32% of US Catholics are now Hispanic

March 18, 2010

The percentage of Catholics in the United States who are Hispanic increased from 20% in 1990 to 32% in 2008, according to a new study by the Institute for the Study of Secularism in Society and Culture at Trinity College. Only 60% of Latinos in the US now identify themselves as Catholic-- down from 66% in 1990.

“Latinos have become less identified with Christianity-- down from 91 percent in 1990 to 82 percent in 2008,” the study found. “But other religions and faiths have failed to attract Latinos. Mirroring the overall national trend, there has been a significant jump in the number and percentage of Nones, the no-religion population.”

“Whereas Latino immigrants are contributing significantly to the stability of American Catholicism, the younger generation and the U.S.-born population are tending to polarize between those moving away from religion and those moving towards conservative Christian traditions.”

 

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Further information:

• Latino Influx Bolsters Catholic Church but Young and U.S.-Born Latinos Become More Religiously Diverse (American Religious Identification Survey 2008)
• Study finds Latinos who leave their churches are choosing no faith (CNS)