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FriendLiiFiRe
Guest
I am a Hispanic Catholic. What percent of catholics are hispanic?
And I have no intention of converting to any other relgion
And I have no intention of converting to any other relgion
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MarcoPolo
Guest
I don’t know the demographic statistics, but bravo for you for sticking with the full truth!I am a Hispanic Catholic. What percent of catholics are hispanic?
And I have no intention of converting to any other relgion
J
jblair
Guest
The following research survey provides some important information regarding Latinos and the Catholic Church.
Changing Faiths: Latinos and the Transformation of American Religion
Hispanics are transforming the nation’s religious landscape, especially the Catholic Church, not only because of their growing numbers but also because they are practicing a distinctive form of Christianity. Religious expressions associated with the pentecostal and charismatic movements are a key attribute of worship for Hispanics in all the major religious traditions – far more so than among non-Latinos. The growth of the Hispanic population is also leading to the emergence of Latino-oriented churches across the country.
Read survey report
7.13.2006
Changing Faiths: Latinos and the Transformation of American Religion
Hispanics are transforming the nation’s religious landscape, especially the Catholic Church, not only because of their growing numbers but also because they are practicing a distinctive form of Christianity. Religious expressions associated with the pentecostal and charismatic movements are a key attribute of worship for Hispanics in all the major religious traditions – far more so than among non-Latinos. The growth of the Hispanic population is also leading to the emergence of Latino-oriented churches across the country.
Read survey report
7.13.2006
J
jblair
Guest
**The following is posted at “The Deacon’s Bench” blog and the content of the article is reflected in other USA communities.
**
**A Catholic who became Pentecostal: “Here, I’ve changed” **
Unlike Catholicism, Pentecostalism, the largest and fastest-growing evangelical church, is a denomination that thrives on Latino converts. The study showed that over half of Latino Evangelicals are converts, while only 10 percent of white, non-Hispanics are.
This reflects the growth of Pentecostalism worldwide and a steady decline in the global popularity of the Catholic Church, said Luis Lugo, director of the Pew Forum on Religion on Public Life.
One quarter of all the world’s Christians are now Pentecostals, said Lugo. ‘‘That amounts to a transformation of Christianity.’’
As America is more and more Latinized by immigration, he said, Pentecostalism will become increasingly more common in the United States.
One reason for the dramatic growth of Pentecostalism is its ability to accommodate its members in various cultural and economic environments, said Anna Adams, professor of Latin American history at Muhlenberg College who’s published several articles on the subject.
“Pentecostalism has an amazing capacity to shift with the needs of its congregants,” said Adams.
In Allentown, she said, the Pentecostal churches are filling the spiritual and emotional needs of Hispanic immigrants who are looking for a place to be accepted.
In Allentown, more than 30 storefront Pentecostal churches dot the urban landscape of Center City. Like Iglesia de Dios, many storefront churches are in small buildings with small congregations. They fill the empty retail spaces left by downtown’s commercial collapse, converting old sandwich shops and shoe stores into houses of worship.*
This is transforming urban America – and it remains to be seen if it will also transform the Catholic Church. Once, Hispanics were among the staunchest and most devout Catholics. How can we keep from losing them to a religious culture that seems so welcoming, accomodating and spiritual vibrant? The article explains the attraction:*Antonia Cordero, 34, has been a member of Iglesia Betania, Allentown’s oldest Pentecostal church, for four years. She came to Allentown a decade ago from Puerto Rico, a Catholic in name only.
“I never found anything in Catholic church that interested me,” she said, “except the boys.”
Cordero followed a friend to Iglesia Betania, which began as a storefront church with five people in the 1960s and now accommodates 150 congregants in its home in a former United Church of Christ building at Ninth and Liberty. She converted on her first visit.
“I found Christ through these people,” said Cordero, “With the Catholic church, you would go in and come out the same. Here, I’ve changed.”
According to the Pew study, of all Latino Evangelical converts from Catholicism, 90 percent of them converted out of a desire for a more direct relationship with God.
Pentecostals often engage in an excited worship style that involves dancing and speaking in tongues. For many congregants, these actions are animated by the visitation or inspiration of the Holy Spirit, and this frenzied, direct encounter with God drives the conversion process.
“In the Catholic church, there is an intermediary,” said Brother Nelson Maria Mercado, a Puerto Rican missionary who directs the Allentown Catholic Diocese’s Hispanic Affairs Office, “In Pentecostalism, you deal directly with God. Some people leave the Catholic church because they don’t want to confess to a man, they want to confess to God.”
Mercado said the Church’s stance on divorce and other controversial issues may drive some Latino Catholics away. However, the Pew study found that only 13 percent of converts cited the Churh’s position on contentious topics a reason for leaving Catholicism.*There’s a lot in the article to absorb and wonder about and pray over. For Pentecostals, and for Catholics.
**
**A Catholic who became Pentecostal: “Here, I’ve changed” **
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It's a phenomenon a lot of religious observers have noticed: more and more Latinos are converting from Catholicism to Evangelical Protestantism. And [one Pennsylvania community](http://www.mcall.com/news/local/all-b1_5pentecostal.5975835aug01,0,6269736.story?track=rss) is seeing an influx of Hispanics who are former Catholics:* As Pentecostal churches offering Spanish services in center city continue to proliferate, a study released by the Pew Hispanic Center in April found that while the majority of Latinos in America still identify with Catholicism, nearly one in five has converted to another religion or become secular. Most of these converts, it found, are flocking to Evangelical churches.This reflects the growth of Pentecostalism worldwide and a steady decline in the global popularity of the Catholic Church, said Luis Lugo, director of the Pew Forum on Religion on Public Life.
One quarter of all the world’s Christians are now Pentecostals, said Lugo. ‘‘That amounts to a transformation of Christianity.’’
As America is more and more Latinized by immigration, he said, Pentecostalism will become increasingly more common in the United States.
One reason for the dramatic growth of Pentecostalism is its ability to accommodate its members in various cultural and economic environments, said Anna Adams, professor of Latin American history at Muhlenberg College who’s published several articles on the subject.
“Pentecostalism has an amazing capacity to shift with the needs of its congregants,” said Adams.
In Allentown, she said, the Pentecostal churches are filling the spiritual and emotional needs of Hispanic immigrants who are looking for a place to be accepted.
In Allentown, more than 30 storefront Pentecostal churches dot the urban landscape of Center City. Like Iglesia de Dios, many storefront churches are in small buildings with small congregations. They fill the empty retail spaces left by downtown’s commercial collapse, converting old sandwich shops and shoe stores into houses of worship.*
This is transforming urban America – and it remains to be seen if it will also transform the Catholic Church. Once, Hispanics were among the staunchest and most devout Catholics. How can we keep from losing them to a religious culture that seems so welcoming, accomodating and spiritual vibrant? The article explains the attraction:*Antonia Cordero, 34, has been a member of Iglesia Betania, Allentown’s oldest Pentecostal church, for four years. She came to Allentown a decade ago from Puerto Rico, a Catholic in name only.
“I never found anything in Catholic church that interested me,” she said, “except the boys.”
Cordero followed a friend to Iglesia Betania, which began as a storefront church with five people in the 1960s and now accommodates 150 congregants in its home in a former United Church of Christ building at Ninth and Liberty. She converted on her first visit.
“I found Christ through these people,” said Cordero, “With the Catholic church, you would go in and come out the same. Here, I’ve changed.”
According to the Pew study, of all Latino Evangelical converts from Catholicism, 90 percent of them converted out of a desire for a more direct relationship with God.
Pentecostals often engage in an excited worship style that involves dancing and speaking in tongues. For many congregants, these actions are animated by the visitation or inspiration of the Holy Spirit, and this frenzied, direct encounter with God drives the conversion process.
“In the Catholic church, there is an intermediary,” said Brother Nelson Maria Mercado, a Puerto Rican missionary who directs the Allentown Catholic Diocese’s Hispanic Affairs Office, “In Pentecostalism, you deal directly with God. Some people leave the Catholic church because they don’t want to confess to a man, they want to confess to God.”
Mercado said the Church’s stance on divorce and other controversial issues may drive some Latino Catholics away. However, the Pew study found that only 13 percent of converts cited the Churh’s position on contentious topics a reason for leaving Catholicism.*There’s a lot in the article to absorb and wonder about and pray over. For Pentecostals, and for Catholics.
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yessisan
Guest
I’m Mexican and I too, amd sticking to the CC 
It’s so sad to see so many of our siblings in Christ fall for other religions. I don’t know really what it is, it could be lack of education in Mexico. Ever wonder why Hispanic countries are always targeted by our Protestant brethren? And it’s not just the Protestants, it’s the Mormons and the JWs.
I think it’s lack of scholar education, lack of money, poor catechesis, and ignorance. Part of my DH’s family fell for the JWs and other evangelists because of the “love” between these communities and the fact that they help each other out in need, AND most importantly, that they teach them to learn the Bible. My MIL fell for the JWs because she felt loved and because she finally “understood” the Bible.
Mexico has very poor catechesis, they are poor, have little resources, and some people cannot even read or write, when many of these other Christians will take time to help them in those needs.
Many of those Hispanics who fall for the oter religions are lof lower social status, they are usually poor or low-middle class (closer to poverty than middle class). I went to Catholic school (an amenity many Mexicans cannot afford), studied with the nuns, went to Mass w/my class, studied religion and the Bible, and was not from a low income family. I was very well educated, and many Mexicans cannot have these luxuries… sure, they have the hunger for Christ, but some are so naive they fall for claims such as “Catholics worship Saints and the Bible is against it”, then those people see what the Bible says and believe it. Some cannot distinguish venerating from worshipping…
My heart breaks to see that Mexico, a country who was 95% Catholic is losing so many Catholics… now I think they are down to 86-85% in less than 10 yrs. Maybe the Church needs to do something about this… in fact, it NEEDS to. They need to figure out a way to “evangelize” as well as the Protestants and non-Christians. If the Church could do this, then we’d lose less people to other religions.
It’s so sad to see so many of our siblings in Christ fall for other religions. I don’t know really what it is, it could be lack of education in Mexico. Ever wonder why Hispanic countries are always targeted by our Protestant brethren? And it’s not just the Protestants, it’s the Mormons and the JWs.
I think it’s lack of scholar education, lack of money, poor catechesis, and ignorance. Part of my DH’s family fell for the JWs and other evangelists because of the “love” between these communities and the fact that they help each other out in need, AND most importantly, that they teach them to learn the Bible. My MIL fell for the JWs because she felt loved and because she finally “understood” the Bible.
Mexico has very poor catechesis, they are poor, have little resources, and some people cannot even read or write, when many of these other Christians will take time to help them in those needs.
Many of those Hispanics who fall for the oter religions are lof lower social status, they are usually poor or low-middle class (closer to poverty than middle class). I went to Catholic school (an amenity many Mexicans cannot afford), studied with the nuns, went to Mass w/my class, studied religion and the Bible, and was not from a low income family. I was very well educated, and many Mexicans cannot have these luxuries… sure, they have the hunger for Christ, but some are so naive they fall for claims such as “Catholics worship Saints and the Bible is against it”, then those people see what the Bible says and believe it. Some cannot distinguish venerating from worshipping…
My heart breaks to see that Mexico, a country who was 95% Catholic is losing so many Catholics… now I think they are down to 86-85% in less than 10 yrs. Maybe the Church needs to do something about this… in fact, it NEEDS to. They need to figure out a way to “evangelize” as well as the Protestants and non-Christians. If the Church could do this, then we’d lose less people to other religions.
T
tomarin
Guest
there’s a hispanic evangelical church down the street from my house called “iglesia de la nazarene” or something like that. it troubles me to think that probably all the hispanics who go to church there were baptised catholic but left the faith. i sometimes dream about putting catholic pamphlets under the windshield wipers of the cars parked on the street near the church. just to remind them that our ancient faith is still here and wants them back.
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yessisan
Guest
You know, the Kingdom Hall my husband attends has the words “Salon Del Reino de los Testigos de Jehovah” in English it’s “Kingdom Hall of the Jehovah’s Witnesses”… the bad part about that is that it attracts Spanish speakers and I will say that ALL in my husband’s Spanish speaking congregation were at one point Catholic…
BTW, that idea about the leaving pamphlets on cars is great, just make sure it’s in a public place and not at private neighborhoods, also make sure the city allows it. A great one would be *Pillar of Fire, Pillar of Truth. *On Catholic.com’s store you can get the in Spanish if you want to target the Hispanics at that church…
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MarcoPolo
Guest
Bless you!I’m Mexican and I too, amd sticking to the CC
I think the poor catechisis and ignorance are primary. All the articles I read, including jblair’s revolve around an “level of interest” or “emotional” dissatisfaction with the Catholic Church. Not the “truth”. I think you would enjoy my post #3 about this in this thread.
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Maryam
Guest
As a Puerto Rican I don’t put much stock into statistics when it comes to Latino’s leaving the Catholic faith and the reasons why… The variety of cultures even within each of the 17 Latin American countries represented here in the Usa is just too diverse to say this or that will happen across the board with the Latino Catholic community as a whole…
I start to get a twitch when I read posts on statistics concerning the Catholic church and Latino’s… We don’t all speak Spanish and have the same customs… I know some indigenous Latino’s who can’t even relate to being identified as such… All this just makes me sigh… whether that can be taken as a good or bad
As much as some would like to go on and on about lack of Catechesis with alot of Latino’s… The same can be said about non-Latino Catholics born and bred in the Usa… The only difference is there is that Catholic culture is much stronger in Latin America…
I have yet to meet a Latino who at a funeral can’t even say a Hail Mary during the rosary at a wake…
I think before making an across the board judgement on what are the reasons some Latino’s leave the Catholic Church…this all comes down to personal matters that no one can truly know unless one can read the hearts of each individual…
I personally have always been of the mindset that if I am going to find out anything about another culture I prefer to find out straight from the horses mouth… An article just doesn’t cut it for me…
My two cents… take it or leave it…
God bless
I start to get a twitch when I read posts on statistics concerning the Catholic church and Latino’s… We don’t all speak Spanish and have the same customs… I know some indigenous Latino’s who can’t even relate to being identified as such… All this just makes me sigh… whether that can be taken as a good or bad
As much as some would like to go on and on about lack of Catechesis with alot of Latino’s… The same can be said about non-Latino Catholics born and bred in the Usa… The only difference is there is that Catholic culture is much stronger in Latin America…
I have yet to meet a Latino who at a funeral can’t even say a Hail Mary during the rosary at a wake…
I think before making an across the board judgement on what are the reasons some Latino’s leave the Catholic Church…this all comes down to personal matters that no one can truly know unless one can read the hearts of each individual…
I personally have always been of the mindset that if I am going to find out anything about another culture I prefer to find out straight from the horses mouth… An article just doesn’t cut it for me…
My two cents… take it or leave it…
God bless
M
MarcoPolo
Guest
Thanks for your post Maryam…I’d like to add to my posts in that I think the reasons many “Latinos” leave the Catholic Church are no different than any group leaving. When you hear any person who left the Church describe why, it invariably is an issue of “emotional” satisfaction of some kind and not the “truth.” What I know first-hand is consistent with the testimonies I’ve read.
And those who leave the Church who do inject some degree of “truth” in their reasoning, always leave for a mistaken notion. For example, some might leave by saying, “The Catholic Church is not the true Church because they worship Mary.”
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