Correlation Between Ethnicity and Religion

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Is it fair to say that in Europe, almost all Croats are Catholic, almost all Serbians are Eastern Orthodox and almost all Bosniacs are Muslim? There seems to be a very high correlation between ethnicity and religion in certain parts of Europe.
I suspect that is not the case in North America. For example, you see sizeable numbers of Italian Americans and Hispanic Americans who are Protestant, while their ancestors were most likely Catholic.
 
Dan_Defender said:
I suspect that is not the case in North America. For example, you see sizeable numbers of Italian Americans and Hispanic Americans who are Protestant, while their ancestors were most likely Catholic.
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There is an historical and stereotypical correlation. Now, if we were to look at actual religious statistics it might be different, but a few that come to mind:

Latin Americans – Catholics (Latin America is majority Catholic)
Irish Americans – Catholics (Most of Ireland is Catholic)
Scottish and Scotch-Irish Americans – Presbyterian (Scotland is majority Presbyterian and Northern Ireland has a lot of Presbyterians as well)
German Americans – Lutheran
Dutch Americans – Dutch Reformed
 
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Yes it is extraordinary that God reveals himself by descent rather than by faith.
 
To crush this stat a little - I´m a persian/german/french mixed woman of orthodox faith living in germany 😂😂
 
That has to do with the predatory practice of bible Christians, as well as failure of catechesis on the part of the Church. America was founded by Protestants, and Catholics have suffered at their hands. Still do, for that matter.
 
Having lived in Netherlands I would say nowadays most people are neither (post Christian as it were). I suspect the same in Germany.
 
I agree. But I do not think there is much of a correlation with ethnic descent.
 
Dan_Defender said:
I suspect that is not the case in North America. For example, you see sizeable numbers of Italian Americans and Hispanic Americans who are Protestant, while their ancestors were most likely Catholic.
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Any number of immigrants to America change religious affiliations once they reach our shores, and it really isn’t anything that terribly new. I used to live in a repurposed church that was built for a Polish Methodist congregation, another building on the street was a Ukrainian Baptist church, and a black protestant group worshipped in a church with onion domes that was erected for Ruthenian Presbyterians.

I don’t think those denominations have many, if any, adherents back in the native lands of their members.
 
True, America had no ethnicity except for the native tribes. Now, it is impossible to categorize, outside of certain unifying cultural trends.

I saw an evangelical man on CBN or some such, interviewing a citizen in Polcand. Even after learning of Poland’s rich, unifying Catholic heritage, the interviewer asked if there were many evangelical Protestants in Poland! For the sake of charity, I had to change the channel.

Talk about the ugly American.
 
That agrees with my general theory, that by the second generation, people are changing religious affiliations. There may be exceptions though. I have yet to meet a Filipino American who is not Catholic.
 
Poland, to me, is an exception in history. Surrounded and oppressed by Protestant Prussia and Orthodox Russia, it is a miracle that they have remained Catholic.
 
If God reveals himself only by descent as you say, how would you explain the millions of people that convert to Christianity each year? Including millions of Muslims, who face extraordinary backlash when they convert?
 
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Dan_Defender said:
Is it fair to say that in Europe, almost all Croats are Catholic, almost all Serbians are Eastern Orthodox and almost all Bosniacs are Muslim?
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The first two are correct, I think, but I’m not sure about the third. In the republic of Bosnia-Hercegovina when it was still part of Yugoslavia, the population was pretty much split three ways between Orthodox, Catholics, and Muslims.
 
Bosniaks
Not to be confused with Bosnians.
For other uses, see Bosniaks (disambiguation).

You are right “Bosnian Muslims” is a better term.
 
Augustinian said:
I don’t think those denominations have many, if any, adherents back in the native lands of their members.
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In many Latin American countries the Assemblies of God and other Pentecostal churches are growing constantly. In Brazil, which still today is nominally the world’s largest Catholic country, ahead of Mexico and the Philippines, it is forecast that Protestants will overtake Catholics within the next ten to twenty years.
 
Not only that but Brazil has a sizeable influence of an Afro-Brazilian religion (I think Orisha is the name).
 
I this comment sarcastic or serious?

So are predominantly Catholic countries then uniquely anointed because the true religion was revealed (rather, forced into) them?
 
It doesn’t seem like an inherently unfair question. Even given Poland’s commendably Catholic national character, I’m sure it has a few Protestants–who’d likely have interesting stories to tell. And I certainly couldn’t fault a network like CBN for being interested.
 
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