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After decades of research on the
Mexico-Central America region, the PROLADES Team has compiled a series of
reports on each country that document the origin, growth and development of the Protestant
movement, as well as of other religious groups. Also, see Ethnic and Religious
Diversity in Central America: An Historical Perspective.
To find out more about the situation in each country, click on the countries on the map. |
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Mexico is one of the largest countries in Latin America, with a total
population of nearly 100 million in 2000, but with a very small Protestant
population. According to the 2000 Census, the Roman Catholic population was 88.2% of
the national population, Protestants were 5.8%, other religions were 2.5%, and those with
no religion were 3.5%. Previous censuses reported the Protestant population to be 4.9%
in 1990, 3.3% in 1980 and 1.8% in 1970. By comparison, the size of the Protestant
population in Mexico is much lower than in the counties of Central America where
Protestants are between 15-35% of the national population of each country.
See the following documents and maps for more information.
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The country has an area of 8,867 square miles and a population
estimated at 290,000. Belize is one of the smallest countries on the American
continent, but historically it has had one of the highest percentages of Protestant
population due to its unique British heritage. Protestantism arrived in British
Honduras with the arrival of Anglican chaplains in the 18th century, and St. John´s
Anglican Cathedral was the first Protestant church constructed in the Central American
region in 1815.
However, groups of nonconformists or dissenters (meaning non- Anglicans)
began arriving in British Honduras during the early 1800s, which led to a decline of
Anglican influence. English Baptist and Methodist missionaries were sent to the Colony in
1822 and 1825, respectively, and Scottish Presbyterians also began work in Belize City
during the 1820s. By 1856, the Protestant community of Belize City, where most of the
inhabitants of the Colony resided, included 2,500 Anglicans, 500 Baptists, 500 Methodists
and Presbyterians, in addition to 1,000 Catholics and 2,600 "others," out of a
total population of 7,000 people of many races and nationalities.
According to a 2000 Census, Roman Catholics now constitute 49.6% of the population and
the Protestant population has declined to 27%, from 34% in 1991. Currently,
Pentecostals are 7.4% and Anglicans 5.3%. Other faiths and denominations included Baptists
(3.5%), Methodists (3.5%), Seventh-day Adventists (5.2%), and Mennonites (4.1%).
About 14% of the population are affiliated with other religious groups. These
include Hindus, Baha'is, Buddhists, Jehovah's Witnesses, members of the Church of Jesus
Christ of Latter-day Saints (Mormons), Muslims and Rastafarians.
Except for the Mennonites and Pentecostals, who lived mostly in the rural districts of
Cayo and Orange Walk, most members of these religious groups tended to live in Belize
City. In 2000, Roman Catholics were numerous throughout the country and constituted the
majority faith in all but two of the country's six districts, Belize and Cayo, where they
held a plurality of the population but did not constitute a majority.
In 2000, approximately 9.4% of citizens identified themselves as nonbelievers or
refused to answer the question about their religious affiliation.
See the following documents and maps for more information.
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The country has an area of 42,043
square miles and a population of approximately 12.7 million. During
the period 1960-1980, Guatemala became a "showcase" for the growth of the
Protestant movement in Latin America, but the enthusiasm of Evangelical leaders regarding
continued high rates of church growth in Guatemala often exceeded the reality. A series of
public opinion polls taken between 1990 and 2001 in Guatemala helped to correct some of
the erroneous growth projections made by Evangelical leaders: CID- Gallup reported that
the Protestant population was 26.4% in May of 1990 and 25% in April of 1996. Early in
2001, SEPAL conducted a study on religious affiliation in Guatemala that showed
Protestants to be 25.3% of the national population. Therefore, it seems clear that the
size of the Protestant population has not changed in Guatemala in more than a decade
(1990-2001), although the number of Protestant congregations has continued to increase:
from about 6,450 in 1980, to 9,298 in 1987, to about 18,000 in 2001. It seems logical to
assume that if the number of Protestant congregations has grown by 258% between 1980 and
2001 that the total membership has probably increased by a similar rate of growth. So why
has the size of the Protestant population remained stable? At this moment, this is an
unsolved mystery that awaits further investigation and analysis.
One possible explanation is that there may have been "a great
falling away" (desertion or exodus) of Protestant adherents in Guatemala during the
1980s-1990s due to discouragement about the performance of Evangelical politicians, such
as Gen. Efraín Ríos Montt (military dictator during 1982-1983) and Jorge Serrano
(president during 1990-1993), as well as disillusionment over the financial and sex
scandals regarding popular Evangelical TV personalities, such as Jim and Tammy Bakker
(1987) and Jimmy Swaggart (1991). It is easier for "adherents" to desert the
church when things go badly, but it is harder for committed baptized church members to
abandoned ship during stormy weather, so it may be true there was "a falling
away" of the less committed churchgoers during these hard times in Guatemala.
See the following documents and maps for more information.
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The country has an area of 8,108 square miles and an estimated
population of approximately 6.7 million. Three public opinion polls taken between 1988
and 2003 give a contemporary picture of religious affiliation in the nation. The first was
conducted in 1988 by researchers at the Central American University in San Salvador, which
revealed that 67.1% of the total population were Roman Catholic, 16.4% Protestant, 4.8%
other religions, and 14.7% no religion/no response. The second was done in 1995 by
CID-Gallup and showed that Catholics were 67.8% of the population, Protestants 16.8%,
other religions 2.3% and no religion/no response 13%. Both studies have a margin of error
of plus or minus 3%.
These two studies revealed that no significant changes had taken place in religious
affiliation in the period 1988-1995, although an Evangelical study published in 1993
claimed that the Protestant population was over 30% of the total population and consisted
of more than 4,200 congregations and 514,286 baptized members.
However, according to a 2003 survey by the Technological University's Public Opinion
Center, approximately 57.1% of the population was Roman Catholic and 21.2% were members of
Protestant churches. Jehovah's Witnesses accounted for an estimated 1.9 percent of
the population, 0.7 percent were Mormons, 2.3 percent were associated with other religious
groups, and 16.8 percent were not affiliated with any religious organization.
See the following documents and maps for more information.
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The country has an area of 43,278 square miles and a population of
approximately seven million. A series of public opinion polls taken between 1997 and
2007 indicates that the Protestant population of Honduras has grown from 21% to 36% in
about 10 years, which is a very high rate of growth. The latest CID-Gallup poll for
May 2007 reported the following: 47% of respondents identified themselves as Roman
Catholics, 36% as Protestants/Evangelicals, and 17% as "other," "none"
or provided no answer.
One Protestant denomination in particular has reported spectacular church growth since
1980: the International Church of the Foursquare Gospel. This Pentecostal
denomination arrived in Honduras in 1952 and began evangelistic efforts in the capital
city and in the Departments of Cortés, La Paz, Santa Bárbara and Valle, in addition to
Francisco Morazán, where Tegucigalpa is located. By 1960, there were seven organized
churches and 18 preaching points with 310 members and about 1,000 adherents; by 1978, the
total membership had grown to 1,870 members. In 1986, this denomination reported 149
churches and 42 missions with about 6,000 members. According to the latest annual
report, there are now a total of 250 churches and missions with a total membership of
about 57,000.
One of this denomination's most successful efforts has been with pastors Misael
Argeñal and his wife Maria Elena, who began a new church in 1977 in San Pedro Sula that
has grown to a congregation of about 25,000 members in late 2007, known as The Harvest
International Ministry; in addition, this church has helped to establish 70 affiliated
churches in Honduras, one in El Salvador and three in Atlanta, Georgia.
See the following documents and maps for more information.
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The country has an area of 49,998 square miles and a population of
approximately 5.5 million. The 1995 Census listed 72.9% of the population as Roman
Catholic, 16.7% as Protestant, 1.9% were associated with other religious groups, including
the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (Mormons) and Jehovah's Witnesses.
Approximately 8.5% professed no religious affiliation or did not answer.
However, during the next 10 years significant changes occurred in the religious
environment. According to a March 2005 CID-Gallup poll, 57% of respondents were
Roman Catholic, 29% were members of Protestant/ Evangelical churches, 3% belonged to other
religious groups, and 11% claimed no religious affiliation or did not answer. These
studies indicate that the Protestant population increased from 16.7% in 1995 to 29% in
2005, which is a very high rate of growth.
See the following documents and maps for more information.
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The country has an area of 19,730 square miles and a population of
approximately 4.25 million, according to the National Institute of Census and Statistics. According
to a 2001 poll by Demoscopia, 70.1% of the population identified themselves as Roman
Catholics, 18% said they were Protestants/Evangelicals, 10.1% reported they did not have a
religion, and 1.8% said they belonged to "another religion."
A September 2003 CID-Gallup poll found that about
69% of the population was Roman Catholic, with 40% of that figure actively practicing
Catholicism. About 18% belong to non-Catholic Christian churches (Orthodox,
Protestant and others). Approximately 1% practiced non-Christian faiths and 12% practiced
no religion at all.
These studies seem to indicate that the Protestant population in Costa Rica has reached
a plateau of about 16-18% of the national population.
The largest Protestant denominations are: the Assemblies of God, the General
Conference of Seventh-day Adventists, the Church of God (Cleveland, TN), Rose of Sharon
Christian Mission, International Church of the Foursquare Gospel, the Association of Costa
Rican Bible Churches (related to the Latin America Mission), the Evangelical Association
of Central American Churches (related to the Central American Mission) and the Pentecostal
Holiness Church.
See the following documents and maps for more information.
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The country has an area of 30,193 square miles and a population of
approximately 3.2 million. A 2003 CID-Gallup poll indicated that 61% was Roman
Catholic, 24% was Protestant, 4% other religions, and 12% no religion/no answer. The
largest Protestant denominations were: the General Conference of Seventh-day
Adventists (about 50,500 members), the Assemblies of God (40,000), the International
Church of the Foursquare Gospel (31,000), the Baptist Convention (12,000), Methodist
Churches (12,900), Churches of Christ (6,600), New Tribes Mission (6,000), Church of
God-Cleveland, TN (5,200) and the Anglican/Episcopal Church (5,000).
Other religious groups included the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
(Mormons) with an about 35,000 members, Jehovah's Witnesses (about 33,000), Muslim and
Jewish communities with approximately 17,000 and 10,000 members respectively, Hindus
(Asian-Indians, population size unknown) and Buddhists (mainly Chinese, an estimated
population of 100,000). The Baha'is of Panama maintain one of the world's seven
principal Baha'i Houses of Worship, located near Panama City.
See the following documents and maps for more information.
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Source: Religion-In-The-Americas
(RITA) Database Project
www.prolades.com |
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