The proportion of Protestants among the people of South and Central America has risen six fold since 1950, the Pew Research Center reports.

The proportion of Protestants among the people of South and Central America has risen six fold since 1950, the Pew Research Center reports. In surveys of over 30,000 people in 18 countries and the U.S. commonwealth of Puerto Rico, the Pew Center found that the proportion of Protestants had grown from 3 per cent to 19 per cent, while the proportion of Roman Catholics had fallen from 94 per cent to 69 per cent. The growth in Protestant numbers comes as a result of Evangelization Pew reported. “Evangelization efforts by Protestant churches seem to be having an impact,” the study released last month found. Regionally, 84 per cent of Latin American adults were raised as Catholics. But nearly 1 in 5 adults (19 per cent) now identify as Protestants, while only 1 in 10 (9 per cent) were raised as Protestants. “In nearly every country surveyed, the Catholic Church has experienced net losses from religious switching,” the report found, with the changes occurring “in the span of a single lifetime.” The survey also found converts had joined Protestant churches because “they were seeking a more personal connection with God.” Paraguay remains the least Protestant nation in the region with 7 per cent of the total, while Honduras and Guatemala number 41 per cent of the population as Protestant.