Evangelical growth in Latin America expanded religiosity rather than merely shifting it
Evidence
A similar and parallel shift occurred in Latin America. The number of Protestants in Latin America increased from roughly 7 million in 1960 to about 50 million in 1990. … The spread of Protestantism among the poor in Latin America is not primarily the replacement of one religion by another but rather a major net increase in religious commitment and participation as nominal and passive Catholics become active and devout Evangelicals. In Brazil in the early 1990s, for instance, 20 percent of the population identified themselves as Protestant and 73 percent as Catholic, yet on Sundays 20 million people were in Protestant churches and about 12 million were in Catholic ones. — Samuel P. Huntington, The Clash of Civilizations and the…, 271 (
#corroborates, via linked claim)
To put those numbers into perspective, the total number of Christians globally in 2015 was 2.3 billion. The total number of Muslims in 2015 was 1.8 billion, while the religiously unaffiliated comprised 1.2 billion of the world population (Pew Research Center 2017, 8). Thus, the net impact of religious switching on demographic changes is dwarfed by the larger population growth factors of fertility rates and age distribution. — Margaret Hodson, Baby Jihad, 34 (
#complicates, via linked claim)
Categorization
- XREF: connects to: Latin American Protestant growth represents intensified religiosity, not mere religious substitution. — Samuel P. Huntington, The Clash of Civilizations and the…, 271; Fertility and age structure dwarf conversion in shaping religious demographics. — Margaret Hodson, Baby Jihad, 34; Group expansion drives religion toward moral, demanding, interventionist gods
Broader Connections
- Latin American Protestant growth represents intensified religiosity, not mere religious substitution.
#corroborates(1.00) — Samuel P. Huntington, The Clash of Civilizations and the…, 271 - Fertility and age structure dwarf conversion in shaping religious demographics.
#complicates(0.72) — Margaret Hodson, Baby Jihad, 34