Religions In Latin

America
By Connor, Brian, Neel, and Nick
https://trello.com/b/JPxvD3pp/what-to-do

Overview
The term Latin America refers to the Spanish and Portuguesespeaking countries in the Americas.
Includes Argentina, Chile, Costa Rica, and Belize

69% are Catholic

Latin America holds 40% (425 million) of all Roman Catholics in the
world
8% are Unaffiliated with a Religion
19% are Protestant

Differences between Catholicism,

Christianity,
Protestants believe that Protestant
Catholics believe that God:
Christians believe that
The Bible is the only infallible
authority

Established His Church with

divine authority

The founder is Lord

Jesus Christ

The Church is just a friendly

gathering of believers, all of
whom have their own
authority to interpret the Bible
for themselves

Has passed this authority

from person to person in
an unbroken chain from
the Apostles to the
bishops of today

Goal is to to love God

and obey his
commandments

All Protestant Christians interpret

the Bible in different ways,
they actually admit that they
cannot all be right but
somehow they are fine with
that.

Inspires the Church to write

the documents that
would become the New
Testament

Home Bible study

History of Christianity in Latin America

Most of the immigration comprised Spanish and Portuguese settlers
These settlers were Christians

The Spanish Crown attempted to regulate the flow of all individuals

into the Americas they focused specifically on insuring only true
Christians were granted access.
Required proof of religion by way of personal testimonies.

Catholics
From 1900 through the 1960s, at least 90% of Latin Americas
population was Catholic
Today, the Pew Research survey shows, 69% of adults across the
region identify as Catholic
In nearly every country surveyed, the Catholic Church has
experienced net losses from religious switching
For example, roughly one-in-four Nicaraguans, one-in-five Brazilians and one-inseven Venezuelans are former Catholics.

84% of Latin American adults report that they were raised Catholic

Protestant Church History

Protestant Christianity began in the 1500's when a group of people
began to protest against some of the wrong things they believed
the Catholic Church was doing and teaching.
Protesters became separated from the Catholic Church and formed
their own Church
Was more inline with what they believed was the truth.
Just like the Catholic Church, Protestant Churches are not perfect,
they have also changed many times in many ways.

Pentecostals
Pentecostals get their name from the biblical feast of Pentecost
In every Latin American country, roughly half or more of Protestants
either say they belong to a church that is part of a Pentecostal
denomination or personally identify as a Pentecostal Christian
They have an enthusiastic form of worship which involves clapping,
jumping, shouting and raising hands in church
An important cornerstone of this religion is that God grants wealth to
Christians with good faith

How did Religion spread to Latin America?

Protestantism
Protestantism roots can be derived from protestant
missionaries.
In 1529, a group of germans settled including some lutherans
settled in Venezuela where they founded the city Maracaibo
and converted all of the citizens
Christianity
Portuguese and Spanish missionaries spread christianity in the
fifteenth and sixteenth century through their colonies

Religion and science in Latin America

A majority of Latin Americans believe in
a conflict between religion and
science
Protestants generally did not accept
science as much as Catholics in this
region
A majority of people who have
experienced a formal education
support evolution like in Bolivia
where 52% of people who have at
least went through secondary
education support the theory of
evolution whereas 35% of those who
have not experienced education
believe in evolution

Education and Religion

Education and religion have been
intertwined since the beginning of
time like how some Protestant
religions encouraged reading the
bible yourself, or like the Jesuits
The average education for Catholics is
46.7%
The average education for protestants
in Latin America is 39.55%
The average education for those who
are unaffiliated for any major
religions 50.75%
Conclusion:

Gender roles in Latin America

One of the most important issues
debated is the legitimacy and
ethicality of gender roles
In Latin America, 63.65% Protestants
support the ideals of gender roles
50.7% of Catholics in Latin America
believe and support gender roles
Conclusion
From this data, we can conclude that, in
Latin America especially in places like
Argentina, Uruguay and Chile, the
ideals of gender roles are rightfully
rejected
The ideals of gender roles seem to be

Religion in Argentina
Argentina hosts the largest communities of Jews
(180,000-300,000)

Argentina hosts the largest communities of Muslims

(400,000-500,000)

92% of the country are nominally Roman Catholic, but less than 20%
practice their faith regularly
An archbishop of Buenos Aires, Cardinal Jorge Bergoglio, was elected
Pope on 13 March 2013
There are seven Catholic universities in Argentina
Including Pontifical Catholic University of Argentina (Buenos Aires), the Universidad

Religion and traditions of Chile

population: 15,980,912
89% of the population is Roman Catholic, with 11% of the population
being protestant
This religion has played a large role in defining social and political life
of its citizens
Spanish is the official language of Chile
They celebrate the main catholic holidays such as christmas, easter,
and labor day
The religion of chile is rich in cultural heritage and love of arts

Religion and traditions of Costa Rica

Current population of 5,046,762
76.3% of costa ricans are identified as Catholic, 13.7% are Evangelical
Christians, and 0.7% are protestant christian
The country is considered one of the most secular in Latin America
religious days include Holy Week Semana Santa week leading up to
Easter which includes Holy Thursday and Good Friday
August 2nd, costa Ricans make their way to Cartago Basilica to the
altar of Virgin Mary to ask for guidance or a miracle
They also Celebrate Christmas

Religion and traditions in Belize

English speaking and Creole dominated
more in common with Caribbean island neighbors than spanish
Majority of Belize is Roman Catholic, however due to heavy British
influence, has a larger Protestant population than any other country
in central america
They celebrate 3 secular holidays; Baron Bliss Day on March 9,
Common wealth day on may 4, and Saint George's Caye day on
september 10
these listed traditions focused upon Belize independence from the
past

Famous latin American Religious Figures

Pope Francis
Mary MacKillop
Pope John XXII

Pope Francis
He was born on December 17, 1936 in Argentina
He chose Francis as his Papal name in honor of Saint Francis de Asisi
He became the Archbishop of Buenos Aires in 1998 and was
promoted to cardinal in 2001 by Pope John Paul II
Pope Francis has been noted for his humility, his emphasis on God's
mercy, his concern for the poor
Francis has famously insisted on living a humble life, and has urged
the rest of the church hierarchy to follow suit
He supports open and respectful interfaith dialog

Catholic meaning and origin

The word Catholic comes from the Greek word katholikos, which
means toward the whole.
Many people believe the Church is a gift offered by Christ to all
people.
The word was first used by the Ignatius of Antioch in 110 A.D.

Growth of the Catholic church

The number of Catholics around the world has gone from 291 million
in 1910 to 1.1 billion in 2010
The population has nearly tripled in size
In 1910, 65% of Europeans were Catholic. In 2010, only 24% of
Europeans were
39% of Catholics are now located in Latin America and the Caribbean

Summary
Religion spread through missionaries spreading their ideas
Today, the Pew Research survey shows, 69% of adults across the
region identify as Catholic
Protesters became separated from the Catholic Church and formed
their own Church
Pentecostals, who get their name from the biblical feast of Pentecost,
amount to roughly half of the protestants in most Latin American
countries and they have a very enthusiastic form of worship

Summary pt. 2
Pope Francis, who is one of the most influential religious figures today
was born in Argentina
An archbishop of Buenos Aires, Cardinal Jorge Bergoglio, was elected
Pope on 13 March 2013
Protestants generally did not accept science as much as Catholics in
this region
The average education for Catholics is 46.7%
In Argentina, 92% of the country are nominally Roman Catholic, but
less than 20% practice their faith regularly
50.7% of Catholics in Latin America believe and support gender roles

The End

References
"Religion in Latin America." Pew Research Centers Religion Public Life
Project RSS. N.p., 12 Nov. 2014. Web. 17 Oct. 2015.
"ThinkProgress." ThinkProgress RSS. N.p., 16 Oct. 2015. Web. 17 Oct.
2015.
Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, n.d. Web. 17 Oct. 2015.
"Protestantism in Latin America." Encyclopedia of U.S.-Latin American
Relations (2012): n. pag. Web.