Christianity is the most widely professed religion in Chile, with Catholicism being its largest denomination. The country is secular and the freedom of religion is established under its Constitution.
Historically, the indigenous peoples in Chile observed a variety of religions before the Spanish conquest in the 16th century. During Spanish rule and the first century of Chilean independence, the Catholic Church was one of the most powerful institutions in the country. In the late 19th century, liberal policies (the so-called Leyes laicas or "lay laws") started to reduce the influence of the clergy and the promulgation of a new Constitution in 1925 established the separation of church and state.
A 2023 AmericasBarometer survey revealed that almost 40% of the Chilean population is unaffiliated, making Chile the second least religious country in Latin America, after Uruguay.
Demography
In the last census in Chile, in the year 2002, indigenous people make up 5 percent (780,000) of the population. 65 percent of indigenous people identify themselves as Catholic, 29 percent as evangelical, and 6 percent as "others."
In 2022, Chilean affiliations were 88% Christian (mainly Catholic), 0.15% Baha'i, 0.1% Jewish, 0.1% Muslim and 10% non-religious.The Association Of Religion Database Archives website, Retrieved 2023-07-14
The 2024 census revealed that 53.7% of Chilean people aged 15 years or older were Catholics, 25.7% had no religion, 16.2% were Protestants, and 3.8% professed another religion. Numbers are for those 15 or older
Members of the largest religious groups (Catholic, Pentecostal, and other evangelical churches) are numerous in the capital and are also found in other regions of the country. Jewish communities are located in Santiago, Valparaíso, Viña del Mar, Valdivia, Temuco, Concepción, La Serena, and Iquique (although there is no synagogue in Iquique). Mosques are located in Santiago, Iquique, and Coquimbo.
Mapuche communities, constituting 87% of indigenous citizens, continue to respect traditional religious leaders (Longkos and Machis), and anecdotal information indicates a high degree of syncretism in worship and traditional healing practices.
Religious affiliation and practices Evolution + UC-Adimark Bicentennial Survey"Encuesta Nacional Bicentenario 2021: Religión" Year Catholic Protestant/Evangelical Unaffiliated Other religions200670%14%12%4%200766%18%14%3%200867%14%15%4%200967%16%13%4%201063%17%17%3%201163%15%18%4%201259%18%19%4%201361%17%19%4%201459%16%22%3%201561%16%21%2%201658%18%20%3%201759%17%19%4%201858%16%21%3%201945%18%32%5%202142%14%37%6%
Importance of religion According to a 2015 Pew Research Center report, Chileans who say religion is very important in their lives has decreased from 46% in 2007 to 27% in 2015. Twenty percent said religion is "Not at all important."
How important is religion in your life? Year Very important Somewhat important Not too important Not at all important Don't Know/Refused200746%31%11%10%3%201339%32%18%10%0%201527%34%17%20%2%202123%25%32%19%1%
Legal and policy framework
The Constitution provides for freedom of religion. On June 28 2022, the Constitutional Convention approved a draft constitution that included four paragraphs establishing freedom of religion as a fundamental right.US State Dept 2022 report
Church and state are officially separate. The 1999 law on religion prohibits religious discrimination; however, the Catholic Church enjoys a privileged status and occasionally receives preferential treatment. In 2006, government officials were attending Catholic events as well as major Protestant and Jewish ceremonies.
The Government observes Christmas, Good Friday, the Feast of the Virgin of Carmen, the Feast of Saints Peter and Paul, the Feast of the Assumption, All Saints' Day, and the Feast of the Immaculate Conception as national holidays.
The law allows any religious group to apply for legal public right status (comprehensive religious nonprofit status). The Ministry of Justice may not refuse to accept a registration petition, although it may object to the petition within 90 days on the grounds that all legal prerequisites for registration have not been satisfied. The petitioner then has 60 days to address objections raised by the Ministry or challenge the Ministry in court. Once a religious entity is registered, the state cannot dissolve it by decree. The semiautonomous Council for the Defense of the State may initiate a judicial review; however, no organization that has registered under the 1999 law has subsequently been deregistered.
In addition, the law allows religious entities to adopt a charter and by-laws suited to a religious organization rather than a private corporation. They may establish affiliates (schools, clubs, and sports organizations) without registering them as separate corporations.
During 2006, 516 religious organizations registered under the 1999 law and gained legal public right status, bringing the total to 1,659 registered religious groups. Publicly subsidized schools are required to offer religious education twice a week through high school; participation is optional (with parental waiver). Religious instruction in public schools is almost exclusively Catholic. Teaching the creed requested by parents is mandatory; however, enforcement is sometimes lax, and religious education in faiths other than Catholicism is often provided privately through Sunday schools and at other venues. Local school administrations decide how funds are spent on religious instruction. Although the Ministry of Education has approved curriculums for 14 other denominations, 92 percent of public schools and 81 percent of private schools offered only Catholic instruction. Parents may homeschool their children or enroll them in private schools for religious reasons.
Religious freedom The constitution Chile provides for the freedom of religion, although it stipulates that this freedom must be not be “opposed to morals, to good customs or to the public order". It further establishes a separation between church and state, and other laws prohibit religious discrimination.International Religious Freedom Report 2017 § Chile US Department of State, Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor.
Religious organizations are not required to register with the government, but may do so to receive tax breaks. Religious groups may appoint chaplains to provide services in hospitals and prisons. Officially registered groups may appoint chaplains for the military. The celebration of a Catholic Mass frequently marks official and public events. In 2006, membership in the Catholic Church is considered beneficial to a military career.
All schools are required to provide two hours of religious education per week, tailored to the religious affiliations of the students. The majority of such courses focus on a Catholic perspective, but the government has approved curricula for 14 different religious groups. Parents may also choose to excuse their children from such classes.
According to Christian Solidarity Worldwide, arsonists attacked Baptist and Catholic churches in the primarily indigenous Mapuche communities in the rural Araucania Region in 2017. According to other sources, the church attacks fit into a pattern of sabotage directed at a wide range of institutions, business interests, and infrastructure in Araucania, and thus may not necessarily have been intended as a religiously-motivated attack. As of the end of 2017, a trial was still pending for the arson suspects, and the regional government verbally committed itself to helping rebuild the churches.
Leaders of the Jewish community have expressed concerns about incidences of antisemitic vandalism and graffiti targeting Jews.
The National Office of Religious Affairs facilitates inter-religious dialogue and promotes tolerance of religious diversity.
In 2023, Chile was scored 4 out of 4 for religious freedom.Freedom House website, Retrieved 2023-07-14
Christianity Christianity in Chile is the most prevalent religion in the country. According to the 2024 census data, all forms of Christianity combined amount to a total of 11,061,994 people, representing 72.7% of the population.
Catholicism
As with most of Latin America, Catholicism is the main religion in Chile since its introduction during the Spanish colonization of the Americas although their figures have declined significantly in the last decade. In 2022, the Vatican noted that 74% of the population was Catholic.Catholics And Culture website, Retrieved 2023-07-14
Catholicism was introduced by priests with the Spanish colonialists in the 16th century. Most of the native population in the northern and central regions was evangelized by 1650. The southern area proved more difficult and Catholicism settled in the area after the Occupation of the Araucania in the late 19th century. In the 20th century, church expansion was impeded by a shortage of clergy and government attempts to control church administration. Relations between church and state were strained under both Salvador Allende and Augusto Pinochet.
The Catholic Church is one of the largest organizations in the country. There are five archdioceses, 18 dioceses, two territorial prelatures, one apostolic vicariate, one military ordinariate and one personal prelature (Opus Dei). Usually, the archbishop of Santiago acts as the head of the church in the country, although the Holy See is represented officially by the Apostolic Nunciature to Chile.
The Catholic Church is currently one of the principal providers of education (including universities) and health care in the country and is involved in several initiatives to support different charities. Its record in higher education is exceptional. The QS World Universities Rankings ranked Pontifical Catholic University of Chile the best university in the country and second best in all of Latin America.QS World University Rankings, 2024. However, the support of the Chilean population has decreased in the last decades, especially after diverse cases of sexual abuse by Catholic members have been published. According to a survey conducted in October 2017 by Plaza Publica Cadem, 56% of Chileans disapprove the performance of the Catholic Church in Chile, whilst 32% approve.
In 2024, Chile had 8,168,978 Catholics, according to the census, representing 53.7% of the population.
Protestantism
The 2024 census registered 2,466,607 Protestants, representing 16.2% of Chilean people. Protestants first arrived in the first half of the nineteenth century, with American missionary David Trumbull and with German immigrants from Protestant parts of Germany, mainly Lutherans. Later, representatives from Anglicanism, Presbyterianism, Baptists, Seventh-day Adventist Church, Methodism, Pentecostalism, and other Protestant denominations began work in the country.
Seventh-Day Adventist missionaries first arrived in 1895. Today, there are estimated 126,814 Adventists in Chile.
Latter-day Saints (Mormonism)