Berkley Center

"Me duele que el catolicismo me fregara."

It hurts me that Catholicism failed me.

While I was interviewing my host father for an anthropology project, the above phrase was the first thing he told me when I asked what attracted him to Protestantism. He was raised Catholic—typical of many Ecuadorians, since 95 percent of the population identifies as Catholic—but decided to convert to evangelical Protestantism later in life.

His decision reflects a growing trend among individuals in a region known for its strong Catholic heritage. The last 50 years, however, have seen an explosion of evangelicalism and religious pluralism in Latin America.

The growing presence of various Protestant sects has catalyzed a wealth of scholarly literature that seeks to uncover the reasons for this phenomenon. While much of the early research focused on how the rise of Protestantism reflected a clandestine pro-American conservative agenda, recent investigations have explored how this movement away from Catholicism reflects underlying opinions about the Church in Latin America.

Unfortunately, the history of Catholicism in Latin America has been stained by oppression, alliances with harsh conservative regimes, and waning practice among believers. In the early part of the nineteenth century, for example, Ecuador was governed by a religious fanatic, Gabriel Garcia Moreno, who insisted that every citizen had to convert to Catholicism. The Church has made several concerted attempts to become more in touch with the reality in Latin America through the development of liberation theology and the reforms of Vatican II. It seems that in Ecuador, however, it has had a difficult time shedding its negative reputation.

Apathy, antagonism, and disillusionment toward the Catholic Church are not uncommon sentiments in Ecuador, even among self-described Catholics. For example, an Ecuadorian friend of mine identified himself as Catholic por exigencia (by exigency) rather than by his own will.

After having several discussions with my host family, attending both Catholic and non-Catholic services, and observing religious life in Ecuador, it seems that although there are still a large number of Catholics within the country, a growing percentage of the Catholic population is either losing religious fervor or leaving the Church altogether.

Interestingly, it appears that those who leave the Church do not completely abandon religion, but rather seek out other faith traditions. Perhaps many of these converts continue to seek what religion has to offer, but are disheartened by an emptiness they feel towards Catholicism. There seems to be a consensus among the people I’ve talked to, even Catholics themselves, that religious practice is vague and lacking. People here are searching for something more profound, something that touches them on a deeper level—something that for a number of reasons they don’t find in Catholicism.

In my own ignorance, I assumed that I would be living with a Catholic family while in Ecuador, so I was initially surprised to find that my host family had converted to evangelical Christianity. Nor was I prepared for how different Latin American Catholicism is from American Catholicism. In addition to witnessing how religious pluralism is taking hold in Latin America, it has been interesting to witness the profound regional differences that exist even within my own faith tradition.