Religious Demographic Profile
Chile
According to the 2002 Chilean Census,1 which presents statistics for those in the population 14 years and older, 70% of the population is Catholic and 15.1% is Evangelical or Protestant.
The next largest category is comprised of those who said they have no religion or that they are agnostic or atheist (8.3%). Other groups reported by the Census include Jehovah's Witnesses (1.1%), Mormons (0.9%), Jews (0.1%), Orthodox Christians (0.1%) and Muslims (0.03%). The Census does not publish a breakdown of the remaining 4.4% who are associated with other religions.
According to the Census, Catholics and Protestants are both slightly more rural than urban. The percentage of non-affiliated in urban areas, though relatively small, is nearly double that in rural areas.
| Religious Affiliation, 2002 Census | |||
| All | Rural | Urban | |
| Catholic | 70.0% | 75.3 | 69.1 |
| Protestant | 15.1% | 16.4 | 14.9 |
| Non-affiliated | 8.3% | 4.6 | 8.9 |
| Other | 6.6% | 3.7 | 7.1 |
Although Chile remains predominantly Catholic, the religious landscape is changing. The number of Protestants increased from 7.1% in the 1970 Census and 12.1% in the 1992 Census to 15.1% in 2002, while the number of Catholics decreased from 80.9% in 1970 and 76.8% in 1992 to 70.0% in 2002. The lower Catholic estimate reflected not only the growth in Protestants but also the growth in the number of non-affiliated (up from 2.0% in 1970 and 5.8% in 1992 to 8.3% in 2002).
The Forum's 2006 survey of adults 18 years and older was based on a national probability sample that excluded remote areas and that represents roughly 80% of Chile's population of approximately 16 million.2 In the survey, 65% identified themselves as Catholic and 15% as Protestant. Although the Forum's sample misses some rural regions that tend to be more heavily Catholic, these findings are generally in line with the trend toward greater Protestant and lesser Catholic affiliation reflected in successive Chilean Censuses. The Forum survey also found a larger number of unaffiliated persons (15%). (Since secularism is generally associated with lower birth rates,3 when the children of both religiously affiliated and unaffiliated adults are considered, the number of unaffiliated could constitute a somewhat smaller share of the total population.)
The Forum's survey found that renewalists, including charismatics and pentecostals, account for approximately three-in-ten people in Chile. Roughly two-thirds of all Protestants are either pentecostal or charismatic, and approximately one quarter of all Catholics are charismatic.
| Renewalists in Chile, Forum 2006 Survey | |||
| Renewalist | Pentecostal | Charismatic | |
| Total Population | 30% | 9 | 21 |
| Catholic | 26% | NA | 26 |
| Protestant | 78% | 59 | 19 |
Notes
2See the introduction to this report for a discussion of survey methodology and definitions.
3Pippa Norris and Ronald Inglehart. 2004, pp. 231-239. Sacred and Secular: Religion and Politics Worldwide. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge.
