ABSTRACT
In order to understand better the role, or roles, of the religious media in contemporary Cuba, it is first necessary to examine the unique nature of Cuban civil society. The classic definition of civil society is that it is constituted by both organized and informal associations, which are outside the state sector. However, in Cuba, the state sector is all-encompassing, and so civil society, according to the classical definition, is narrow and fragmented. As a consequence, one needs to modify the definition of civil society in the Cuban case, in terms of which sectors of society, including those within the state and semi-state sectors, are discharging the traditional functions of civil society.
