Religion in South America has been a major influence on art, culture, philosophy and law and changed greatly in recent years. Roman Catholicism has rapidly declined. Most of this is due to the growth of Protestantism, particularly evangelical Christians. A smaller number of South Americans are also beginning to identify as irreligious. Sizeable adherents of other religions are also present, including of various indigenous religions.

Religious freedom Currently, all countries in the region in general are separate of the Catholic Church and declared secular states, which guarantees freedom of religion for its inhabitants. However, in Peru, Roman Catholicism serves as the official religion. In that country Catholic religious education is mandatory, and in most of the region's nations Roman Catholicism still sways the population.

Christianity

According to a Pew Research Center projection in 2010, they predicted that 83.4% of the South American population will be Christian in 2020. Catholicism In many South American countries Catholicism is the most professed Christian denomination. In Paraguay, Peru, Colombia and Argentina more than three-quarters of the population is Catholic. Catholicism was the only religion allowed in the colonial era; the indigenous were forced to abandon their beliefs, although many did not abandon it at all, for example, countries with predominantly Amerindian population such as Bolivia and Peru there is a syncretism between indigenous religions and the Catholic religion, that has occurred since colonial times. In Brazil or Colombia, Catholicism was mixed with certain African rituals.

Protestantism

Protestantism has had a presence since the nineteenth century, as a minority, but witnessed a strong increase since the 1980s. The majority of Latin American Protestants in general are Pentecostal. Brazil today is the most Protestant country in South America with 22.2% of the population being Protestant, 89% of Brazilian evangelicals are Pentecostal, in Chile they represent 79% of the total evangelicals in that country, 69% in Argentina and 59% in Colombia.«Luis Palau: Evangelist to Three Worlds», Christianity Today, 20 de mayo de 1983, pp. 30-1. Luis Palau, «The Gospel's Social Impact», Briefing (Portland, Oregon: Cruzada Luis Palau), verano de 1984, pp. 14-16. On the other part, in Uruguay 66% of evangelicals are Methodist, while only 20% are Pentecostal. There are up to an estimated two hundred million Pentecostals and Renewalists in Latin America. Approximately 160 million Latin Americans are Evangelical. Forty million South Americans are Christians independent from denominations.

Spiritism Brazil is the country with more practitioners in the world of Allan Kardec's codification of the Spiritism, followed by over 12 million people, with 30 to 45 million sympathizers. Most followers of the Spiritism are people that were mostly Catholic, Protestants and Atheists respectively.

Chico Xavier wrote over 490 books, which complements the spiritualist doctrine.

Eastern Orthodoxy Eastern Orthodox Christianity was brought to South America by groups of immigrants from several different regions, mainly Eastern Europe and the Middle East. This traditional branch of Eastern Christianity has also spread beyond the boundaries of immigrant communities. There are several Eastern Orthodox ecclesiastical jurisdictions in South America, organized within the Assembly of Canonical Orthodox Bishops of Latin America.

Oriental Orthodoxy Several groups of Christian immigrants, mainly from the Middle East, Caucasus, Africa and India, brought Oriental Orthodoxy to the South America. This ancient branch of Eastern Christianity includes several ecclesiastical jurisdictions in the South America, like Coptic Orthodox Church in South America and Syriac Orthodox Church.

Other Christians Practitioners of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and Jehovah's Witnesses religions also are present in South America.

Hinduism

Hinduism is the second-largest religion in Suriname, Guyana and French Guiana. According to the 2015 census of Suriname, Hindus constitute 23.1% of the population. While according the 2020 census of Guyana, Hindus constitute 31% of the population. Guyana and Suriname also have the Third and Fourth largest population of Hindus in the Western Hemisphere respectively, after the United States and Canada.

Indigenous Indigenous creeds and rituals are still practiced in some countries with large percentages of Amerindians, such as Bolivia and Peru.

Buddhism

Buddhism is a minority religion in South America, practiced mainly by communities of Japanese descent as well as by converts. A 2025 survey by Frank Usarski, Rafael Shoji and Catón Carini counted some 985 active Buddhist institutions in Latin America and the Caribbean, of which roughly 60 per cent belong to the Mahayana school, about 32 per cent to the Vajrayana, and only about 4 per cent to the Theravada. Brazil concentrates about 40 per cent of the region's Buddhist organizations, followed by Argentina and Uruguay.

The Zen school, brought mainly by Japanese immigration, is the most established Buddhist tradition in South America, with centres such as the Busshinji temple in São Paulo and communities in Peru and Argentina. Tibetan Buddhism, of the Vajrayana school, has communities in Argentina, Chile, Colombia and Brazil. The Theravada tradition, the smallest of the three schools, is present through the Mosteiro Suddhavāri in Brazil, founded in 2017 by the Brazilian monk Ajahn Mudito, and the Wat Lao Rattanarangsiyaram temple in Posadas, Argentina, the only predominantly ethnic Theravada temple in Latin America. The Mexican monk Bhante Rāhula, a disciple of Sayadaw U Tejaniya, has also taught in several South American countries, including Uruguay, Colombia, Peru, Argentina, Chile and Brazil.

Other religions

Argentina has the largest communities of both JewsUnited Jewish Communities; Global Jewish Populations and Muslims in Latin America. Practitioners of the Judaism, Buddhist, Islamic, Hinduism, Bahá'í Faith, denominations and religions also exercised in Latin America.

Statistics Country By Religion in South America (2020 estimate): CountriesTotal Population Christians %Christians Population Unaffiliated %Unaffiliated Population Other %Other PopulationSources47,327,40785.4%37,420,00012.1%5,320,0002.5%2,000,00011,830,00094%11,120,0004.1%480,0001.9%230,000210,450,00088.1%185,430,0008.4%17,620,0003.5%7,400,000 18,540,00088.3%16,380,0009.7%1,800,0002%360,00050,000,00095.5%47,750,0004%2,000,0000.5%250,000 16,480,00094%15,490,0005.6%920,0000.4%70,000 850,00067.9%580,0002%20,00030.1%250,0007,630,00096.9%7,390,0001.1%90,0002%150,00032,920,00095.4%31,420,0003.1%1,010,0001.5%490,000632,63852.3%300,0006.2%40,00041.5%240,0003,407,21357%1,990,00041.5%1,450,0001.5%50,000 29,789,73089.5%29,540,0009.7%3,220,0000.8%250,000South America422,194,26983.43%385,210,0009.18%35,480,0007.39%11,080,000

See also Major religious groups Religion in Africa Religion in Asia Religion in Europe Religion in Oceania Religion in North America

References