Two historic blows: Brazil and Chile, below 50%
A decade ago, the six countries analyzed had a Catholic majority, with “six out of ten or more” adults identifying as Catholics. Today, Pew places Catholics between 46% and 67%, depending on the country, and highlights two particularly significant cases due to their historical and demographic weight: Brazil (46%) and Chile (46%). In both, Catholicism falls below half.
In the rest, Catholicism maintains the majority but with notable erosion: Argentina 58%, Colombia 60%, Mexico 67%, and Peru 67%. In Argentina, for example, the decline in the Pew series goes from 71% (2013-14) to 58% (2024).
The “nothing in particular” group grows, but faith does not disappear
One of the most revealing aspects of the report is that the collapse of Catholic identity does not automatically translate into atheism. Pew emphasizes that belief in God remains very high in the six countries: around nine out of ten or more affirm that they believe in God, and that belief persists even among many of those called “unaffiliated.”
What is growing strongly is the group of religiously unaffiliated (atheists, agnostics, or “nothing in particular”). Depending on the country, this bloc is now between 12% and 33%, and in all cases it has increased by 7 points or more in the last decade. In several countries, the “unaffiliated” already outnumber Protestants.
Protestantism does not explain everything, but it consolidates positions
Protestantism, in general terms, remains relatively stable in the regional whole, although with national variations. Brazil stands out again: in 2024, 29% of Brazilians identify as Protestants, compared to 26% a decade ago. The figure is important because Brazil was for decades the great demographic bastion of global Catholicism.
The key to the hemorrhage: Catholics who leave
Pew identifies the main mechanism of change: religious switching. In the six countries, “around two out of ten or more” adults say they were raised Catholic but no longer identify as such. This point is central: it is not just about aging, birth rates, or “modernization,” but about a loss due to explicit abandonment of Catholic identity.
They continue to pray, but belonging weakens
Another datum that is hard to ignore is that personal religious practice remains high in several countries. Majorities in Brazil, Colombia, and Peru say they pray at least once a day. And in Brazil, Colombia, Mexico, and Peru, approximately half or more say that religion is “very important” in their lives.
The problem is not just “less faith,” but less Catholic belonging, less institutional rootedness, and less effective transmission of identity. In light of these figures, the crisis is not a marginal or local phenomenon: it affects the most populous countries and, therefore, the future of Catholicism on a global scale.