Posted on 07/06/2009 7:43:52 PM PDT by SeekAndFind
The percentage of Hispanic Catholics in America has dropped, while the proportion of born-again Hispanics has increased, a new survey by the Barna Group found.
Over the past 15 years, the proportion of Hispanics in America that is aligned with the Catholic Church has fallen by 25 percent. By comparison, the proportion of born-again Christians for this ethnic group has increased by 17 percent.
“You cannot help but notice the changing relationship between Hispanics and the Catholic Church,” commented George Barna, whose company conducted the research. “While many Hispanic immigrants come to the United States with ties to Catholicism, the research shows that many of them eventually connect with a Protestant church.”
Moreover, many second and third generation Hispanic Americans are leaving the Catholic tradition, he noted.
The latest Barna survey studies the growing Hispanic population in America in terms of their faith and how they compare to the general American population. It finds that in a surprising number of key aspects the Hispanic population mirrors that of the nation’s general population.
Some of the significant similarities between the Hispanic and the general American adult populations include nearly identical profiles on the perceived accuracy of the principles taught in the Bible; a personal sense of responsibility to share their faith with others; belief that the primary purpose of life is to love God fully; the likelihood of having read the Bible in the past week; and having made a personal commitment to Jesus that is important in their life.
“The study points out how significant faith is in the lives of Hispanics,” Barna commented. “Not only do most of them assert that importance, but the fact that so much is changing in their faith perspectives and practices underscores how much energy they devote to their spirituality.”
But the study also found significant differences that exist between Hispanic Americans and the general American adult population.
Hispanics are more likely to believe that a good person can earn his or her way into heaven than the overall American adult population. This growing group is also twice as likely to be aligned with the Catholic Church (44 percent vs. 22 percent).
The ethnic group was also found to be less likely than Americans overall to claim that they are "absolutely committed" to Christianity (46 percent vs. 58 percent).
But when it comes to the born-again segments, Hispanics and the general American adult population showed few differences.
According to the Barna report, a born-again Christian is not based on self-identification, but rather on certain qualifications as defined by the Barna Group.
Survey results are based on telephone interviews conducted by The Barna Group gathered from nine nationwide random samples of adults. In total, 9,232 interviews were conducted between January 2007 and November 2008. Respondents were asked during the interviews if they consider themselves to be Hispanics. Out of the more than 9,000 people interviewed, 1,195 adults fell into the Hispanic category.
IOW, the Hispanics are slowly assimilating into the American Culture.
Catholic traditions south of the border are often found mixed with indigenous pagan elements, much more than is common here in the States. This baggage is not easily left behind. Bible emphasizing churches provide a useful tool to get these kind of spiritual weeds out of one’s life.
Exactly who are “Hispanics?”
It sounds like more Hispanics are finally coming around to the Protestant roots of the US.
Not surprising at all. Illegal immigrants usually have few family ties, little education, little institutional attachment. Only 38% of Mexican-Americans (admittedly, it’s unfortunate to confuse the two groups) are at all affiliated with Catholicism. I keep citing this to people who falsely claim that the growth in Catholic membership is driven by illegal aliens. I’m not sure why conservatives would boast of this, however... Hispanic Protestant churches that I’ve seen (which may not be representative) tend to be para-Christian pentacostalist churches with left-wing messages that bear more resemblance to black race-centered “churches” than truly Christian churches.
I would hope that the Hispanics are coming around to knowing Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior rather than being a Protestant or Catholic....
It seems that the Protestant gives The Truth of Christ rather than the Catechism or other Catholic teachings.
>> Catholic traditions south of the border are often found mixed with indigenous pagan elements, much more than is common here in the States. This baggage is not easily left behind. Bible emphasizing churches provide a useful tool to get these kind of spiritual weeds out of one’s life. <<
Literacy does a pretty good job. “Protestantism” (if you would demean non-Catholic Christianity by calling Hispanic non-Catholic churches “Protestant”) can be pretty ugly and syncretic among uneducated Hispanics, too. And the illegal aliens we get tend to be among the poorly educated elements of Mexican society.
The "American tradition" has been Catholicism since the 1840s. It hasn't been protestantism for 160 years, even since there were massive wave of immigration from Ireland. In sheer membership, The Catholic church far outranks the second largest organized Christian church in the U.S.A (60 million for the Catholic Church vs. 15 million for the Southern Baptist Convention) Indeed, the ONLY part of the U.S. where the "historic cultural tradition" is protestantism, is parts of the deep south (and I say "parts" because states like Louisiana and Texas are exceptions to that rule).
IMO, the reason more Hispanics are becoming Protestant is they were Catholics In Name Only to begin. They may have been baptized Catholic, but they never observed their Catholic faith.
I’m guessing it’s more a function of new political beliefs, driving the change in religious beliefs.
Opinions will no doubt differ as to whether this represents progress or spreading confusion and apostasy.
Only if you subscribe to the belief that temporary statistical trends point toward theological truth.
I hear Islam's numbers are booming, too.
I wasn't looking at this as the age old my "church is better than your church argument". It is characteristic of Americans to determine which church they choose to be a part of rather than just staying in a church because that's what their family has always done. We still have high numbers of people who attend church compared to Europe where they just don't go.
If the Hispanics that are coming here are becoming more American in their behavior that's a good thing. We want them to be a part of us not separate.
Another anecdotal observation. Of all the other hispanics I know, in my family and out, those who have been here longer are usually Catholic or non-attending Catholics in name only. On the other hand, in my city, there are so many small, charismatic Spanish-speaking churches it's almost unbelievable and they are full of later arrivals (past 5 years or so). By unbelievable I mean that if someone had told me 20 years ago that Latin Americans would be moving en masse to charismatic churches, I probably would not have believed it.
I guess what I could have said in much fewer words is this...in my 'hispanic experience', naturalized hispanics who stay here and speak English are generally still Catholic, while the smaller protestant churches are full of the more transient, sending money back home, usually illegal type hispanics.
(This post is not about theology)
I think the roots of the US are Roman Catholic.
1492 Catholic Christopher Columbus discovered America.
· Catholicism arrived in what is now the United States during the earliest days of the European colonization of the Americas. As early as 1492 and onward, the Spanish Catholic missionaries followed closely on the heels of Columbus.
New York State
The original name of Lake George was given to the Lake by the French Jesuit priest, Issac Joques, in 1646. The lake was named the Lac du Saint Sacrement, meaning "The Lake of the Blessed Sacrament."
Also, In 1626, the first authenticated white man to see Niagara Falls was Father Joseph de la Roche-Dallion. Father Roche-Dallion preached to the Neutral Indians at various villages.
1500’s Florida
St. Augustine, Florida: First Religious service in what is now the United States: a Catholic Mass.
16th century Mississippi River and Louisianna
· 1519 - Alvarez de Pindea discovers mouth of the Mississippi · 1541 - Hernando de Soto discovers the Mississippi River · 1543 - July 18 -De Soto expedition survivors - under the command of Luis de Moscoso - become the first group of white men to travel down the Mississippi River to the Gulf of Mexico. 17th century · 1673 - Jacques Marquette and Louis Joliet reach the Mississippi River - and later verify that it flows into the Gulf of Mexico rather than the Pacific Ocean. · 1682 - Robert Cavalier, Sieur de la Salle, erects a cross at the mouth of the Mississippi River after descending the river from the Great Lakes and claims the territory for Louis XIV of France, for whom Louisiana is named. · 1699 - March -Pierre Le Moyne Iberville becomes the first European to find the Mississippi River from the open sea.
California
Father Junipero Serra discovered and named everything in California 1767
The Franciscans of Mexico were asked to take over missions in Baja California. These remote facilities became Father Serra's responsibility. 1769
Spain began settlement of Alta California with the Sacred Expedition which Serra accompanied. The first destination was San Diego. It was on Presidio Hill where Serra planted the cross and dedicated the first mission in Alta California. At this same time, the first fortified settlement was founded. Serra himself established nine missions, with a total of twenty-one missions eventually being established along the El Camino Real, from San Diego to Sonoma, a distance of 700 miles.
Ping to read later
I don’t disagree that the Catholic influence in the USA is large, for many of the reasons you cited.
However, on the Protestant side, you are ignoring the Pilgrims, the majority of the Signers of the Declaration, the majority of the colonies’ charter statements, the main colleges, missionary activity, the professed faith of the vast majority of our Presidents, revival history, and the professed faith of the majority of Americans from early days to present. These factors are certainly at least as significant as those you listed.
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