Traditional Religions

Traditional Religions

In the year 2042, non-Christians will outnumber Christians in the United States. Christianity is progressively declining each year, when it comes to losing members. Catholicism is another religion that is losing members due mostly to Latinos leaving for other religions. Today, the religious trend is to move away from mainstream religions. However, despite the declining numbers and lack of growth, Christianity and Catholicism still hold a dominating presence in the religious community.

According the demographers, this faith shifting trend is called religious mobility and it is on the rise. In 2001, seventy-seven percent of Americans identified themselves as Christians, still dominant, but low compared to eighty-six percent in 1990. As a whole, Christianity suffered a loss of 9.7 percent in eleven years, about 0.9 percent each year. The future looks bleak for Christianity.

Roman Catholics are lacking the firm numbers they are known for because Latinos are moving to embrace other forms Christianity. Many Latin-Americans say Catholicism in America lacks the appeal of faith that is prevalent in other South American countries. However, most Latinos still prefer the Catholic religion. Those that leave the catholic religion are drawn primarily to Evangelical and Pentecostal religions. Another reason given by Latinos for leaving is that there are few if any Hispanic priests. This trend will not affect Catholicism dramatically because of immigration and a high birth rate among Latinos.

This trend of worshippers shifting from traditional religion to other religions is not very serious at this point, but if the trend continues at the current pace, Christianity and Catholicism will eventually fade away. Christians are critically declining and Latin-Americans are moving away from their traditional religious heritage. Traditional religions may find themselves having to alter their longstanding traditions to keep up with competing religions.