Latin America 1900-2025:
the rise & fall of world religions
by Justin D. Long
| Latin America | 1900 | 1925 | 1950 | 1975 | 2000 | 2025 |
| Christians | 95.10 | 94.86 | 94.63 | 94.40 | 92.70 | 91.20 |
| Pentecostals/Charismatics | 0.00 | 0.01 | 0.13 | 1.50 | 14.90 | 18.20 |
| Evangelicals | 1.20 | 1.73 | 2.50 | 3.60 | 7.70 | 10.80 |
| Great Commission Chrstns | 3.70 | 4.64 | 5.82 | 7.30 | 13.80 | 16.10 |
| Nonreligious | 0.60 | 0.91 | 1.38 | 2.10 | 3.20 | 4.30 |
| Spiritists | 0.40 | 0.63 | 1.01 | 1.60 | 2.30 | 2.30 |
| Atheists | 0.00 | 0.01 | 0.06 | 0.50 | 0.50 | 0.60 |
| Muslims | 0.10 | 0.13 | 0.16 | 0.20 | 0.30 | 0.40 |
| Jews | 0.00 | 0.01 | 0.04 | 0.30 | 0.20 | 0.20 |
| Ethno religionists | 3.50 | 1.70 | 0.82 | 0.40 | 0.20 | 0.20 |
| Baha'is | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.02 | 0.10 | 0.20 | 0.30 |
| Hindus | 0.30 | 0.26 | 0.23 | 0.20 | 0.20 | 0.10 |
| Buddhists | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.02 | 0.10 | 0.10 | 0.20 |
| New-Religionists | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.02 | 0.10 | 0.10 | 0.20 |
This week we continue our series by examining the rise and fall of world religions in Latin America.
Christianity in Latin America has had a long and controversial history. Perhaps of most interest to us in this particular issue is the fact that throughout this century, more than 90% of Latin Americans have professed to be Christians. This doesn't mean Latin America hasn't seen its share of religious battles: Catholics and Protestants have both endured much at the hands of each other. However, with 1 out of 14 in Latin America being evangelicals, it is difficult to say that Latin America is an unreached land.
In line with this is the growing hotbed of missionary activity in Latin America. In AD 2000, it is estimated that nearly 14% of Latin America will be interested in missions and evangelism--nearly 1 out of 7 people in the region. Many Latin American missionaries are being sent to Latin American countries; but more exciting is the prospect of thousands of Latin American missionaries being sent into the 10/40 Window. We are already beginning to see this happen, and we will hopefully see it even more in the days to come. However, we cannot let this exuberance go to our heads: even though in 2000 70 million Christians will be active in mission, that means some 415 million will not be interested in missions and evangelism at all. This is a tremendous force for evangelism that is going untapped.
At the same time, there other trends that are disturbing, even though they are slow. Christianity in Latin America has overall declined from 95% at the turn of the century to 92% by 2000. This is extremely slow, and it is offset by the stellar growth of evangelicals, pentecostals and Great Commission Christians. However, it portends growth in other religions. The nonreligious in particular are demonstrating growth, having risen from less than 1% in 1900 to 3% in 2000 and 4% in 2025. Spiritists are not in decline, but rather maintaining their existing numbers (which means they are keeping up with the growth in population). Muslims, though a very small minority, are on the increase, mainly through immigration. The only religions really in decline are Jews, Ethnoreligionists and Hindus, and these are mainly caused by forces of immigration, demographics and secularization.
Christians in Latin America have seen some startling changes in the past 100 years, particularly in the growth and widespread respectability of the Protestant church. There is yet much work to be done. Specifically, priority ought to be given now to mobilizing the Latin American church for world missions, with a larger emphasis on the 10/40 Window.
