changes can
occur in terms of economic development. Catholic doctrine as a whole is not intended to be
oppressive at this point in time, despite it’s history. Any religion that attempts to bring people
closer to a higher being, their purpose in life and unify societies, should be viewed in a favorable
light. The dilemma specific to the Catholic teachings is that their dogma is incongruent with the
evolution of societies due to their limiting ideology.

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References
"Costa Rica." Costa Rica Constiution State.gov. State.gov. Web. 13 May 2016.
"Costa Rica." Encyclopedia.com. Thomson Gale, 2007. Web. 21 May 2016.
"Costa Rica." World Culture Encyclopedia. Advameg,Inc. Web. 22 May 2016.
<http://www.everyculture.com/Bo-Co/Costa-Rica.html>.
Guzman Stein, Laura, and Anna Letendre Morales. "Gender and Education in Costa Rica."
UNESCO. Web. 22 May 2016.
"Human Capital." Dictionary.com. Collins English Dictionary. Web. 21 May 2016.
"Religion in Latin America." PewResearchCenter. The Pew Charitable Trusts, Nov.-Dec. 2014.
Web. 20 May 2016.
Rico. "Government Will Give Catholic Church ¢426 Million Tax Free For 2015." QCostaRica.
Q Media, 6 Sept. 2014. Web. 21 May 2016.
"The Global Gender Gap Report." World Economic Forum. World Economic Forum, 2013.
Web. 20 May 2016.
"Uruguay." Encyclopedia.com. Thomson Gale, 2007. Web. 21 May 2016.
"Uruguay." Uruguay. State.gov. Web. 20 May 2016.
"Uruguay." World Culture Encyclopedia. Advameg,Inc. Web. 21 May 2016.
<http://www.everyculture.com/Bo-Co/Uruguay.html>.