Religion in Latin America

The Basilica of the National Shrine of Our Lady of Aparecida in Brazil is the second largest in the world, after only of the Basilica of Saint Peter in Vatican City.[3]

The majority of Latin Americans are Christians (90%),[4] mostly Roman Catholics.[5][6] Membership in Protestant denominations is increasing, particularly in Brazil, Guatemala, El Salvador, Puerto Rico and other countries.[7] In particular, Pentecostalism has experienced massive growth.[8][9] This movement is increasingly attracting Latin America's middle classes.[10] Anglicanism also has a long and growing presence in Latin America.

According to the detailed Pew multi-country survey in 2014, 69% of the Latin American population is Catholic and 19% is Protestant, rising to 22% in Brazil and over 40% in much of Central America. More than half of these are converts.[11][12]

Indigenous creeds and rituals are still practiced in countries with large percentages of Amerindians, such as Bolivia, Guatemala, Mexico, and Peru. Various Afro-Latin American traditions such as Santería, Candomblé, Umbanda, Macumba, and tribal-voodoo religions are also practiced, mainly in Cuba, Brazil, and Haiti.

The Mosque of Omar Ibn Al-Khattab in Maicao, Colombia.

Argentina hosts the largest communities of both Jews (180,000-300,000)[13][14][15] and Muslims (840,000)[16][17][18] in Latin America. Brazil is the country with more practitioners in the world of Allan Kardec's Spiritism. Practitioners of Judaism, Mormonism, Jehovah's Witnesses, Buddhism, Islam, Hinduism, Bahá'í Faith, and Shinto are also present in Latin America.[19]

• Thy Will Be Done: The Conquest of the Amazon : Nelson Rockefeller and Evangelism in the Age of Oil by Gerard Colby, Publisher: Harpercollins
• D'Antonio, William V., and Frederick B. Pike, jt. eds. Religion, Revolution, and Reform: New Forces for Change in Latin America. New York: F.A. Praeger, 1964