Itâ??s hardly surprising that the election of Latin Americaâ??s Pope Francis has focused more attention on Latin American Catholicism since the debates about liberation theology which shook global Christianity in the 1970s and 1980s. The sad irony, however, is that this renewed attention is highlighting something long known to many Catholics but which non-Catholics are now becoming more cognizant: that Latin Americaâ??s identity as a â??Catholic continentâ? is fading and has been doing so for some time.
By that I donâ??t mean that most Latin Americans no longer identify as Catholic. Thatâ??s still the case. Indeed, in many countries south of the Rio Grande, it remains overwhelming true. But whatâ??s clear is that Catholicismâ??s ability to shape Latin Americaâ??s religious context is in decline, or, from another perspective, faces some significant competitors: and not just from Evangelicals but also agnosticism and atheism.
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