Many U.S. Latinos shift from Catholicism to Pentecostalism, other choices, survey finds
By Michelle Boorstein, Published: May 7 E-mail the writer
Hispanic religion is in a period of great flux in the United States, a new survey finds, with the share of Latinos who identify as Catholic dropping sharply — by 12 percentage points — in just the past four years as many switch to Pentecostalism or join the growing ranks of the religiously unaffiliated. Experts say the future of U.S. Catholicism depends on the church’s ability to discern and meet the shifting needs of U.S. Latinos. The survey released Wednesday by the Pew Research Center provides detail about two major long-term trends that on the surface appear counterintuitive. On the one hand, millions of Latinos are leaving Catholicism; on the other, Latinos are becoming a larger share of U.S. Catholics. But the growth in proportion is due to the growth in the nation’s Hispanic population, which now includes around 35.4 million adults. The forces behind the religious shift among Latinos reflect a globally dynamic religious marketplace. Americans in general are switching faiths at nearly the same rate, and the Pew survey shows that among foreign-born Latinos who changed, half did so before they came to the United States. Rapid urbanization and evangelical Protestant outreach in Latin America have pulled people away from Catholicism there. But Cary Funk, a senior researcher with Pew, said the movement away from Catholicism in the United States was “striking” even with all the spiritual browsing that Americans are doing. The survey found that one in four Latinos is a former Catholic. Fifty-five percent of Latinos describe themselves as Catholic, down from 67 percent in 2010. Twenty-two percent say they are evangelical Protestants, compared with 12 percent in 2010, while 18 percent say they are unaffiliated, compared with 10 percent in 2010. “Broadly, it’s a similar level of religious switching. But the size of the change and the speed is unusually large,” Funk said. “What we’re seeing is a greater religious pluralism among Latinos.” Sister Mary Ann Walsh, a spokeswoman for the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, said the church is working to catch up with Latino immigration. While 3 percent of U.S. priests today are Latino, 15 percent of the men who will be ordained in 2014 are, she said. “The growth in numbers has been so big, the challenge is still before us,” she said. A study released this week by Boston College found that only one in four U.S. parishes has an organized ministry to Latinos, even though 33 percent of all U.S. Catholics are Hispanic. It also said only about a third of pastors engaged in Hispanic ministry are proficient in Spanish.