Posted on 11/13/2014 1:35:24 PM PST by SeekAndFind
A new Pew survey found that Latin American Catholics are increasingly leaving the Catholic Church, either to join evangelical Protestant churches or are abandoning religion altogether. The survey participants cited a search for a personal connection with God as the biggest reason for their shift.
The wide-ranging survey, released on Thursday, reported that although 69 percent of adults across the region identify as Catholic, in almost every country surveyed there was a reported net loss of Catholics in terms of people raised Catholic and currently Catholic. Overall for Latin America as a whole, 84 percent of the population was raised Catholic, but only 69 percent identify as part of the Catholic Church now. By contrast, only nine percept of Latin America's population was raised in the Protestant tradition, but today 19 percent identify as Protestant. The number of religiously unaffiliated people is also rising, going from four percent raised without religion to currently eight percent identifying as no religion today.
As for various reasons why Latin Americans are leaving the Catholic Church, 81 percent of those who responded said that they are seeking a personal connection with God; 69 percent said they enjoy the style of worship at a new church, while 60 percent said that they wanted a greater emphasis on morality.
"Much of the movement away from Catholicism and toward Protestantism in Latin America has occurred in the span of a single lifetime. Indeed, in most of the countries surveyed, at least a third of current Protestants were raised in the Catholic Church, and half or more say they were baptized as Catholics," Pew pointed out.
Pew also highlighted that although Pope Francis has drawn much attention since his appointment in March 2013, only in his home country of Argentina, as well as in Uruguay, do the majority of ex-Catholics express a favorable view of the pope. In the other Latin American countries, only roughly half of ex-Catholics have a favorable view of the pontiff.
Uruguay has also been identified as having the largest percentage of religiously unaffiliated adults in Latin America, with close to 37 percent of its population. That number varies considerably across the region, with Bolivia, Peru and Paraguay all having less than 5 percent religiously unaffiliated people.
Young Hispanics in the United States have also been leaving the church and joining Protestant denominations according to reports. A Boston College study released earlier this year found that 59 percent of priests who serve Hispanic communities are older than 55, creating a generational gap.
"There are very few efforts in the Catholic Church to reach out to Hispanic youth, that's a major red flag for our institution because more than 55 percent of Catholic youth in the U.S. are Hispanic. If the Church doesn't reach out to this generation, we're going to risk losing them," Hosffman Ospino, an assistant professor of theology and ministry at Boston College and lead author of the report, told The Christian Post at the time.
Or maybe they are tired of hearing about “liberation theology” and “social justice” (a.k.a. retread Marxism).
Can't say that I have. Have you? What percentage of humanity would you estimate could answer "yes" to this strange question?
I've heard of a Baptist preacher leading his congregation in the Lord's Prayer as a tornado ripped their church apart, but can't say I've seen it.
The answer is not the catholic church.
The catholic church had its beginnings AFTER the new testament church establish by Jesus. It is in historical record. But, thanks for the attempt anyway.
The poll results do reflect reality, including many other polls showing similar things.
Consider:
There is no “Protestant Church.” In general, there are born-again evangelical Christians who believe the Bible is God’s inspired, inerrant Word, and then there are people who profess to be Christians in churches that have become humanistic and no longer consider the Bible to be of divine origin.
Polls over the years have consistently shown faith to be less important to Catholics than to evangelicals, and for Catholics to hold more secular beliefs.
Another difference, too, between Catholics and evangelicals is that evangelical Christians and churches break with heretics, or don’t associate with them. Evangelicals don’t have fellowship, then, with “churches” that, for example, perform homosexual unions. The Catholic Church, on the other hand, apparently keeps heretics, including in its highest ranks. That is in obedience to God’s Word, as it says that heretics are to be put out of the Church, and one should not associate with false leaders, or they are guilty of approving of their deeds.
In other words, be like a Catholic bishop?
ALL SORTS of errors occur: who, when, what, where and why they ask the questions they ask, to many surveyed folks give the answer they THINK the pollster wants to hear, to the pollsters themselves. The methodologies are RIDDLED with error and rarely, if ever, prove any hypothesis.
Therefore, this survey is HOOEY.
If they reversed the opinion but still used this USELESS "survey" method, it would still be HOOEY.
They can't even write correct English. One RAISES animals and crops and REARS children. THAT is good and standard English.
Of course, these folks MAY be the product of public school education and thus, their ignorance might be understandable in some areas of the country.
Oh yeah - it's so much better that they give their money to Catholic Charities!
Really good news. When you preach the Word, lives and nations are transformed.
Yes, and I knew the priest. I didn’t see it in actual life, but a photo on the Sunday thread that is on the news forum.
Matthew 16:18-20
Have you read these verses? Peter is made the first Pope here.
He made Peter the leader of the Church in Matthew 16:18-20. This was an office that is meant to be filled after one dies. Please read these verses in Matthew in which Jesus talks to Peter. Now read Isaiah 22 and see if you can see how the keys show that it is a permanent office. Jesus was using language meant to make a Jew think of Isaiah 22.
Polls are "unreliable" unless they're flattering. Speaking of which...
For White Catholic Voters, 2014 Exit Polls Showed a Surge
There is no way to get more up close and personal with the Lord God, than to consume His Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity in the Holy Eucharist. I am sad to hear that so many souls are losing sight of that.
I hasten to remind you that Protestant churches do have communion.
They have a symbolic gesture, but they do not have the True Presence. Nor do most of them even claim to.
RE: They have a symbolic gesture, but they do not have the True Presence. Nor do most of them even claim to.
Jesus said:
“For where two or three are gathered together in my name, there I am with them.” (Matthew 18:20). Can’t think of anything closer than that.
Meaning the wafer.
Some even say they worship the wafer as it IS the actual body and blood of Jesus.
Christians do not have to wait for a church service to be in the presence.
Jesus said we will always be in Him and He will always be in us.
Can't get more true of a presence than that.
Oh and it is not “symbolic,” it is done-—as Jesus said-—in remembrance of Him.
I am speaking of born again Christianity, where ever it is lived. I am not a Protestant, so do not speak for them in a general sense.
Yes, free wifi is so much better than my money being used to prevent abortions. I really hate it when my money is used to buy diapers and formula for the working poor in my own community. Worse yet, my money is used to council women who have had abortions. If only my Holy Family would hire a barista with that money. I could get a venti half-caff mocha latte with light foam to sip while the band performs a worship rock song beside the alter.
As regards S. America,
The percentage of RC growth in the US is hardly any greater than the increase in population in the US, and would be a loss if it were not from Catholic immigration from Latin America (and in which Catholicism has been loosing members for decades). And as about 80 to 85 percent of the immigration from Mexico and Central America in recent years is reported to have been illegal, (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Illegal_immigrant_population_of_the_United_States#cite_note-12)
According to the Census Bureau, the Latino population in the United States grew from 22.4 million in 1990 to 41.3 million in 2004, adding a staggering 18.9 million people in 10 years. Broader estimates, which include Puerto Rican islanders (4 million) and undocumented immigrants (5 million), put the U.S. Latino population at over 50 million. - http://www.nhclc.org/news/latino-religion-us-demographic-shifts-and-trend
1,000 Mexicans [which country has the second argest number of Catholics] left the Catholic Church every day between 2000 and 2010, a decline that has continued uninterrupted over the past 60 years, from 98.21 of the population to 83.9 percent today. Latin American Herald Tribune, March 10, 2011, based upon census data and study by sociologist and historian Roberto Blancarte of Colegio de Mexico and the National Autonomous University of Mexico
And the proportion of Catholic Brazilians [which has the largest number of Catholics] fell from 93.% of Brazilians 40 years ago, and 74% of the population in 2000 to to 65% in 2010. http://religion.blogs.cnn.com/2012/06/29/ratio-of-evangelicals-in-brazil-jumps-44-in-10-years/
Almost 20% of all Latino American Catholics have left the Roman Catholicism, with 23 percent of second-generation Latino Americans doing so. http://www.baylor.edu/content/services/document.php/33304.pdf
18% of all Latinos say they have either converted from one religion to another or to no religion at all. http://pewhispanic.org/files/reports/75.4.pdf
The first generation of Latino immigrants is 74 percent Catholic, and 15 percent Protestant. The second generation is 72 percent Catholic, and 20 percent Protestant. The third generation is 62 percent Catholic, and 29 percent Protestant. - http://www.nhclc.org/news/latino-religion-us-demographic-shifts-and-trend
More at link . .
Naw, they're going to lose them anyway whether they reach out or not...With the invent of the internet, young people are able to see the fallacy of the Catholic religion in all its gory glory...
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