Protestantism is beginning to outpace Catholicism in Mexico

Mexico is second only to Brazil as the world's most populous Catholic country.But a recent survey showed that only 77.7% of Mexicans now identify as Catholics. That's the lowest rate ever recorded.

Over the past two decades, the percentage of Catholics in this vibrant Latin American country has continued to decline.It fell ten points between 2000 and 2020, going from 88% to 77.7%.

The same thing happened in the earlier period between 1950 and 2000. Catholics went from being 98% of Mexico's population to only 88%.This is revealed by the decennial population census, carried out by the INEGI, Mexico's National Institute of Statistics and Geography.

As Catholicism has shown decline, the Protestant communities -- Pentecostalism, in particular -- are recording the strongest growth ever observed.

While only 7.5% of Mexicans said they were Protestants in 2010, slightly more than 11% of them said they were members of that denomination in 2020.

In a country with a strong Catholic tradition, one in every ten Mexicans is now Protestant.This is a first in the history of Mexico.Increase in evangelicals and in those "without religion"In addition to asserting the growth of Protestantism, the INEGI survey mentions the significant increase in the number of people "without religion".

They are currently a little more than ten million, or 8.1% of the population.In 2010, only 4.7% of all Mexicans said they belonged to no religious group.The census also notes the proportion of agnostics (people who believe without belonging to a religion). In 2020 they stand at 2.5%, or just over 3 million people.

The 2010 survey did record this category."Religious pluralization in Latin America, which only became evident in the 1990s, is now almost 'galloping', to the great concern of a number of competing religious leaders," said religious scholar Blandine Chelini-Pont, professor of contemporary history at the University of Aix-Marseille in Francis.

She said the growth of Protestantism in Latin American is linked to "a movement of religious globalization, disconnecting religions from the traditional supervisory authorities (notably the State and the Church) and disseminating practitioners through conversions and migration".

One of the explanatory factors could be immigration and the influence of the United States, just north of the Mexican border.Some 1 million American citizens live in Mexico and untold numbers of Mexicans have gone to the United States. Many of them have converted to Protestantism. And those who have returned to Mexico often evangelized their peers.

A phenomenon observable throughout all of Latin AmericaThe statistics in Mexico illustrate the gradual decline of Catholicism throughout all of Latin America. This is in part due to the growth of Evangelicalism.

In her book 2108 Jésus t'aime (Jesus loves you), journalist Lamia Oualalou recounts the pervasiveness of Evangelical Protestantism in Brazil.She points out that Catholics often join their Church's "competitors" who are often more dynamic and charismatic -- in every sense of the word.

The American evangelical periodical Christianity Today supports this analysis.It says that -- especially in Mexico -- Baptists, Methodists and Presbyterians tend to "pentecostalize" themselves more and more, through energetic praise, the enhancement of spiritual gifts and healings.

But the most strongly represented Protestant denomination in Mexico is "non-denominational," the other name for Evangelicalism.

The Mexican polling institute Latinobarómetro has offered statistics that show Evangelicals tend to practice their faith more than Catholics.A survey from 2018 showed that 63% of Mexicans who identified as non-denominational Christians said they practiced their faith, compared to only 41% of Catholics.