The Group Transforming U.S. Catholicism

Latinos constitute more than one-third of U.S. Catholics, one-fourth of newborns in the United States, and one-fifth of schoolchildren. But numbers alone do not define the significance of the Latino presence. Even more crucial is how the U.S. context, the U.S. Catholic Church, and Latinos mutually transform one another. Latinos' attempts to celebrate their faith and bring it to bear on the everyday realities of their lives have shaped Catholic parishes, apostolic movements, leadership, ministries, worship, social activism, and much more. At the same time, the lives and faith of Latino Catholics are being dramatically refashioned through forces like the multiple pressures of assimilation, the upsurge of Pentecostal and evangelical religion, growing secularization, civil rights struggles, conservative political movements, and ongoing controversies over immigration and clergy sexual abuse.