- Feb 5, 2002
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(OSV News) — The number of U.S. Latinos who identify as Catholic continues to decline steadily, with only about 43% now self-identifying as Catholic, according to a new analysis from the Pew Research Center. The percentage of Latinos who are religiously unaffiliated also has grown.
Pew’s study, released on April 13, said the percentage of Hispanic adults identifying as Catholic declined from 67% in 2010 to 43% in 2022. At the same time, U.S. Latinos who identify as religiously unaffiliated (describing themselves as atheist, agnostic or “nothing in particular”) increased from 10% in 2010 to 30% in 2022.
Hosffman Ospino, a Boston College professor with years of experience examining the role of Hispanic Catholics in the future of the Catholic Church in the U.S., said this decline has been “in the works” for decades and that younger generations of Latinos are less likely to identify as Catholic.
“Something to keep in mind is that the Hispanic population is growing in the United States of America. And the largest source of growth for the Hispanic community is not the immigrant community as it used to be in the 80s and 90s,” Ospino said. “Now the largest source of growth of the Latino community is the U.S.-born generation, which is being raised largely by both immigrants and the U.S.-born Latino, Latinas. … It’s a very young population, so the trends that Pew is noticing reflect the larger trends among all young people throughout the United States across different racial, ethnic, and cultural groups.”
U.S. Census Bureau data show the U.S. Hispanic population reached 62.6 million in mid-2021, representing 18.9% of the total population. Since the 2000s, the Pew study said, U.S. births have driven U.S. Hispanic population growth, with four in five (79%) of U.S. Latinos ages 18 to 29 being born in the U.S.
The Pew study also indicated that about half (49%) of U.S. Latinos ages 18 to 29 identified as religiously unaffiliated, while 30% identify as Catholic and 15% identify as Protestant. For comparison, only about one in five Latinos ages 50 and older are unaffiliated, with most older Latinos (56%) in this group born outside the U.S.
The survey also pointed out that U.S.-born Latinos, in general, are nearly twice as likely (39%) than foreign-born Latinos (21%) to identify as religiously unaffiliated, with young Latinos driving the trend.
Continued below.
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Pew’s study, released on April 13, said the percentage of Hispanic adults identifying as Catholic declined from 67% in 2010 to 43% in 2022. At the same time, U.S. Latinos who identify as religiously unaffiliated (describing themselves as atheist, agnostic or “nothing in particular”) increased from 10% in 2010 to 30% in 2022.
Hosffman Ospino, a Boston College professor with years of experience examining the role of Hispanic Catholics in the future of the Catholic Church in the U.S., said this decline has been “in the works” for decades and that younger generations of Latinos are less likely to identify as Catholic.
“Something to keep in mind is that the Hispanic population is growing in the United States of America. And the largest source of growth for the Hispanic community is not the immigrant community as it used to be in the 80s and 90s,” Ospino said. “Now the largest source of growth of the Latino community is the U.S.-born generation, which is being raised largely by both immigrants and the U.S.-born Latino, Latinas. … It’s a very young population, so the trends that Pew is noticing reflect the larger trends among all young people throughout the United States across different racial, ethnic, and cultural groups.”
U.S. Census Bureau data show the U.S. Hispanic population reached 62.6 million in mid-2021, representing 18.9% of the total population. Since the 2000s, the Pew study said, U.S. births have driven U.S. Hispanic population growth, with four in five (79%) of U.S. Latinos ages 18 to 29 being born in the U.S.
The Pew study also indicated that about half (49%) of U.S. Latinos ages 18 to 29 identified as religiously unaffiliated, while 30% identify as Catholic and 15% identify as Protestant. For comparison, only about one in five Latinos ages 50 and older are unaffiliated, with most older Latinos (56%) in this group born outside the U.S.
The survey also pointed out that U.S.-born Latinos, in general, are nearly twice as likely (39%) than foreign-born Latinos (21%) to identify as religiously unaffiliated, with young Latinos driving the trend.
Continued below.
Steady decline of U.S. Latinos identifying as Catholics sounds alarm to 'shift gears'
The number of U.S. Latinos who identify as Catholic continues to decline steadily, with only about 43% now self-identifying as Catholic, according to a new analysis from the Pew Research Center.
www.oursundayvisitor.com
