Catholic Decline Outpaces Gains as Protestant Shifts Vary Globally, Pew Finds
Pew Research Center’s 24-country analysis shows Catholics losing more adherents than they gain through switching in most places, with Hungary as a rare exception where more people join than leave. Protestantism has mixed net shifts, with gains in several Latin American countries (notably Brazil) and losses in parts of Europe; most countries keep Protestants under 25% of the population, while Ghana (62%) and Kenya (55%) are majority-Protestant. Many former Catholics become Protestants or unaffiliated, illustrating diverse switching patterns worldwide.
