Numbers, Facts and Trends Shaping Your World

Hispanic Catholics Who are Pentecostals or Charismatics

Latinos in the United States identify with renewalist Christianity at significantly higher rates than non-Hispanics — among the more than two-thirds of Latinos who are Catholic, a majority (54%) are renewalists, meaning they describe themselves either as charismatic or pentecostal; the proportion is still higher among Hispanic Protestants (57% overall, including 31% who are pentecostals and 26% who are charismatics). The extent of renewalism among non-Hispanic Catholics is small by comparison, at slightly more than one-in-ten while fewer than one-in-five non-Hispanic Protestants are renewalists. The influence of the renewalist movement in the Hispanic population can be seen in some specific measures of religious practice and belief. These go beyond traditional pentecostal practices such as speaking in tongues. For example, Latinos who are pentecostal Protestants, more than any other Latino group, say they share their faith with others at least weekly (70%), and even more (80%) say they read the Bible at least once a week. Read More