Pluralization of Latin American christianity in the 21st century

Abstract

In the first two decades of the present century, the diversity of Christianity became evident, which throughout the last century was officially uniform or only in two facets, a majority Catholic and an evangelical Protestant and Pentecostal. In both cases religious practice seemed to fit its institutional form. This text reviews recent literature, census data, and case studies on the varied forms of Christianity. It is argued that the contemporary Christian field is unprecedentedly diverse and plural. The phenomenon is analyzed in the three largest countries in Latin America, Brazil, Mexico and Argentina. In the sequence, regional data are studied that allow to broaden the perspective to the entire region. Finally, it is analyzed the “new Catholic communities” as a factor of pluralization.