Catholicism in Latin American countries has declined over the past decade, while a growing percentage of adults identify as religiously unaffiliated, describing themselves as atheists, agnostics or “nothing in particular.”
Those are among the main findings in a report released Wednesday by the Pew Research Center based on a survey conducted in early 2024 of adults in six of the region’s most populous countries: Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Mexico and Peru.
“Our analysis found that the Catholic share of the population in Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Mexico and Peru — which collectively make up about 75% of Latin America’s population — has declined significantly since 2013-14, while a growing share of adults in the region are religiously unaffiliated,” said Kirsten Lesage, Pew research associate and lead author. of the report.
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, who served for decades in Peru before being elected in 2025, and his Argentine-born predecessor, Pope Francis.
The survey found that Catholics make up from 46% to 67% of the adult population in these six countries, and the percentage who are religiously unaffiliated varies from 12% to 33%.
But the share of Catholics has decreased in every country over the last ten years by at least 9 percentage points. Meanwhile the percentage of adults who are unaffiliated has increased by 7 percentage points or more, the survey found.
“In fact, there are now more religiously unaffiliated adults than Protestants in Argentina, Chile, Colombia and Mexico,” Lesage said.
Ten years ago, Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Mexico and Peru all had Catholic majorities: about 6 in 10 adults or more in each country identified as Catholic, the report says.
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 those majorities are younger than 10 years ago.
The rise of the nones
The powerful influence of the Catholic church has declined in Latin America after scandals of sexual abuse by clergy and opposition to the church’s positions against abortion and LGBTQ+ rights.
Many, in countries like Argentina, now look for spiritual answers beyond the church – in yoga, tarot, astrology and beliefs outside religion.
In ten years, the share of adults who are religiously unaffiliated has increased significantly across the region, rising to around a quarter of adults in Argentina and Colombia.
Ten years ago, the Pew survey focused on how Latin Americans born into Catholic families were increasingly leaving the faith for Protestant churches, while many others abandoned organized religion altogether in a major shift in the region’s religious identity.
But since then, Protestantism has remained “relatively stable” across Latin America, according to Pew’s analysis. In Brazil — which has the largest percentage of Protestants of the six countries surveyed — 29% of adults now identify as Protestant, compared with 26% in 2013-14.
The main change is among the unaffiliated.
The analysis found that there are now more religiously unaffiliated adults than Protestants in Argentina, Chile, Colombia and Mexico.
When asked about their current religion, about 2 in 10 Mexican adults identify as atheist, agnostic or “nothing in particular.” In contrast, approximately 1 in 10 Mexicans identify with any branch of Protestantism.
Latin Americans are still religious and most still believe in God
“What’s striking is that, despite these changes in religious identity, Latin Americans remain quite religious, on average,” Lesage said.
Belief in God is widespread; religion is very important to many people; and the prayer is quite common:
— About 9 out of every 10 or more adults surveyed in every country say they believe in God.
— About half or more of adults surveyed in Brazil, Colombia, Mexico and Peru say religion is “very important” in their lives.
— And the majority of adults in Brazil, Colombia and Peru say they pray at least once a day.
“By 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,” the Pew analysis said.
Latin Americans are also as likely to believe in God as they were ten years ago. Even among those who have no religious affiliation, many of them across the region say they believe in God.
The survey surveyed 6,234 Latin American adults from January 22 to April 27, 2024. The margin of error varies by country, ranging from plus or minus 4.0 percentage points to 4.5 percentage points.
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