In Latin America, the historical dominance of the Catholic Church continues to weaken, even though most people of that faith remain deeply religious. Credit: reference image X: @episcopadocol
There is a paradox that the Pew Research Center established at the beginning of this year, and that should also be the subject of reflection this Holy Week: in Latin America, the historical dominance of the Catholic Church continues to weaken, even though most people of that faith remain deeply religious. Is Catholicism in Latin America declining?
These findings are based on surveys conducted by Pew in 2024 with more than 6,200 people in Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Mexico, and Peru (the most populous in Latin America). As Pew carried out similar surveys in Latin America a decade ago, these more recent results offer a comparison of how religion in the region has changed over ten years.
Thus, the proportion of people who identify as Catholics in those six countries had declined sharply over the last decade, the new study by Pew found, a nonpartisan American think tank based in Washington, D.C., that provides information on social issues, public opinion, and demographic trends that shape the United States and the world.
Catholicism remains the largest religious tradition in the region
Another finding is that a growing proportion of Latin Americans now describe themselves as religiously unaffiliated, indicating that they are atheists, agnostics, or that they do not have a particular religious tradition. But Catholicism remains the largest religious tradition in the region, although its numerical predominance has weakened in recent years.
At present, Pew states, Catholics represent between 46% and 67% of adults in each of the six surveyed countries. In contrast, Pew noted that the proportion of religiously unaffiliated adults now ranges between 12% and 33%.
An additional aspect that also draws attention in the Pew study is that, while it is true that Catholicism is declining, institutional affiliation is loosening, and more people are choosing not to adopt a formal religious label, it is also true that belief in God, prayer, and the personal importance of religion remain deeply rooted in Latin American society, pointing to a future in which faith persists.
Twelve years ago, each of the six countries had solid Catholic majorities, with approximately six out of ten adults identifying as Catholic. Today, Pew asserts, this is no longer the case in Brazil and Chile, where only 46% of adults said the same. In other countries, Catholic majorities persist, but they are significantly smaller: 58% in Argentina, 60% in Colombia, and 67% in both Mexico and Peru.
Other views show a strengthened Catholic Church
A few months before Pew released its report, the Fides Agency, of the Pontifical Mission Societies, had published a statistical report on the occasion of World Mission Day. The data on which that document was based came from the latest “Statistical Yearbook of the Church,” covered the entire reality of the Catholic Church worldwide, and offered conclusions different from those of Pew, with some interesting nuances.
Out of a world population of 7.9 billion people, the number of Catholics amounts to 1.4 billion, which represents an overall increase of 15,881,000 compared to the previous year, the Fides Agency reported. In the case of the Americas, that growth would be evidenced by an increase of +5.6 million Catholics. But there is a counterpart: while the number of baptized people increases, the total number of priests worldwide is decreasing: 407,000 in total, a figure that includes a sharp decline in Europe (-2,500), followed by the Americas (-800).
Religious people are also experiencing a decline: the former reach a total of 48,000, losing more than 600; religious women number 589,000, a significant decrease of 9,700, also mainly attributable to Europe, where statistics show 7,300 fewer nuns, and the Americas (-4,000).
Despite the declining traits of the Catholic Church in some regions, the Fides Agency report offered other data that account for its strength and coverage: it supports more than 74,000 preschool centers worldwide, attended by 7.6 million children, and 102,000 primary schools for 36 million students. There are more than 20.7 million students in 52,000 secondary schools and high schools, while another 7 million adolescents and young people attend higher education institutions, colleges, and universities that are part of Catholic organizations or congregations.
Is Catholicism in Latin America declining?
Hospitals and social assistance centers associated with the Catholic Church total 104,000 across the five continents: More than 5,000 hospitals and approximately 145,000 dispensaries, together with 504 leper colonies, contribute significantly to the care of the sick, the low/income people, and those who suffer, often prioritizing the most vulnerable and those who cannot afford costly treatments.
There are more than 15,000 residences for older people, chronically ill, and disabled, 11,000 daycare centers, and another 50,000 facilities distributed around the world.