Religion in Latin America is characterized by the historical predominance of

Catholic Christianity The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

,Christians – Pew Research Center
/ref> increasing Protestant influence, as well as by the presence of Irreligion. According to survey data from Statista 2018, 58.7% of the Latin American population is Catholic and 19,5% is Protestant, rising to 22% in Brazil and over 40% in much of Central America.

Christianity

Basilica of Aparecida - Aparecida 2014 (4)

The majority of Latin Americans are Christians (90%), mostly

Roman Catholics The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

.Alt URL
/ref> Membership in Protestant denominations is increasing, particularly in Brazil,

Honduras Honduras, officially the Republic of Honduras, is a country in Central America. The republic of Honduras is bordered to the west by Guatemala, to the southwest by El Salvador, to the southeast by Nicaragua, to the south by the Pacific Oce ...

Guatemala Guatemala ( ; ), officially the Republic of Guatemala ( es, República de Guatemala, links=no), is a country in Central America. It is bordered to the north and west by Mexico; to the northeast by Belize and the Caribbean; to the east by H ...

, Nicaragua,

El Salvador El Salvador (; , meaning " The Saviour"), officially the Republic of El Salvador ( es, República de El Salvador), is a country in Central America. It is bordered on the northeast by Honduras, on the northwest by Guatemala, and on the south b ...

and Puerto Rico. In particular, Pentecostalism has experienced massive growth. This movement is increasingly attracting Latin America's middle classes.

Anglicanism Anglicanism is a Western Christian tradition that has developed from the practices, liturgy, and identity of the Church of England following the English Reformation, in the context of the Protestant Reformation in Europe. It is one of the ...

also has a long and growing presence in Latin America. According to the detailed

Pew Research Center The Pew Research Center is a nonpartisan American think tank (referring to itself as a "fact tank") based in Washington, D.C. It provides information on social issues, public opinion, and demographic trends shaping the United States and the w ...

multi-country survey in 2014, 69% of the Latin American population is Catholic and 19% is Protestant, rising to 22% in Brazil and over 40% in much of Central America. More than half of these are converts. According to the 2014 Pew survey, the 46 countries and territories of Latin America and the Caribbean comprised, in absolute terms, the world's second-largest Christian population (24%; including U.S., British, Dutch and French territories), after the 50 countries and territories of Europe (26%; including Russia, excluding Turkey), but just before the 51 countries and territories of

Sub-Saharan Africa Sub-Saharan Africa is, geographically, the area and regions of the continent of Africa that lies south of the Sahara. These include West Africa, East Africa, Central Africa, and Southern Africa. Geopolitically, in addition to the List of sov ...

(24%; including Mauritania, excluding Sudan).

Indigenous and Afro-Latin creeds

Indigenous creeds and rituals are still practiced in countries with large percentages of Amerindians, such as

Bolivia , image_flag = Bandera de Bolivia (Estado).svg , flag_alt = Horizontal tricolor (red, yellow, and green from top to bottom) with the coat of arms of Bolivia in the center , flag_alt2 = 7 × 7 square p ...

, Guatemala, Mexico, and Peru. Various Afro-Latin American traditions such as

Santería Santería (), also known as Regla de Ocha, Regla Lucumí, or Lucumí, is an African diaspora religions, African diasporic religion that developed in Cuba during the late 19th century. It arose through a process of syncretism between the tradit ...

Candomblé Candomblé () is an African diasporic religion that developed in Brazil during the 19th century. It arose through a process of syncretism between several of the traditional religions of West Africa, especially that of the Yoruba, and the Roman ...

, Umbanda, Macumba, and tribal-voodoo religions are also practiced, mainly in Cuba, Brazil, and

Haiti Haiti (; ht, Ayiti ; French: ), officially the Republic of Haiti (); ) and formerly known as Hayti, is a country located on the island of Hispaniola in the Greater Antilles archipelago of the Caribbean Sea, east of Cuba and Jamaica, and ...

Other world religions

Mezquita Maicao Colombia Yuri Romero Picon

Argentina hosts the largest communities of both Jews (180,000-300,000)The Jewish People Policy Planning Institute; Annual Assessment, 2007
/ref>
and Muslims (500,000-600,000) in Latin America. Brazil is the country with more practitioners in the world of Allan Kardec's Spiritism. Practitioners of Judaism, Mormonism,

Jehovah's Witnesses Jehovah's Witnesses is a millenarian restorationist Christian denomination with nontrinitarian beliefs distinct from mainstream Christianity. The group reports a worldwide membership of approximately 8.7 million adherents involved in ...

, Buddhism,

Islam Islam (; ar, ۘالِإسلَام, , ) is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic Monotheism#Islam, monotheistic religion centred primarily around the Quran, a religious text considered by Muslims to be the direct word of God in Islam, God (or ...

, Hinduism, Bahá'í Faith, and Shinto are also present in Latin America.LANIC religion page
/ref>

Christianity

Indigenous and Afro-Latin creeds

Other world religions

Statistics

CID-Gallup 2010

2014 Pew Research Center data

Beliefs

Number of followers by country (2015 Pew Research Center projections for 2020)

See also

References

Further reading