Religion in Latin America

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Jump to: navigation, search

Religion in Latin America is characterized by the historical predominance of Roman Catholicism, increasing Protestant influence, as well as by the presence of other world religions.

Christianity[edit]

The Basilica of the National Shrine of Our Lady of Aparecida is the second largest in the world, after only of the Basilica of Saint Peter in Vatican City.[1]

The majority of Latin Americans are Christians (90%),[2] mostly Roman Catholics.[3][4] Membership in Protestant denominations is increasing, particularly in Brazil, Guatemala, El Salvador and Puerto Rico.[5] Brazil has an active quasi-socialist Roman Catholic movement known as Liberation Theology.[citation needed] Anglicanism also has a long and growing presence in Latin America

Indigenous creeds[edit]

Indigenous creeds and rituals are still practiced in countries with large percentages of Amerindians, such as Bolivia, Guatemala, Mexico, and Peru. Various Afro-Latin American traditions such as Santería, Candomblé, Umbanda, Macumba, and tribal-voodoo religions are also practiced, mainly in Cuba, Brazil, and Haiti.

Other world religions[edit]

The Mosque of Omar Ibn Al-Khattab in Maicao, Colombia.

Argentina hosts the largest communities of both Jews (180,000-300,000)[6][7][8] and Muslims (400,000-500,000)[9][10][11] in Latin America. Brazil is the country with more practitioners in the world of Allan Kardec's Spiritism. Practitioners of the Judaism, Mormonism, Jehovah's Witness, Buddhist, Islamic, Hinduism, Bahá'í Faith, and Shinto denominations and religions also exercised in Latin America.[12]

Current Statistics [13][edit]

Religious identification in Latin America, by country (2010) :

Pays Christianism
(%)		 Catholicism
(%)		 Protestantism
(%)		 Other Religions
(%)		 None in particular
(%)
 Argentina 82,6 73,3 9,3 2,0 15,4
 Belize 71,7 40,0 31,7 10,2 15,6
 Bolivia 90,4 73,1 17,3 3,1 6,5
 Brazil 85,1 64,1 21,0 5,1 9,8
 Chile 78,2 64,2 14,0 2,1 19,7
 Colombia 93,1 81,1 12,0 1,7 5,2
 Costa Rica 83,9 65,0 18,9 4,1 12,0
 Cuba 50,7 46,3 4,4 2,0 47,3
 Ecuador 75,5 62,2 13,3 2,5 22,0
 Guatemala 74,9 45,2 29,7 1,1 24,0
 Haiti 89,5 76,4 13,1 2,2 8,3
 Honduras 85,2 49,7 35,5 3,2 11,6
 Mexico 93,1 82,5 10,6 1,3 5,3
 Nicaragua 81,9 55,4 26,3 3,1 15,2
 Panama 86,6 70,7 15,9 4,4 9,0
 Paraguay 92,6 85,0 7,6 2,7 4,7
 Peru 96,2 88,1 8,1 1,8 4,0
 Puerto Rico 95,1 77,4 17,7 1,0 3,9
 Dominican Republic 82,5 66,5 16,0 7,4 10,1
 El Salvador 80,4 47,5 32,9 2,0 17,6
 Uruguay 45,0 35,8 9,2 3,0 52,0
 Venezuela 86,7 76,7 11,0 3,0 9,3

Religious identification in Latin America, by country (2012) :

Pays Christianism
(%)		 Catholicism
(%)		 Protestantism
(%)		 Other Religions
(%)		 None in particular
(%)
 Argentina 81,5 70,2 11,3 2,5 16,0
 Belize 72,9 40,2 32,7 8,0 15,6
 Bolivia 91,2 72,1 19,1 2,8 6,0
 Brazil 85,5 61,6 23,9 4,1 10,4
 Chile 75,5 61,4 13,9 2,8 21,7
 Colombia 92,4 79,2 13,2 1,9 5,7
 Costa Rica 81,7 61,1 20,6 5,2 13,1
 Cuba 52,2 47,5 4,7 2,3 45,5
 Ecuador 73,6 58,5 15,1 1,2 25,2
 Guatemala 83,7 47,9 35,8 3,6 11,9
 Haiti 87,9 69,9 18,0 4,5 8,4
 Honduras 87,8 47,6 40,1 1,8 9,3
 Mexico 91,6 80,0 11,6 2,1 6,3
 Nicaragua 86,1 55,7 30,4 2,6 11,6
 Panama 88,7 72,0 16,7 4,1 7,2
 Paraguay 92,7 83,3 9,4 2,0 5,3
 Peru 91,5 79,5 12,0 2,5 6,0
 Puerto Rico 92,2 72,9 19,3 1,6 6,2
 Dominican Republic 82,8 68,1 14,7 8,0 9,2
 El Salvador 84,8 50,0 34,8 2,5 12,7
 Uruguay 48,7 38,5 10,2 2,5 48,8
 Venezuela 89,7 79,5 10,2 3,1 7,2

See Also[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^ Facts of Basilica of Aparecida
  2. ^ Christians – Pew Research Center
  3. ^ "Las religiones en tiempos del Papa Francisco" (PDF) (in Spanish). Latinobarómetro. April 2014. p. 7. Archived from the original (pdf) on 4 April 2015. Retrieved 4 April 2015. 
  4. ^ "Religion in Latin America, Widespread Change in a Historically Catholic Region". http://www.pewforum.org. Pew Research Center, November 13, 2014. Retrieved March 4, 2015. 
  5. ^ Religion in Latin America Widespread Change in a Historically Catholic Region
  6. ^ LeElef, Ner. "World Jewish Population". Retrieved 2008-01-09. 
  7. ^ The Jewish People Policy Planning Institute; Annual Assessment, 2007
  8. ^ United Jewish Communities; Global Jewish Populations
  9. ^ Bureau of Western Hemisphere Affairs - Background Note: Argentina
  10. ^ International Religious Freedom Report 2008 - Argentina
  11. ^ Árabes y musulmanes en América Latina
  12. ^ LANIC religion page
  13. ^ The Latin American Socio-Religious Studies Program / Programa Latinoamericano de Estudios Sociorreligiosos (PROLADES) PROLADES Religion in America by country

Further reading[edit]

  • D'Antonio, William V., and Frederick B. Pike, jt. eds. Religion, Revolution, and Reform: New Forces for Change in Latin America. New York: F.A. Praeger, 1964. x, 275 p.
Religion in Latin America
Middle America
Latin America and the Caribbean
Caribbean
South America
Dependencies not included.    1 Defined as a semi-autonomous territory.
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Religion_in_Latin_America&oldid=684627186"