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Pluralism and the Churching of Latin America

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  02 January 2018

Rodney Stark
Affiliation:
Baylor University
Buster G. Smith
Affiliation:
Catawba College

Abstract

Reliable data on Protestant and Catholic membership in 18 Latin American nations show that Protestants have recruited a larger percentage of the population in many nations than previously estimated. Analysis of these data shows that, as predicted by the theory of religious economies, the Catholic Church has been invigorated by the Protestant challenge: Catholic mass attendance has risen to unprecedented levels, and is highest in nations where Protestants have made the greatest gains.

Type
Research Article
Copyright
Copyright © University of Miami 2012

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