A new global study by the Pew Research Center reports that Catholicism has experienced net losses through religious switching in nearly every country surveyed, while Protestantism has recorded gains in several regions, particularly in Latin America.
The analysis, released as part of Pew’s Global Religious Futures project, examined patterns of adults identifying with a different religion than the one in which they were raised. Researchers analyzed survey data from 24 countries across Europe, Latin America, North America, Africa and the Asia-Pacific region.
According to Pew, Christianity as a whole has seen some of the largest losses from religious switching among global religious groups. Within Christianity, however, the effects have varied significantly between Catholics and Protestants.
The report found that more people left Catholicism than joined it in 21 of the 24 countries surveyed. Hungary was the only country where converts into Catholicism outnumbered those leaving the church, while Kenya and South Korea showed roughly equal movement in and out.
Pew defines “religious switching” as a change between the religion in which a person was raised and the faith — or lack of faith — they identify with in adulthood. The term includes shifts from religion to religious nonaffiliation as well as movement between Christian traditions.
Researchers said the findings were based on surveys conducted in spring 2024, alongside data from the 2023-24 U.S. Religious Landscape Study.
In several traditionally Catholic countries, large portions of the population now identify differently from the faith of their upbringing.
Italy, for example, recorded one of the largest net losses for Catholicism. Pew found that 22% of Italian adults said they were raised Catholic but no longer identify as Catholic, while only 1% joined Catholicism after being raised in another religion or without religion. That represented a net decline of 21 percentage points attributed to religious switching.
Spain, Chile and several Latin American countries also showed substantial losses.
In Poland, however, Catholic identity remained comparatively stable. Pew reported that 92% of Polish adults are lifelong Catholics, with 96% saying they were raised in the church.
The study found that former Catholics in Europe and Latin America frequently become religiously unaffiliated, identifying as atheist, agnostic or “nothing in particular.” In Chile, for instance, 19% of adults were described as former Catholics who no longer claim a religious affiliation.
Patterns differed in parts of Africa and some other regions. In countries including Brazil, Ghana, Kenya, Nigeria and the Philippines, former Catholics were more likely to become Protestant than religiously unaffiliated.
Despite the losses, Catholicism remains the majority religion in eight of the countries surveyed. Poland had the highest proportion of Catholics at 92%, followed by the Philippines at 80% and Italy at 69%, according to the report.
The study also found contrasting trends within Protestantism.
Pew reported that Protestant churches experienced net gains from religious switching in nearly as many countries as they experienced net losses. Several of the strongest gains were concentrated in Latin America.
Brazil showed one of the clearest examples. According to the study, 15% of Brazilians joined Protestantism after being raised outside the tradition, while 6% of adults raised Protestant no longer identified with it. Most of those entering Protestant churches in Brazil were former Catholics.
Mexico, Nigeria, Ghana and the Philippines also recorded Protestant gains linked to religious switching.
By contrast, Sweden, Germany and the United Kingdom were among the countries where Protestantism experienced the largest net losses.
The report said adults leaving Protestant churches most often became religiously unaffiliated rather than joining another Christian tradition. In Australia, for example, 15% of adults were identified as former Protestants who now claim no religion.
Pew found that Protestants account for no more than about one-quarter of the population in most of the countries analyzed. Ghana and Kenya were exceptions, with Protestants forming majorities of 62% and 55% of the population respectively.
The research was funded through the Pew-Templeton Global Religious Futures project, which studies religious change and its social effects worldwide. Pew said funding came from The Pew Charitable Trusts and the John Templeton Foundation, while the U.S. Religious Landscape Study also received support from several philanthropic organizations, including the Lilly Endowment Inc..
