Sorry, Pope Francis: Protestants Are Converting Catholics Across Latin America

Francis effect' may yet materialize. But for now, Catholics have hit record low across 19 nations and territories.

Enthusiasm for the first pope picked from Latin America has prompted predictions of a “Francis effect” revival among the region’s Roman Catholics. Time will tell, but a new report shows exactly what the former Archbishop Bergoglio of Buenos Aires is up against in his own backyard: Protestants are remarkably ascendent across 18 nations and one US territory.

For most of the last century, more than 90 percent of Latin Americans identified as Catholics. But now that number has hit a new low: 69 percent, according to a thorough report on this "widespread change" released today by the Pew Research Center.

"Evangelization efforts by Protestant churches seem to be having an impact," notes Pew. Regionally, 84 percent of Latin American adults were raised as Catholics. But nearly 1 in 5 adults (19 percent) now identify as Protestants, while only 1 in 10 (9 percent) were raised as Protestants. (Similarly, the religiously unaffiliated have doubled from 4 percent as children to 8 percent as adults.) Read more

See also
Latin America: Why thousands of Catholics are defecting to evangelical churches
Poll: Latin America Catholics steadily leave faith
Catholics Turning to Protestant Churches in Latin America to Find Relationship With God, Survey Finds