Is secularization gradually overtaking Latin America? Either way, the Catholic Church, which remains very strong in this part of the world, is showing signs of decline. This is borne out by figures from a recently published study conducted by the Episcopal Conference of Latin America (CELAM).
Latin America still has the world’s largest Catholic population. The Church in the region reported some 562 million baptized members in 2020, that’s 41% of the world’s share. It is well ahead of Europe (which has 286 million Catholics or 21% of the world’s total) and Africa (which counts 256 million Catholics or 19%).