Welcome to DU! The truly grassroots left-of-center political community where regular people, not algorithms, drive the discussions and set the standards. Join the community: Create a free account Support DU (and get rid of ads!): Become a Star Member Latest Breaking News Editorials & Other Articles General Discussion The DU Lounge All Forums Issue Forums Culture Forums Alliance Forums Region Forums Support Forums Help & Search

Celerity

(55,041 posts)
52. there is a huge demographic change happening, religious-wise, with American Hispanics
Mon May 2, 2022, 08:25 PM
May 2022
So many are going fundie evangelical that they are now the fastest growing ethnic group for evangelicals, and these converts are far more conservative and likely to vote Rethug.

For the first time ever, less than half of US Hispanics are now Catholic, the first ever for any large Hispanic population on the planet. Let that sink in.


In 2014, 11% of US evangelicals were Latino. 1 or 2 years ago it was up to 19%. Likely easily over 20% now. Thousands of small evangelical seed churches are being systematically set up by Latinos. The whole thing is being driven by the younger cohorts, not a bunch of ageing Boomers who are deciding to go hardcore con in religion and politics.

I did an OP on this.

https://www.democraticunderground.com/100215725110


The Fastest-Growing Group of American Evangelicals

A new generation of Latino Protestants is poised to transform our religious and political landscapes.

https://www.theatlantic.com/culture/archive/2021/07/latinos-will-determine-future-american-evangelicalism/619551/



In 2007, when Obe and Jacqueline Arellano were in their mid-20s, they moved from the suburbs of Chicago to Aurora, Illinois, with the dream of starting a church. They chose Aurora, a midsize city with about 200,000 residents, mostly because about 40 percent of its population is Latino. Obe, a first-generation Mexican American pastor, told me, “We sensed God wanted us there.” By 2010, the couple had “planted a church,” the Protestant term for starting a brand-new congregation. This summer, the Arellanos moved to Long Beach, California, to pastor at Light & Life Christian Fellowship, which has planted 20 churches in 20 years. Their story is at once singular and representative of national trends: Across the United States, more Latino pastors are founding churches than ever before, a trend that challenges conventional views of evangelicalism and could have massive implications for the future of American politics.

Latinos are leaving the Catholic Church and converting to evangelical Protestantism in increased numbers, and evangelical organizations are putting more energy and resources toward reaching potential Latino congregants. Latinos are the fastest-growing group of evangelicals in the country, and Latino Protestants, in particular, have higher levels of religiosity—meaning they tend to go to church, pray, and read the Bible more often than both Anglo Protestants and Latino Catholics, according to Mark Mulder, a sociology professor at Calvin University and a co-author of Latino Protestants in America. At the same time, a major demographic shift is under way. Arellano, who supports Light & Life’s Spanish-speaking campus, Luz y Vida, told me, “By 2060, the Hispanic population in the United States is expected to grow from 60 million to over 110 million.” None of this is lost on either Latino or Anglo evangelical leadership: They know they need to recruit and train Latino pastors if they’re going to achieve what Arellano describes as “our vision to see that the kingdom of God will go forward and reach more people and get into every nook and cranny of society.”

The stakes of intensified Latino evangelicalism are manifold, and they depend on what kind of evangelicalism prevails across the country. The term evangelical has become synonymous with a voting bloc of Anglo cultural conservatives, but in general theological terms, evangelicals are Christians who believe in the supremacy of the Bible and that they are compelled to spread its gospel. Some Christians who identify with the theological definition fit the political stereotype, but others don’t. That’s true among evangelical Latino leaders too—they have very different interpretations of how the teachings of Jesus Christ call them to act. Every pastor I spoke with told me that they want to see more Latino pastors in leadership positions, and they each had a different take on what new Latino leadership could mean for the future of evangelicalism. When we spoke over the phone, Samuel Rodriguez, the president of the National Hispanic Christian Leadership Conference and the pastor of New Season Worship, in Sacramento, California, told me, “We’re not extending our hand out, asking, ‘Can you help us plant churches?’ We’re coming to primarily white denominations and going, ‘You all need our help.’ This is a flipping of the script.”

Although Latino congregations are too diverse to characterize in shorthand, one of the few declarative statements that can be made about Latino Protestants is a fact borne out with numbers: They are likelier than Latino Catholics to vote Republican. The expansion of Latino evangelicalism bucks assumptions that Democrats and progressives will soon have a clear advantage as the white church declines and the Hispanic electorate rises. “Some counterintuitive things that have happened [in our national politics] would make more sense if we better understood the faith communities that exist within Latinx Protestantism,” Mulder told me over the phone, alluding to the differing perspectives Latinos hold on many issues, including immigration, and how more Latinos voted for former President Donald Trump in 2020 than in 2016. According to the Public Religion Research Institute, Protestant affiliation correlated more with Hispanic approval of Trump’s job in office than age or gender.

snip

excellent longform article, much more at the top link



There is a link in the article that references the Religious Landscape Study by Pew

in 2014 11% of evangelicals were Latino.



Now, the latest numbers from Pew show it is up to 19% (in less that 7 years)

It is likely over 20% now and growing rapidly, driven by the younger gens,

less than half of Latinos in the US are now Catholic, which is pretty amazing

https://www.pewforum.org/religious-landscape-study/racial-and-ethnic-composition/latino/

Recommendations

0 members have recommended this reply (displayed in chronological order):

I don't know that we can turn that around Mad_Machine76 May 2022 #1
republicans are advertising heavily on Spanish language TV and radio. brush May 2022 #34
It seems weird Mad_Machine76 May 2022 #36
Of course. We should be doing the same thing. As recently as... brush May 2022 #40
Christianity, toxic masculinity, oppose women rights. Same as the white Christian man. LizBeth May 2022 #2
Absolutely! And HUGE Anti-Abortion factor. They'll stay in poverty before permitting "Choice". SharonAnn May 2022 #8
+1 LizBeth May 2022 #11
Another +1 ChazII May 2022 #38
I think you are exactly right. I hate to be cynical but when you have a minority of white walkingman May 2022 #13
I married into a family with a deep Roman Catholic background misanthrope May 2022 #16
Are you going to put that in a campaign ad? Sympthsical May 2022 #22
... or lack of dem outreach in large Hispanic communities? There have been people on DU warning ... uponit7771 May 2022 #23
I would never blame the whole hispanic community.... albacore May 2022 #47
Saw that happening here in Texas around the 2016 campaign season. TwilightZone May 2022 #3
Messaging in the community would've been better than what we had in 18 and 20. We've been warning uponit7771 May 2022 #25
I've been hearing this for awhile also Tickle May 2022 #4
Been reading of some slippage in Black support too. Hopefully, things will work out in Nov. Hoyt May 2022 #5
You are correct Tree-Hugger May 2022 #21
It's crazy since so many republicans are prejudiced Tree Lady May 2022 #51
How does our party deal with it? Effete Snob May 2022 #6
I would look at Spanish language social media..... TheRealNorth May 2022 #7
They will get it after the christofascists install the protestant theocracy... Thomas Hurt May 2022 #9
True. Evangelical, & End Timers despise Catholics as unchristian evil. Budi May 2022 #24
there is a huge demographic change happening, religious-wise, with American Hispanics Celerity May 2022 #52
I can say that my Latino friends Chuuku Davis May 2022 #10
Where's the reference in the poll to "Latinos"? lees1975 May 2022 #12
Page 11 of the poll Sympthsical May 2022 #19
Well being a darker skin color their votes won't count MagickMuffin May 2022 #14
The answer is obvious. harumph May 2022 #15
will that make inflation Tickle May 2022 #18
Of course not, just lets people know you're in it with them. Zel isn't going to fire a bullet but .. uponit7771 May 2022 #28
THIS !!!! ☝🏾☝🏾☝🏾 but these ideas will be deemed doom and gloom. People have been talking about uponit7771 May 2022 #27
I'm in NYC Dorian Gray May 2022 #17
+1 H2O Man May 2022 #29
"I am uncomfortable using it with the parents in the communities we serve" brooklynite May 2022 #39
Huh? Dorian Gray May 2022 #53
These morons will deserve what they get. Patterson May 2022 #20
who are you referring to? nt Tickle May 2022 #26
Fuckin WOW !!! They're the "morons" but the smart ones wont run a Stacy Abrams ground game ... uponit7771 May 2022 #30
Wow NotTodayPutin May 2022 #42
Easily ***HEAVILY*** invest in Stacy Abrams like ground games in CoC involving college kids of color uponit7771 May 2022 #31
Right!! atreides1 May 2022 #32
No path to citizenship... Sancho May 2022 #33
Latino voters don't need a path to citizenship. Mariana May 2022 #46
they do here in Florida... Sancho May 2022 #48
Non-citizens, documented or otherwise, do not vote. Mariana May 2022 #49
You don't understand... Sancho May 2022 #50
That poll shows we're losing the under 40 group too. Marius25 May 2022 #35
Perhaps pay attention to issues that Latinos care about? brooklynite May 2022 #37
When did Republicans start paying attention to the needs of Latinos? Emile May 2022 #41
Well not treating "Latinos" róisín_dubh May 2022 #43
repub takeover of house/senate would mean the end of DACA and any chance for Demovictory9 May 2022 #44
Hispanics are not a monolithic voting base like African Americans Jspur May 2022 #45
Latest Discussions»General Discussion»We're losing Latinos. Mar...»Reply #52