Event Transcript: Religion in Latin America
Religion in Latin America
Nearly 40% of the world’s Catholics live in Latin America, but many people in the region have converted from Catholicism to Protestantism, while some have left organized religion altogether.
Public Sees Religion’s Influence Waning
Nearly three-quarters of Americans now think religion is losing influence in American life, and most who say this also see it as a bad thing. Perhaps as a consequence, a growing share of the public wants religion to play a role in U.S. politics.
How Americans Feel About Religious Groups
When asked to rate religious groups on a “feeling thermometer” ranging from 0 to 100, Americans rate Jews, Catholics and evangelical Christians warmly and atheists and Muslims more coldly.
Global Religious Diversity
A new report measures religious diversity by the percentage of each country’s population in eight categories — Buddhists, Christians, Hindus, Muslims, Jews, the unaffiliated, folk religionists and members of other religions.
Table: Religious Diversity Index Scores by Country
How U.S. Catholics View Pope Francis: In Their Own Words
U.S. Catholics View Pope Francis as a Change for the Better
One year into his pontificate, Pope Francis remains immensely popular among American Catholics and is widely seen as a force for positive change within the Roman Catholic Church. More than 80% of U.S. Catholics say they have a favorable view of the pontiff.
Religious Hostilities Reach Six-Year High
A third of the 198 countries studied had a high or very high level of social hostilities involving religion in 2012. About three-in-ten countries had a high or very high level of government restrictions on religion, roughly the same as in 2011.
Celebrating Christmas and the Holidays, Then and Now
Nine-in-ten Americans say they celebrate Christmas, and three-quarters say they believe in the virgin birth of Jesus. But only about half see Christmas mostly as a religious holiday, while one-third view it as more of a cultural holiday.