"Latinos make up the largest ethnic minority in the United States — 52 million, according to latest Census stats. The majority — two-thirds — are still traditionally Roman Catholic. But there's been a palpable shift from one generation to the next, with the newer ones being "born again."
Evangelicals now number about 20 percent of the Latino population, according to the National Hispanic Christian Leadership Conference.
The change poses the greatest concern for the Catholic Church — though many are leaving for evangelical churches, the volume of Catholics had remained steady primarily through immigration from Mexico and Central American countries.
The irony is that many evangelical converts tend to more closely mirror Catholic teaching on issues like abortion and gay marriage.
"It's an odd mixture where the Roman Catholic church is losing members but in so far as those members going to Pentecostal Evangelicals, they are in fact becoming more closely identified and more supportive of the Roman Catholic Church on these social issues," said Luis Lugo, director of the Pew Forum on Religion.
With the election of Pope Francis, the first pope from Latin America, the Catholic Church is hoping to halt the exodus." FoxNewsLatino
As cold waters to a thirsty soul,
so is good news from a far country.
Proverbs 25:25
Evangelicals now number about 20 percent of the Latino population, according to the National Hispanic Christian Leadership Conference.
The irony is that many evangelical converts tend to more closely mirror Catholic teaching on issues like abortion and gay marriage.
"It's an odd mixture where the Roman Catholic church is losing members but in so far as those members going to Pentecostal Evangelicals, they are in fact becoming more closely identified and more supportive of the Roman Catholic Church on these social issues," said Luis Lugo, director of the Pew Forum on Religion.
With the election of Pope Francis, the first pope from Latin America, the Catholic Church is hoping to halt the exodus." FoxNewsLatino
As cold waters to a thirsty soul,
so is good news from a far country.
Proverbs 25:25
