The global church

Christianity in Latin America

Latin America is one of the most Christian regions on earth, home to a great share of the world's Catholics and, increasingly, a vast and growing evangelical and Pentecostal community. The faith arrived with Iberian colonization from the sixteenth century and wove itself deeply into the cultures of the region, blending with indigenous and African heritage. Today the overwhelming majority of Latin Americans are Christian, and the church here is warm, public, and full of song.

Iberian roots, a new-world faith

Christianity came to Latin America with Spain and Portugal from the late fifteenth and sixteenth centuries. The history is complex and at times painful, bound up with conquest, yet over the centuries a deep and genuine Catholic faith took root across the region and blended with the cultures of indigenous peoples and of Africans brought in slavery. Devotions such as Our Lady of Guadalupe in Mexico became woven into the identity of whole nations.

Brazil holds the largest Catholic population of any nation, and the region as a whole has long been overwhelmingly Christian.

A great Pentecostal wave

In recent decades one of the largest religious shifts of modern times has unfolded here. Evangelical and Pentecostal Christianity has grown dramatically, especially among ordinary and poorer people, through both global movements and countless homegrown churches. Latin America today is a living meeting of deep Catholic devotion and vibrant Pentecostal fervor, and Christians of one kind or another form the great majority almost everywhere in the region.

The traditions here

Latin America is above all Catholic and, increasingly, Pentecostal and evangelical, and both, with the rest of the family, are named here as one Body and none ranked above another.

The Catholic Church

The largest single communion, led by the Bishop of Rome, present on every continent and expressed through both the Latin rite and many Eastern Catholic churches.

Eastern Orthodoxy

The ancient churches of the Greek, Slavic, and other Eastern traditions, such as the Greek, Russian, Serbian, Romanian, and Antiochian Orthodox, keeping the liturgy and the councils of the first millennium.

Oriental Orthodoxy

The oldest churches of the East, including the Coptic (Egypt), Ethiopian and Eritrean, Armenian Apostolic, and Syriac Orthodox, each with its own ancient language, calendar, and rite.

Anglican and Episcopal churches

A worldwide communion born in England and now strongest in Africa, holding together sacramental worship and the open Bible.

Lutheran churches

Rooted in the Reformation of Martin Luther, strong in Germany and Scandinavia and, today, very numerous in Ethiopia, Tanzania, and across Africa and Asia.

Reformed and Presbyterian churches

The tradition of Calvin and the Reformation, from the Church of Scotland to large churches in Korea, Africa, and the Americas.

Baptist churches

Congregations gathered around believer's baptism and the local church, widespread across the Americas, Africa, and beyond.

Methodist and Wesleyan churches

Born in the revival of John Wesley, marked by warm-hearted faith and works of mercy, and now global.

Pentecostal and Charismatic churches

The fastest-growing stream, emphasizing the Holy Spirit, prayer, and healing, immense across Africa, Latin America, and Asia.

Evangelical and nondenominational churches

A wide family centered on the Gospel, the Bible, and personal faith in Christ, crossing many denominations.

African Independent (Initiated) Churches

Thousands of churches founded and led by Africans, such as the Aladura and Zion and Kimbanguist churches, giving African expression to the faith in Christ.

Countless local expressions

House churches, village congregations, minority communities, and new movements, in every language under heaven, each a real part of the one Body.

This is not a ladder to be climbed but a family to be loved. The apostle prayed that all who follow Jesus would be one, as he and the Father are one, so that the world might believe.

Find community

Reading about the church is good. Belonging to it is better. Here are honest doors into the living communities behind these words, and into a church near you.

Meet Jesus in your language

The Gospel has never belonged to one nation or one tongue. From the first day the Spirit came, people heard the wonderful works of God each in their own language, and that is still the heart of the church. Wherever you are, and whatever words you pray in, Jesus draws near.

More languages are opening over time. If your language is not here yet, the Gospel of John and an honest prayer in your own words are a good place to begin.

Frequently asked questions

Is Latin America Catholic?

It has long been overwhelmingly Catholic, and remains home to a great share of the world's Catholics, including Brazil, the largest Catholic nation. In recent decades evangelical and Pentecostal Christianity has grown dramatically alongside it.

Why has Pentecostalism grown so fast in Latin America?

Evangelical and Pentecostal churches have spread widely in recent decades, especially among ordinary and poorer people, offering vibrant worship and close community, in one of the largest religious shifts of modern times.

How Christian is Latin America?

Very. The overwhelming majority of Latin Americans are Christian, whether Catholic or evangelical, making it one of the most Christian regions on earth, with a warm and public faith.