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defense and for improving the health conditions and environmental con
trol of the family. In his speech to the Second Congress of the
Federation (1974), Castro said, "The Revolution has in Cuban women
today a true army, an impressive political force" (p. 50).
Garcia (1980) believes that in spite of the Revolution's desire
to form a new role for women and to elevate them to a position of equal
importance with men, cultural expectations for women's behavior have not
changed much since prerevolutionary times. Women are still expected to
be virginal, reserved, and domestic.
Changes in Religious Practices
Statistics on religious practices are difficult to verify because
much religious activity has become clandestine (Clark, 1975). However,
information on religion is important because many of the students and
other adults spoke of deep religious convictions or church membership,
especially in Protestant faiths such as Jehovah's Witnesses. While
Christians are no longer persecuted, there are a variety of social
pressures to dissuade the practice of any religion (Clark, 1975).
Clark (1979) writes that parents who send their children to Catholic
catechism classes receive visits from the children's teachers telling
them that such practices will impede the child's progress within the
educational system. Religious affiliation is also a cause for dis
missal from a position. Many political and volunteer work meetings
are planned for Sunday, so there is little time to attend church.
Some elements of the Catholic and Protestant faiths have worked toward
conciliation between the church and state. This activity is not
greatly supported; the communists view the practice of religion as a