Religion in South America

Religion in South America has been a major influence on art, culture, philosophy and law. Christianity is the continent's main religion, with Roman Catholics having the most adherents. Sizeable minorities of non-religious people and adherents of other religions are also present.

Religious freedom

Currently, all countries in the region in general are separate of the Catholic Church and declared secular states, which guarantees freedom of religion for its inhabitants. However, in Peru and the Dominican Republic, Roman Catholicism serves as the official religion. In both countries Catholic religious education is mandatory, and in most nations Roman Catholicism still sways the population.

Christianity

 

The Basilica of the National Shrine of Our Lady of Aparecida is the second largest in the world, after only of the Basilica of Saint Peter in Vatican City.^[1]

According to Pew Research Center 83.43% of the South American population is Christian,^[2] although less than half of them are devout.

Catholicism

In many South American countries Catholicism is the most professed Christian denomination. In Paraguay, Peru, Colombia and Argentina more than three-quarters of the population is Catholic. Catholicism was the only religion allowed in the colonial era; the indigenous were forced to abandon their beliefs, although many did not abandon it at all, for example, countries with predominantly Amerindian population such as Bolivia and Peru there is a syncretism between indigenous religions and the Catholic religion, that has occurred since colonial times. In Brazil or Colombia, Catholicism was mixed with certain African rituals.

Protestantism

Protestantism has had a presence since the nineteenth century, as a minority, but witnessed a strong increase since the 1980's. The majority of Latin American Protestants in general are Pentecostal.^[3] Brazil today is the most Protestant country in South America with 22.2% of the population being Protestant,^[4] 89% of Brazilian evangelicals are Pentecostal, in Chile they represent 79% of the total evangelicals in that country, 69% in Argentina and 59% in Colombia.^[3] On the other part, in Uruguay 66% of evangelicals are Methodist, while only 20% are Pentecostal.^[3]

Spiritism

Brazil is the country with more practitioners in the world of Allan Kardec's codification of the Spiritism, followed by over 12 million people, with 30 to 45 million sympathizers. Most followers of the Spiritism are people that were mostly Catholic, Protestants and Atheists respectively.

Chico Xavier wrote over 490 books, which complements the spiritualist doctrine.

Eastern Orthodoxy

Eastern Orthodox Christianity was brought to South America by groups of immigrants from several different regions, mainly Eastern Europe and the Middle East. This traditional branch of Eastern Christianity has also spread beyond the boundaries of immigrant communities. There are several Eastern Orthodox ecclesiastical jurisdictions in South America, organized within the Assembly of Canonical Orthodox Bishops of Latin America.^[5]

Oriental Orthodoxy

Several groups of Christian immigrants, mainly from the Middle East, Caucasus, Africa and India, brought Oriental Orthodoxy to the South America. This ancient branch of Eastern Christianity includes several ecclesiastical jurisdictions in the South America, like Coptic Orthodox Church in South America and Syriac Orthodox Church.^[6]

Other Christians

Practitioners of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and Jehovah's Witnesses religions also are exercised in Latin America.

Other religions

 

The Mosque of Abou Bakr Alsiddq in Bogotá.

Argentina has the largest communities of both Jews^[7][8][9] and Muslims^[10][11][12] in Latin America. Practitioners of the Judaism, Buddhist, Islamic, Hinduism, Bahá'í Faith, and Shinto denominations and religions also exercised in Latin America.^[13]

Hinduism is the second-largest religion in Suriname. According to the 2012 census of Suriname, Hindus constitute 22.3% of the population. Suriname has the second largest percentage of Hindus in the Western Hemisphere, after Guyana (24.8%).

Indigenous creeds and rituals are still practiced in some countries with large percentages of Amerindians, such as Bolivia and Peru.

Statistics

Country By Religion in South America (2020 estimate):

Countries	Total Population	Christians %	Christians Population	Unaffiliated %	Unaffiliated Population	Other %	Other Population	Sources
Argentina	47,327,407	85.4%	37,420,000	12.1%	5,320,000	2.5%	2,000,000	^[14]^[15]
Bolivia	11,830,000	94%	11,120,000	4.1%	480,000	1.9%	230,000	^[16]
Brazil	210,450,000	88.1%	185,430,000	8.4%	17,620,000	3.5%	7,400,000	^[17]
Chile	18,540,000	88.3%	16,380,000	9.7%	1,800,000	2%	360,000	^[18]
Colombia	50,000,000	95.5%	47,750,000	4%	2,000,000	0.5%	250,000	^[19]
Ecuador	16,480,000	94%	15,490,000	5.6%	920,000	0.4%	70,000	^[20]
Guyana	850,000	67.9%	580,000	2%	20,000	30.1%	250,000	^[21]
Paraguay	7,630,000	96.9%	7,390,000	1.1%	90,000	2%	150,000	^[22]
Peru	32,920,000	95.4%	31,420,000	3.1%	1,010,000	1.5%	490,000	^[23]
Suriname	632,638	52.3%	300,000	6.2%	40,000	41.5%	240,000	^[24]
Uruguay	3,407,213	57%	1,990,000	41.5%	1,450,000	1.5%	50,000	^[25]
Venezuela	29,789,730	89.5%	29,540,000	9.7%	3,220,000	0.8%	250,000	^[26]
South America	422,194,269	83.43%	385,210,000	9.18%	35,480,000	7.39%	11,080,000

See also

• Major religious groups
• Religion in Africa
• Religion in Asia
• Religion in Europe
• Religion in Oceania
• Religion in North America

References

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2. "Religious Composition by Country, 2010-2050". from the original on 2019-12-21. Retrieved 2020-10-18.
3. «Luis Palau: Evangelist to Three Worlds», Christianity Today, 20 de mayo de 1983, pp. 30-1. Luis Palau, «The Gospel's Social Impact», Briefing (Portland, Oregon: Cruzada Luis Palau), verano de 1984, pp. 14-16.
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6. "Meeting with the President of Brazil". 27 October 2016. from the original on 11 March 2018. Retrieved 11 March 2018.
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8. . Archived from the original on 2017-11-07. Retrieved 2015-08-09.
9. United Jewish Communities; Global Jewish Populations 2008-05-31 at the Wayback Machine
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15. "Primeros datos provisorios del Censo 2022: Argentina tiene 47.327.407 habitantes" (in Spanish).
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