Catholic Share of Adults Falls Across Six Latin American Countries as ‘Nones’ Grow

The Catholic Church’s long-dominant position in Latin America is loosening, even though most people in the region remain deeply religious, according to new survey data from the Pew Research Center. Pew’s study covers six of the region’s most populous nations: Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Mexico and Peru. It found that the share of adults who identify as Catholic has dropped sharply over the past decade.

Catholicism remains the region’s largest religious tradition, but Pew reported that its numerical dominance has weakened. Catholics now make up between 46% and 67% of adults in each of the six countries. Religiously unaffiliated adults, who say they are atheist, agnostic or have no particular faith tradition, range from 12% to 33% of adults.

Pew described the findings as pointing to a region in religious transition rather than secular collapse. Catholic affiliation is shrinking and institutional ties are loosening, but belief in God, prayer and the personal importance of religion remain widespread. The findings are based on Pew surveys conducted in 2024 among more than 6,200 adults in the six nations.

The report compares those results with a decade earlier. In 2014, each of the six countries had solid Catholic majorities, with roughly six in 10 adults identifying as Catholic. Today Brazil and Chile no longer have such majorities, with 46% of adults in each country identifying as Catholic. Catholic majorities persist elsewhere but are smaller: 58% in Argentina, 60% in Colombia and 67% each in Mexico and Peru. In every country studied, the Catholic share has fallen by at least nine percentage points since 2014, while the unaffiliated population has grown by seven points or more. In several countries, religious “nones” now outnumber Protestants.

Catholicism’s roots in the region trace to Spanish and Portuguese colonization, which began in the late 15th century. The source notes that some Catholic missionaries opposed the colonizing forces and protected people from enslavement, a major factor in the expulsion of the Jesuits from the Americas in 1767. Although Latin American nations later gained independence from Spain and Portugal, the source says the religious legacy of colonialism has persisted. That history of protecting the vulnerable, which the source connects to the missionaries’ stand, is a reminder of the weight of speaking for those who cannot speak for themselves (Proverbs 31:8-9).

Pew’s data show the long-term trend is not new, since Catholicism has been declining in these countries since the 1970s. The pace of change over the past decade, however, stands out to the researchers. Pew found that the number of religiously unaffiliated adults has roughly doubled in Argentina, Brazil and Chile, tripled in Mexico and Peru, and nearly quadrupled in Colombia. Chile now has the largest share of unaffiliated adults among the six countries, at 33%. In Argentina, nearly one-quarter of adults say they have no religious affiliation, and about one in five Mexicans falls into that category.

Commentators quoted in the report offered differing emphases. Vatican observer John Allen said in 2024 that the realignment of Latin America has been “the most dramatic storyline in global religious demography in the last century,” and that such rapid change requires explanation. Matthew Blanton, who studies migration and religion in Latin America, said last year that the region’s “500-year transformation into a Catholic stronghold seemed capped in 2013, when Jorge Mario Bergoglio of Argentina was elected as the first Latin American pope.” Blanton said Latin America is home to over 575 million Catholics, more than 40% of all Catholics worldwide.

Blanton’s research, as quoted, said that Protestant and Pentecostal groups “have experienced dramatic growth” and that a growing share of Latin Americans are leaving institutional faith. He also said that while fewer Latin Americans identify with a religion or attend services, personal faith remains strong. Pew’s figures show that unaffiliated adults outnumber Protestants in Argentina, Chile, Colombia and Mexico. In Mexico, about 20% of adults identify as atheist, agnostic or “nothing in particular,” compared with roughly 10% who identify with any Protestant tradition. Belief in God remains nearly universal across the region, with around nine in 10 or more adults in every country surveyed saying they believe in God.

Source: Read the original report