Religion in Latin America

[5][1] Membership in Protestant denominations is increasing, particularly in Brazil, Honduras, Guatemala, Nicaragua, El Salvador and Puerto Rico.

According to the detailed Pew Research Center 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.

[14] Funded by papal grants, Spanish monarchs and conquistadors were incentivized to convert the people of the Americas to Christianity.

[14] This conversion of the natives allowed the Spaniards to claim the New World as theirs as they were spreading the word, and it also served to unify the new lands.

[14] They relied on the “pursuit of apostolic poverty and charity” and hoped that emulating Christ in their actions would draw the natives towards the religion.

[14] Because of this, they rushed through their conversion and focused more on trying to baptize as many people as possible than making sure that the natives had a deep understanding of the Christian faith.

[15] They were also the ones who saw the effects of the natives' culture on their conversion, and this was also part of why they spent time at each location, ensuring they did not blend the two religions together.

[14] This was the lingua franca, the language of government and trade, of most of Mexico and parts of Central America, and it gave them the best way to reach as many people as possible with the least amount of work.

With the natives having such a long and deep history and culture before the Spaniards got there, it was hard to convince them to give up the religion they had been practicing for centuries.

[14] While initially missionaries thought this was a good sign and the natives were learning, it led to a distorted view of Christianity where they agreed with certain beliefs and incorporated them into their pre-existing religion.

[14] While there was some success with conversion, natives would often reject the ideals altogether or find ways to bend them to fit their old religion.

[17] Indigenous creeds and rituals are still practiced in countries with large percentages of Amerindians, such as Bolivia, Guatemala, Mexico, and Peru.

Various Afro-Latin American traditions such as Santería, Candomblé, Umbanda, Macumba, and tribal-voodoo religions are also practiced, mainly in Cuba, Brazil, and Haiti.

Practitioners of Judaism, Mormonism, Jehovah's Witnesses, Buddhism, Islam, Hinduism, Bahá'í Faith, and Shinto are also present in Latin America.