Young Hispanics Less Likely to Be Catholic

An Associated Press-Univision poll finds that younger Latinos, as well as those who speak more English than Spanish, are much less likely to identify as Catholics than older, Hispanics who mostly speak Spanish.

The poll of 1,500 Latino adults also found significant divisions on social issues such as same-sex unions and abortion, along lines of age, language and whether one is Catholic or Protestant.

Overall, 62 percent of Hispanics identify as Catholic, but that includes only 55 percent of young adults 18 to 29, compared with 80 percent of elders 65 and over.

But in the United States these days, religious sentiment seems to be keener among Latino Protestants than their Catholic counterparts. Protestants are twice as likely to attend weekly services, according to the poll...and tend to be more conservative than Catholics on matters of religious doctrine and social morality.

To read the entire story, go to CNSNews.com.

I wonder if this means that the USCCB and this Archdiocese will change their stance on illegal immigration?

Faith of American Hispanics have Changed...

The Barna Group conducted a series of telephone interviews among nine nationwide random samples of adults. In the course of the 9,232 interviews conducted, each respondent was asked if they considered themselves to be Hispanic. These surveys were conducted between January 2007 and November 2008. In total, there were 1,195 adults in the Hispanic category.

There are some interesting findings in the survey:

- Alignment with the Catholic church (down by 25 percentage points)

- Being a born again Christian (up by 17 percentage points)

There are many other findings, but to read them all go here.


This has some serious implications for the Archdiocese of Washington DC, which has spent a huge amount of money and effort on the Hispanic community, because they see them (Hispanics) as the hope for the next 40 or 50 years of the Catholic Church in DC.

Whether or not their efforts will pay off, may not be seen for many years. But the indications that I get is that they are not.