Free Republic
Browse · Search
Religion
Topics · Post Article

Skip to comments.

US: Catholic Hispanic population shrinking
Christian Today ^ | March 4, 2013

Posted on 03/05/2013 6:15:51 AM PST by Alex Murphy

The number of US Hispanics identifying themselves as Catholic has declined in the last five years.

According to a Gallup poll, 11 per cent of US Hispanics selected their religious preference as "None/Don't Know Refused" in 2008, compared with 15 per cent in 2012.

While the number identifying themselves as Protestant remained largely the same (27 per cent in 2008 versus 28 per cent in 2012), those identifying themselves as Catholic fell in the last five years from 58 per cent to 54 per cent.

Older Hispanics were more likely to be Catholic, while less than half of 18 to 29-year-old Hispanics (47 per cent) said they were Catholic.

Eighteen to 29-year-olds also accounted for the largest proportion of Hispanics without any religious identity (20 per cent).

"The Protestant percentage is almost identical across all age groups. Younger Hispanics, as is the case in general in the US population, are less likely to have any religious identity at all," said a Gallup report.

"This tendency of the youngest Hispanic Americans to be 'nones' - without an explicit religious identity - thus appears to come at the cost of Catholic identity and not Protestant identity."

Protestant Hispanics were significantly more likely to be religious (60 per cent) compared to Catholics (43 per cent).

The gap in religiosity is evident across Hispanics of all ages. While a third of 18 to 29-year-old Hispanic Catholics describe themselves as very religious, this rises to over half (52 per cent) of Hispanic Protestants in the same age bracket.

The Gallup report added: "Overall, the finding that younger Hispanics are proportionately more Protestant and that all Hispanics are becoming proportionately more Protestant over time suggest that the percentage of Hispanics who are Catholic may continue to slip in the years to come."

The findings are based on a survey of more than 28,000 US Hispanics.


TOPICS: Catholic; Mainline Protestant; Ministry/Outreach; Religion & Culture
KEYWORDS: catholic
The number of US Hispanics identifying themselves as Catholic has declined in the last five years. According to a Gallup poll, 11 per cent of US Hispanics selected their religious preference as "None/Don't Know Refused" in 2008, compared with 15 per cent in 2012. While the number identifying themselves as Protestant remained largely the same (27 per cent in 2008 versus 28 per cent in 2012), those identifying themselves as Catholic fell in the last five years from 58 per cent to 54 per cent....

....The gap in religiosity is evident across Hispanics of all ages. While a third of 18 to 29-year-old Hispanic Catholics describe themselves as very religious, this rises to over half (52 per cent) of Hispanic Protestants in the same age bracket. The Gallup report added: "Overall, the finding that younger Hispanics are proportionately more Protestant and that all Hispanics are becoming proportionately more Protestant over time suggest that the percentage of Hispanics who are Catholic may continue to slip in the years to come."

1 posted on 03/05/2013 6:16:03 AM PST by Alex Murphy
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | View Replies]

To: Alex Murphy

Here in central Texas, I’ve seen many Protestant churches becoming mostly Hispanic. In a lot of cases, the signs and announcements are in Spanish.


2 posted on 03/05/2013 6:24:48 AM PST by WCH
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: WCH

Latin America has a very young population. The bulk of them under 30. They find Protestant Evangelical churches to be much more satisfying in feeding their spiritual hunger than an increasingly insular Catholic Church that is preaching at them in muddled, indecipherable language.

Which should serve as a lesson for all those Bishops who are lobbying so hard for an open door immigration policy. It is not going to benefit them nearly as much as they think.


3 posted on 03/05/2013 6:53:32 AM PST by Buckeye McFrog
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 2 | View Replies]

To: Buckeye McFrog

Did you read it? It says they are no religion not that they became Protestant. What indecipherable language?


4 posted on 03/05/2013 7:00:51 AM PST by tiki
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 3 | View Replies]

To: Alex Murphy
The ALMIGHTY DOLLAR is why Hispanics come to the US.

I am sure if you asked most illegal immigrants from Latin America what the most important thing to them is... they would probably say money, beer (alcohol), and a good vehicle (car). Religion would be far down their list of things that they consider important.

5 posted on 03/05/2013 7:04:42 AM PST by topher (Traditional values -- especially family values -- which have been proven over time.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: tiki
What indecipherable language?

Consubstantial, among others. Words in the New Roman Missal that make even our local young people scratch their heads and go "huh?". I have business contacts throughout Latin America who tell me that Evangelical churches are growing like wildfire down there. If those kids come to the US an fall into the same spiritual vacuum as our own kids I guess that's not a shock to anybody.


6 posted on 03/05/2013 7:24:49 AM PST by Buckeye McFrog
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 4 | View Replies]

To: topher
they would probably say money, beer (alcohol), and a good vehicle (car).

I have talked with Hispanics who told me that the reason they chose to settle on the Ohio side of the PA-OH State Line is that you can't buy beer in the 7-11's here.


7 posted on 03/05/2013 7:26:27 AM PST by Buckeye McFrog
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 5 | View Replies]

To: topher

In 2004, the republicans won an astounding and never discussed, 56% of the Protestant Hispanic vote.

Even in 2008, in the perfect storm of the first non-white presidential candidate, running in an election that the republicans had no chance of winning, Hispanics who were Protestant, voted 48% for McCain.

This reflects the normal religious divide in America, with Catholics and atheists supporting the democrats, and Protestants supporting the republicans.


8 posted on 03/05/2013 7:44:30 AM PST by ansel12 (Romney is a longtime supporter of homosexualizing the Boy Scouts (and the military).)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 5 | View Replies]

To: Buckeye McFrog
If you don't understand a word, look it up. Nothing worth knowing comes without a modicum of effort.

Sounds like your local young people (like most young people these days, I'm afraid) aren't particularly bright.

9 posted on 03/05/2013 8:25:07 AM PST by Wyrd bið ful aræd (Gone Galt, 11/07/12)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 6 | View Replies]

To: ansel12

45% of Catholics voted for McCain in ‘08, 52% for Obama.


10 posted on 03/05/2013 8:29:53 AM PST by Wyrd bið ful aræd (Gone Galt, 11/07/12)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 8 | View Replies]

To: ansel12
56% of the Protestant Hispanic vote was a whopping (astounding, never discussed) 4% more than the 52% of the Catholic vote that went for Bush in 2004.

But don't let your narrative be disturbed by the facts.

11 posted on 03/05/2013 9:20:23 AM PST by Campion ("Social justice" begins in the womb)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 8 | View Replies]

To: Buckeye McFrog
They find Protestant Evangelical churches to be much more satisfying in feeding their spiritual hunger than an increasingly insular Catholic Church that is preaching at them in muddled, indecipherable language.

Spanish might be "muddled" and "indecipherable" to you but Hispanics understand it perfectly. The "preaching" I hear is no more or less intelligible than it's ever been. It's usually English. Maybe you're confusing "liturgy" with "preaching". Two quite different things. The liturgy doesn't "preach". It deals with the Sacred Mysteries.

If I understand you correctly, the key to renewed vigor for the Church lies in a return to the Novus Ordo liturgies of the last 3 decades of the 20th century when the Church lost millions to the faith and vocations utterly disintegrated in the west, while all the Church's troubles have come with the introduction of the term "consubstantial" in the past 12 months?

Sounds perfectly reasonable.

12 posted on 03/05/2013 9:32:16 AM PST by marshmallow (.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 3 | View Replies]

To: Buckeye McFrog
Consubstantial, among others. Words in the New Roman Missal that make even our local young people scratch their heads and go "huh?".

They're hardly indecipherable unless you fall into the low-information voter demographic. Here's the old and new in case you need a refresher:

http://old.usccb.org/romanmissal/peoplesparts.pdf
13 posted on 03/05/2013 1:02:33 PM PST by Carpe Cerevisi
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 6 | View Replies]

To: Campion

What are you talking about, what incorrect facts did I post?


14 posted on 03/05/2013 2:17:13 PM PST by ansel12 (Romney is a longtime supporter of homosexualizing the Boy Scouts (and the military).)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 11 | View Replies]

To: Buckeye McFrog
"Catholic Church that is preaching at them in muddled, indecipherable language"

I guess that would be English?

15 posted on 03/05/2013 2:30:39 PM PST by Mrs. Don-o (Make love. Accept no substitutes.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 3 | View Replies]

To: Buckeye McFrog
Consubstantial. Yeah. That would make me abandon my Faith for sure.

Buck, my friend, guess we should get popular, keep BYOB and drop the Nicene Creed?

16 posted on 03/05/2013 2:38:42 PM PST by Mrs. Don-o (¡Ay, caramba!)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 6 | View Replies]

To: Buckeye McFrog

What indecipherable language?

Consubstantial, among others. Words in the New Roman Missal that make even our local young people scratch their heads and go “huh?”.

...sounds like the ‘local young people’ in your area have the IQ of barely sentient squids, if they bolt their faith because they have to learn new words...did it occur to you, when you posted this nonsense, that the problem might not be some ‘indecipherables’, but the people in the pews on Sundays?
...you should get together with bishop Donald Trautman, and have at a new missal for modern Catholic worship...between the two of you, it might be up to first grade level after a couple of years...


17 posted on 03/05/2013 4:01:28 PM PST by IrishBrigade
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 6 | View Replies]

To: Mrs. Don-o

Consubstantial. Yeah. That would make me abandon my Faith for sure.
Buck, my friend, guess we should get popular, keep BYOB and drop the Nicene Creed?

...hey, go easy on the guy, after all he’s following the post Vat II zeitgeist that simpler (dumber) is the way to get fannies in the pews and priests in the sanctuary...it’s worked wonderfully, as we can see, in the past year I’ve listened to a couple of African priests that really were indecipherable...but if that’s what it takes to keep it going so be it...
...in addition to dropping the Creed, maybe we can refresh the paternoster (you reading this, Bucky), lopping out words like ‘hallowed’ and usages of subjunctive construction such as ‘Thy Kingdom come, Thy will be done’...
I mean, surely the ‘local young people’ don’t go around talking like that...


18 posted on 03/05/2013 4:14:38 PM PST by IrishBrigade
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 16 | View Replies]

To: Buckeye McFrog

It’s not nice to point out the New Pharisees have their own elitist lingo. It makes them angry.


19 posted on 03/06/2013 9:33:18 AM PST by BipolarBob (Happy Hunger Games! May the odds be ever in your favor.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 3 | View Replies]

Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.

Free Republic
Browse · Search
Religion
Topics · Post Article

FreeRepublic, LLC, PO BOX 9771, FRESNO, CA 93794
FreeRepublic.com is powered by software copyright 2000-2008 John Robinson