Faith, political life intersect among Hispanics

U.S. Hispanics view religious and political life as intertwined, often worship in ethnic congregations and embrace a spirit-filled, charismatic style of Christianity, a new survey says.

The trends cross Roman Catholic and Protestant lines and signal significant shifts in the U.S. religious landscape, considering the explosive growth of the Hispanic population, according to the survey by the Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life and the Pew Hispanic Center.

The survey found that 54 percent of Hispanic Catholics identified themselves as charismatic, compared to about 12 percent of non-Hispanic Catholics.

Though definitions differ, charismatics generally emphasize an intense personal experience with God and believe the Holy Spirit can work through speaking in tongues, healing and prophecy.

Luis Lugo, director of the Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life, said this brand of Christianity, mostly associated with evangelicals, attracts Catholics who don’t feel a strong connection with God through the traditional Mass.

“This is introducing a new way to worship, a new way of being the church,” Lugo said. “You could call it bringing the fiesta spirit into the Catholic Church.”

Lugo said Catholic leaders will be challenged to incorporate clapping, shouting and even speaking in tongues into worship – a potential point of conflict in an institution that cherishes tradition.

Those issues will be brought into relief next week, when Pope Benedict XVI visits Brazil, the world’s most populous Catholic country, where Pentecostals are making inroads.

The survey also found 18 percent of Hispanics have either converted from one religion to another or claim no religious affiliation. Four out of 10 Hispanic evangelicals are converts from Catholicism, and one in three of these cited the lack of excitement at Catholic Masses; very few cited dissatisfaction with the church’s position on issues.

Two-thirds of Hispanic worshippers attend churches with Hispanic clergy, Spanish services and heavily Hispanic congregations. Not only are new immigrants and Spanish speakers being drawn to ethnic churches, but so are English-speaking, U.S.-born Hispanics, the survey found.

“Latinos are finding each other and worshipping together,” said Roberto Suro, director of the Pew Hispanic Center. “Religion is one area where ethnic identity matters a lot.”

Hispanics see religion as a moral compass to guide their political thinking and expect the same of politicians, the survey shows, with the feeling stronger among evangelicals. Most Hispanics believe social and political issues should be addressed from the pulpit.

The racial split over that question at times was stark: About 54 percent of white Catholics believe churches should stay out of politics, compared to 36 percent of Hispanic Catholics, the survey found.

The survey found 43 percent of eligible Hispanic voters consider themselves Democrats and 20 percent were Republican; 20 percent chose independent. The rest had no answer or picked another party.

Among Catholic Hispanics, 48 percent said they were Democrats and 17 percent Republicans, while Hispanic evangelicals narrowly favored Republicans, 37 percent to 32 percent.

The bilingual survey involved 4,600 interviews from August to October last year and is billed as one the most detailed looks ever at Hispanics and U.S. public life. It has a margin of error of 2.5 percentage points.