in
Brazil is the second largest in the world, after only of the
Basilica of Saint Peter in
Vatican City. The majority of Latin Americans are
Christians (90%), Membership in
Protestant denominations is increasing, particularly in
Brazil,
Honduras,
Guatemala,
Nicaragua,
El Salvador and
Puerto Rico. In particular,
Pentecostalism has experienced massive growth. This movement is increasingly attracting Latin America's middle classes.
Anglicanism also has a long and growing presence in Latin America. According to the detailed
Pew Research Center 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. According to the 2014 Pew survey, the 46 countries and territories of Latin America and the Caribbean comprised, in absolute terms, the
world's second-largest Christian population (24%; including U.S., British, Dutch and French territories), after the 50 countries and territories of
Europe (26%; including Russia, excluding Turkey), but just before the 51 countries and territories of
Sub-Saharan Africa (24%; including Mauritania, excluding Sudan). A 2024 survey by M&R Consultadores found that 36.2% of Latin Americans identified as Catholic, 31% as Nondenominational believers and 27.7% as Protestant.
Arrival of Christianity Christianity is one of the main religions in Latin America today, but it has not always been like that. Christianity was an idea that Spanish conquistadors brought with them when they came to the New World and something that they attempted to spread once they got there. Converting the native people of the Americas was one of the main objectives of the Spanish conquest of the
Americas. Funded by papal grants,
Spanish monarchs and
conquistadors were incentivized to convert the people of the Americas to Christianity. The Spaniards also sinned against their God, so in the Dominicans’ minds, this made them no different than the natives. If neither of these things worked, then many would just run away, either to find a new home or back to their old home they had before the Spanish came. This contrasting image caused many to become confused by the differing images the missionaries were portraying and caused the natives to push back against the conversion. ==Indigenous and Afro-Latin creeds==