Sao Paulo, Brazil – The number of evangelical Christians s in Brazil, the world’s largest Catholic country, has soared over the last decade, from 15% of the population in 2000 to to 22% of the population in 2010, according to a report issued on Friday.
Over the same period, the proportion of Catholic Brazilians fell from 74% of the population to to 65%, Brazil’s National Statistics Institute reported.
In overall terms, the percentage of evangelicals rose 44%, as evangelical churches won over the faithful, especially women and people in poorer communities.
The rise of evangelical Christianity is a growing trend across Latin America.
Forty years ago, 93.% of Brazilians considered themselves Catholic, compared with just 4% who identified as evangelical. In the same period, those who say they aren’t religious has grown to 8%, up from less than 1%.