\n<\/p>\n
Catholicism in Latin American countries has shrunk over the last decade, while a growing percentage of adults identify as religiously unaffiliated<\/a>, describing themselves as atheist, agnostic or \u201cnothing in particular.\u201d<\/p>\n Those are among the key findings in a report released Wednesday by the Pew Research Center based on surveys conducted in early 2024 of adults in six of the region’s most populous countries: Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Mexico and Peru.<\/p>\n \u201cOur analysis found that the Catholic share of the population in Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Mexico and Peru \u2014 which collectively make up about 75% of Latin America\u2019s population \u2014 has significantly declined since 2013-14, while a growing share of adults in the region are religiously unaffiliated,\u201d said Kirsten Lesage, a Pew research associate and the lead author of the report. <\/p>\n Most Latin Americans are Christian, and Catholicism remains the dominant religion. But the exodus from the church continues in a region that was once a stronghold for the Catholic faith and has close ties to Pope Leo XIV<\/a>, who served for decades in Peru before being elected in 2025, and his Argentina-born predecessor, Pope Francis<\/a>. <\/p>\n The survey found that Catholics make up 46% to 67% of the adult population in these six countries, and the percent who are religiously unaffiliated ranges from 12% to 33%. <\/p>\n But the share of Catholics has declined in each country over the past decade by at least 9 percentage points. Meanwhile the percent of adults who are unaffiliated rose by 7 percentage points or more, the survey found.<\/p>\n \u201cIn fact, there are now more religiously unaffiliated adults than Protestants in Argentina, Chile, Colombia and Mexico,\u201d Lesage said.<\/p>\n A decade ago<\/a>, Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Mexico and Peru all had Catholic majorities: about 6 in 10 or more adults in each country identified as Catholic, the report says.<\/p>\n Today, about half of Brazilians and Chileans identify as Catholic. About two-thirds of Mexicans and Peruvians are Catholic, as are about 6 in 10 adults in Argentina and Colombia, but all of those majorities are smaller than 10 years ago. <\/p>\n The Catholic church\u2019s strong influence has eroded in Latin America following clergy sex abuse scandals<\/a> and opposition to the church\u2019s stances against abortion and LGBTQ+ rights.<\/p>\n Many, in countries like Argentina, now seek spiritual answers beyond the church<\/a> \u2014 in yoga, tarot, astrology and beliefs outside religion. <\/p>\n In a decade, the share of adults who are religiously unaffiliated increased significantly across the region, rising as high as about one-quarter of adults in Argentina and Colombia.<\/p>\n A decade ago, the Pew survey<\/a> focused on how Latin Americans born into Catholic families had increasingly left the faith for Protestant churches, while many others had dropped organized religion altogether in a major shift in the region\u2019s religious identity.<\/p>\n But since then, Protestantism has remained \u201crelatively stable\u201d across Latin America, according to Pew’s analysis. In Brazil \u2014 which has the largest percentage of Protestants of the six countries surveyed \u2014 29% of adults now identify as Protestant, compared with 26% in 2013-14.<\/p>\n The major shift is among those with no affiliation.<\/p>\n The analysis found there are now more religiously unaffiliated adults than Protestants in Argentina, Chile, Colombia and Mexico. <\/p>\n When asked about their current religion, about 2 in 10 Mexican adults identify as atheist, agnostic or \u201cnothing in particular.\u201d By contrast, roughly 1 in 10 Mexicans identify with any branch of Protestantism.<\/p>\n \u201cWhat\u2019s striking is that, despite these shifts in religious identity, Latin Americans remain quite religious, on average,\u201d Lesage said. <\/p>\n Belief in God is widespread; religion matters deeply to many people; and prayer is fairly common:<\/p>\n \u2014 About 9 in 10 or more adults surveyed in each country say they believe in God.<\/p>\n \u2014 About half or more of adults surveyed in Brazil, Colombia, Mexico and Peru say religion is \u201cvery important\u201d in their lives.<\/p>\n \u2014 And majorities of adults in Brazil, Colombia and Peru say they pray at least once a day.<\/p>\n \u201cBy these measures, Latin Americans are more religious than adults in many other countries the Center has surveyed in recent years, especially in Europe, where many adults have left Christianity since childhood,\u201d the Pew analysis said.<\/p>\n Latin Americans are also about as likely to believe in God as they were a decade ago. Even among those with no religious affiliation, most of them across the region say they believe in God.<\/p>\n The poll surveyed 6,234 Latin American adults from Jan. 22-April 27, 2024. The margin of error varies by country, ranging from plus or minus 4.0 percentage points to 4.5 percentage points.<\/p>\n ___<\/p>\n Associated Press religion coverage receives support through the AP\u2019s collaboration<\/a> with The Conversation US, with funding from Lilly Endowment Inc. The AP is solely responsible for this content.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n