Public opinion on religious faith and gold mining

Recent polling by Francisco Gavidia University in San Salvador released this week offers insights into two areas -- how Salvadorans view religious faith and how they view Nayib Bukele's recent decision to promote gold mining in El Salvador.

Salvadorans continue to be religious by nature and believers in the Christian god:

  • 17.39% of those polled considered themselves "very religious"
  • 78.12% consider themselves believers
  • 2.86% agnostic
  • 1.63% atheist

However the make-up of church affiliation continues to evolve, as the Roman Catholic church continues to lose adherents:

  • 47.02% declared belonging to protestant/evangelical churches
  • 36.82% to the Catholic church
  • 12.98% do not belong to any denomination
  • 1.55% are in a non-Christian religion. 

Review the full poll results to see a wide variety of polling questions about how religious faith influences beliefs about knowledge, science and morality.  The poll did not, however, test Salvadorans' acceptance of the regular assertions by Nayib Bukele that his plan for the country is divinely inspired.  


One project which has not earned acceptance in El Salvador was the recent repeal at Bukele's behest of the country's ban on metallic mining.  When asked about the return of mining for gold and other metals,

  • 48.33% responded that they do not believe that the country has the conditions to promote metal mining projects;
  • 14.45% believe that there are few conditions for this;
  • 23.51% think conditions are favorable for mining;
  • 13.71% were inclined to say that they do not know or did not respond.

Less than a quarter fully supported Bukele's project to promote metallic mining:

  • 48.73% -- do not support it
  • 19.92% -- have doubts
  • 23.51% -- support
  •  7.84% -- do not know about the subject or did not respond.

Whether it was because of his promotion of gold mining, or because of the problems with the economy described in my last post, Nayib Bukele's rating in the UFG poll dropped to its lowest point in the last 5 years, albeit with a still respectable 7.73 on a 10 point scale:



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