Catholicism has lost people to religious switching in many countries, while Protestantism has gained in some

Christianity has experienced some of the largest losses from religious switching of any faith group around the world, according to our 2024 surveys. Religious switching refers to when people identify with a different religion in adulthood than they were raised in as a child.

Within Christianity, however, religious switching has affected the two largest subgroups – Catholicism and Protestantism – differently:

• Catholicism has lost more people than it’s gained in nearly all countries that we surveyed.
• Protestantism has seen a net gain from switching in nearly as many places as it has seen a net loss.

Here we take a closer look at religious switching into, out of, and between Catholicism and Protestantism, based on Pew Research Center surveys in 24 countries.

What is ‘religious switching’?

Religious switching refers to a change between the religious group in which a person says they were raised (during their childhood) and their religious identity now (in adulthood).

We use the term religious switching instead of “conversion” because the changes can be in many directions – including from having been raised in a religion to being unaffiliated – and may not involve a formal initiation process.

In this analysis, we analyze switching into, out of, and between Catholicism and Protestantism. Here are three examples of what that could look like:

• Someone who was raised Catholic but now identifies as Protestant
• Someone who was raised Protestant but is now atheist, agnostic or “nothing in particular”
• Someone who was raised Buddhist but now identifies as Catholic

About this research

This analysis explores religious switching within Christianity. Specifically, we look at movement into, out of, and between Catholicism and Protestantism in countries across Asia and the Pacific, Europe, Latin America, North America, and sub-Saharan Africa.

Why did we do this? 

Pew Research Center does opinion surveys, demographic studies and other research to better understand the role of religion in public life, among other topics.

How did we do this? 

This analysis uses Pew Research Center surveys of 24 countries, including the United States. The U.S. data comes from the Center’s 2023-24 U.S. Religious Landscape Study (RLS). The international data comes from surveys conducted in spring 2024.

Here are the questions we used for the analysis, along with responses, and the survey methodology. Refer to the detailed tables for data on religious switching into and out of Catholicism and Protestantism in all 24 countries.

The spring 2024 international surveys included additional countries that are not in this analysis because they did not differentiate between Protestants and Catholics or because they have very small populations of people – 1% or less – who were raised or currently identify as Protestant or Catholic.

Who funded this work? 

This analysis was produced by Pew Research Center as part of the Pew-Templeton Global Religious Futures project, which analyzes religious change and its impact on societies around the world. Funding for the Global Religious Futures project comes from The Pew Charitable Trusts and the John Templeton Foundation (grant 63095). This publication does not necessarily reflect the views of the John Templeton Foundation.

The RLS was made possible by The Pew Charitable Trusts, which received support from the Lilly Endowment Inc., Templeton Religion Trust, The Arthur Vining Davis Foundations and the M.J. Murdock Charitable Trust.

How has religious switching impacted Catholicism?

In 12 of the 24 surveyed countries, most of the population was raised Catholic. Those shares range from 59% of adults in Hungary to 96% in Poland.

Many adults who were raised Catholic in these countries still identify with the faith today. For example, 92% of all Polish adults are lifelong Catholics.

But other adults have left the church. Former Catholics (i.e., people who were raised Catholic but no longer identify as such as adults) make up 10% or more of the total population in 15 countries.

And relatively few adults in the countries analyzed enter the church after being raised in another religion or with no religion.

In Italy, for instance, 22% of all adults say they were raised Catholic and no longer identify as such, while 1% were not raised Catholic but have since joined the religion. This results in a net loss of 21 percentage points in the Catholic population in Italy due to religious switching.

Overall, more people left Catholicism than joined it in 21 of the 24 countries we analyzed. Hungary is the only country surveyed where more people joined (5%) than left the church (2%). In the remaining two countries – Kenya and South Korea – similar shares entered and exited Catholicism through switching.

People who leave Catholicism tend to join Protestantism or disaffiliate from religion altogether. Disaffiliation is especially common in parts of Europe and Latin America. That includes Chile, where 19% of all adults are former Catholics who now identify as atheist, agnostic or “nothing in particular.” But in Kenya, Brazil, Ghana, Nigeria and the Philippines, former Catholics are more likely to have joined Protestantism than to have become religious “nones.”

Related: Catholicism Has Declined in Latin America Over the Last Decade

Despite losses from religious switching, Catholics still make up the majority of the population in eight of the 24 places we analyzed. Poland has the largest share of Catholics (92%), followed by the Philippines (80%) and Italy (69%).

Refer to our detailed table for data on religious switching into and out of Catholicism.

How has religious switching impacted Protestantism?

As with Catholics, former Protestants are a sizable share of the population in many countries around the world. In nine of the 24 countries we analyzed, this group makes up 10% or more of the population.

But unlike with Catholicism, there are several countries where more people have joined Protestantism than have left it. In fact, Protestantism has seen a net gain from switching in nearly as many places as it has seen a net loss.

Most of the countries where Protestantism has had net gains are in Latin America. For example, more Brazilians have joined Protestantism after being raised outside the faith (15%) than have left Protestantism (6%). That has resulted in a 9-point net gain through switching. Most Brazilians who have switched into Protestantism are former Catholics.

Meanwhile, Sweden, the United Kingdom and Germany are among the countries with the largest net losses.

Adults who leave Protestantism tend to become religiously unaffiliated. For example, 15% of Australians are former Protestants who now identify with no religion; few are now Catholics (1%) or members of other religions (1%).

So where do Protestant populations stand after all this religious switching? In most of the countries analyzed (16 of 24), Protestants account for no more than about a quarter of the total population.

But two countries have majority-Protestant populations: Ghana (62%) and Kenya (55%).

Note: Here are the questions we used for the analysis, along with responses, and the survey methodology. Refer to the detailed tables for data on religious switching into and out of Catholicism and Protestantism in all 24 countries.