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Hispanics, the American Dream and Secularism

by Alejandro Bermudez 

Hispanics indeed are becoming the new Irish

Some columns ago, I argued that to turn their presence into a blessing for both the Church and nation, Hispanics, due to their volume and relevance in the United States, should be seen as a phenomenon equivalent to the Irish immigration of the 19th century.

The latest American Religious Identification Survey 2008 (ARIS), released last week by Trinity College in Hartford, Conn., shows indeed that Hispanics comprise an increasingly large percentage of the Catholic Church in the United States. Moreover, immigrant influx has helped keep the American Catholic population not only stable, but one of the few religions actually growing.

Over the 18-year period examined in the study, the addition of nine million Latino Catholics accounted for the majority of the 11 million new members of the U.S. Catholic population. Latinos comprised 32 percent of all U.S. Catholics in 2008, compared to 20 percent in 1990.

In fact, according to Juhem Navarro-Rivera, a research fellow at Trinity’s Institute for the Study of Secularism in Society and Culture, “In the past 18 years, there are probably few phenomena that have changed America and American religion more than the growth of the Latino population.”

Nevertheless, blue-collar, devout Irish Catholics had a saying they repeated to their college-bound children: “Beware of what you wish for ... because you could actually get it!”

Were they referring to how accomplishing the American dream in its full extent could be at the risk of losing their Catholic identity?

In the case of Latinos, this seems to be the case: “The more immigrants assimilate into American society, the less likely they are to identify as Catholic,” Navarro-Rivera found.

Here are some sobering facts:

• Catholic identification has slipped among the 31 million Latino adults from 66 percent in 1990 to 60 percent in 2008.

• Jehovah’s Witnesses, Adventists and non-denominational Christians have tripled their number of adherents among Latinos.

• The number of Latinos who do not adhere to any religion has jumped from six to 12 percent, and are the fastest growing segment.

• Of those with no religion, 61 percent are male.

• Among Latinos who are Pentecostal, 58 percent are female.

• The largest proportion of those without religion and those in Protestant sects are under the age of 30.

• Those with no religion are more likely to have a college degree.

In short, the longer a Latino has lived in the United States – and the more they participate in the Americano dream – the less likely he or she is to be Catholic. Those most proficient in English are also less likely to identify themselves as Catholic.

In fact, according to Trinity professor Barry A. Kosmin, “Whereas Latino immigrants are contributing significantly to the stability of American Catholicism, the younger generation and the U.S.-born population are tending to polarize between those moving away from religion and those moving towards conservative Christian traditions.”

But Most Reverend José H. Gomez, archbishop of San Antonio and by far the most knowledgeable shepherd on the complexities of Hispanic ministries, has repeatedly made the case that it is misleading to see the growing number of Protestants among Latinos as a phenomenon different than secularization.

The Latinos who become Protestants, Archbishop Gomez argues, stopped being Catholics, for all practical matters, a long time ago. So their numbers should not be significantly separated from those who adhere to no religion.

Indeed, the U.S. mirrors what is happening in Latin America: Evangelicals and Protestants have been claiming since 1980 to be around the corner of becoming the religious majority in Latin America. Thirty years later, their numbers have certainly grown, but below the number of those who claim to have no religion, and certainly not even close to the number of Catholics.

Archbishop Gomez claims that the way to keep Latinos Catholic boils down to having the number of ministers – ordained priests, of course, but not only them – to attend to the needs of the growing number of Hispanic immigrants. Because while newly arrived parents can hold fast to their original devotions, these practices are less and less meaningful to younger generations.

If Latinos are to leave a lasting mark on American Catholic history, a general, ambitious pastoral plan – with an army of priests, consecrated and committed lay people like the ones the Irish brought – is needed. Archbishop Gomez’s founding and leading of the Catholic Association of Latino Leaders is an encouraging example of this.

Also, because of the Latino growth rate, a youth ministry with solid spiritual content and common sense criteria to address the specific needs of Latino youth is urgent. If teenagers – the segment of the Latino population most at risk – keep their love for the Faith, then becoming proficient in English and going to college should not be a curse to their religious heritage, but a greater blessing.

A few years ago, Archbishop Gomez argued against political scientist Samuel Huntington’s claim that there was no such a thing as an Americano dream, and that the only American dream was English in language and Protestant in religion.

From the Mexican immigrant who works two shifts to send money home, to the increasing number of Hispanics who shed their blood to defend American freedom, Archbishop Gomez is convinced that the Americano dream is a reality.

Politically, this reality challenges America to confront it with either denial and rejection, or acceptance and integration. For the Church, it’s an opportunity to reach out to these families and help them achieve their dreams without betraying their roots, identity and faith.

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(The views expressed in this column are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the positions of Headline Bistro or the Knights of Columbus.)