Protestantism in Puerto Rico

Protestantism in Puerto Rico officially started in 1872 when the first Protestant church was established on the island. It is used more broadly to refer to Christianity outside "of a Catholic or Eastern church". Before the islands of Puerto Rico came under United States sovereignty in 1898, Protestantism was forbidden under Roman Catholic Spanish rule.

In Montaña, Aguadilla, a group called "los bíblicos" met clandestinely under the direction of Antonio Badillo. Many freethinkers and Protestants belonged to Masonic lodges, as many in the older generation still do. In 1872, the first Protestant church was established in Puerto Rico, when Bishop W. W. Jackson, from the Anglican dioceses of Antigua provided for the creation of the Holy Trinity Anglican Church in Ponce, followed several years later by All Saints Anglican Church in Vieques.

Soon after the change of sovereignty, United States Protestant denominations agreed to divide the island in order to facilitate missionary penetration. The two existing Anglican churches in Ponce and Vieques served as the basis for a new diocese of the Episcopal Church of the United States, which has since had six diocesan bishops. Presbyterians, Methodists, Baptists, Congregationalists and Disciples of Christ started the missionary work. While the President appointed the governors, these denominations were influential in government policies. After the 1940s this changed; nevertheless Protestantism kept growing, particularly Pentecostalism, which grew mostly among the poor and the rural.

...
Wikipedia