A
REPORT ON THE HISPANIC PROTESTANT
CHURCH GROWTH STUDY OF 1993
by
Clifton L. Holland, Director of PROLADES
(revised May 1, 1998)
In 1992-1993 the author conducted a study of Hispanic Protestant Church
Growth in the USA for the Hispanic Association of Bilingual-Bicultural
Ministries (HABBM). At that time, we compiled a national mailing list of
Hispanic Protestant congregations from a variety of sources, which HABBM agreed
to maintain and update on a regular basis. We also produced a report entitled, "An Update on the National
Study of Hispanic Protestant Church Growth in the USA" (October 13, 1993).
This report was presented to the HABBM Board of Directors for their information
and study. A copy of this report can probably be obtained from the President of
the Board of Directors, the Rev. Danny de Leon ,
senior pastor of Templo Calvario
in Santa Ana, CA (affiliated with the Assemblies of God).
This report includes information on 6,837 Hispanic Protestant congregations
in the USA (Puerto Rico excluded), with the majority related to about 30
denominations. However, about 110 denominations are known to have some Hispanic
work, as evidenced by having one or more related local Hispanic congregations.
Also, about 170 congregations were considered to be independent congregations,
with no known denominational affiliation.
My organization has had a major role in keeping the national Hispanic
church mailing list up-to-date with a least one national mailing each year since
1993. For these mailings, we have used the "Address Correction
Requested" and "Return Postage Guaranteed" options so that we
can delete non-deliverables and make the necessary address corrections to the
master list. Currently, this database has about 6,500 listings for the whole
USA (excluding Puerto Rico).
The Protestant denominations with the largest number of Hispanic
congregations were the following (1992 statistics):
We have also produced a series of computer-generated maps showing the distibution (data points) of 6,500 Hispanic congregations
in the USA by states and counties (using the centroid of each county). We
created a series of similar maps showing the distribution of Hispanic
congregations in the Los Angeles 5-county region, using data points based on
9-digit zip codes: Click
here to view maps
Last year (1997) the author produced a table on the size and growth
rates of the Protestant population in 25 countries of Latin America, including
Hispanics in the USA. This chart is available on our website; also it was
included in the October-December 1997 issue of the Latin American Evangelist
magazine, published by the Latin America Mission in Miami, FL. This table was
based on population projections for July 1995 by the United Nations; the
estimates on the size of the Protestant population in each country, the number
of Protestant congregations, and the average annual growth rate of the
Protestant population were made by PROLADES: Click here to view population table
|
Total
Hispanic population in the USA: |
27.7 million |
|
Total Hispanic
Protestant population: |
7.1 million |
|
Percent Hispanic Protestant
population: |
25.8% |
|
Estimated Number
of Hispanic Protestant congregations: |
23,667 |
|
Average
Annual Growth Rate of Hispanic Protestant population: |
12.1% |
Regarding the Hispanic population in the USA, the following estimates
are given for mid-1995:
The estimated number of Hispanic Protestant congregations in the USA
(see above) is probably high, but this estimate includes Hispanic congregations
that are autonomous (with their own pastor and facilities) as well as Hispanic
Departments in other churches (Anglo, Black, Korean, etc.). For example, the
American Baptists have at least as many Hispanic Departments in Anglo churches
as there are autonomous Hispanic congregations within their denomination. Also,
although the Assemblies of God reported 1,268 autonomous Hispanic congregations
within their various Hispanic Districts (Pacific Latin American District,
etc.), no one knows how many Anglo Assembly of God churches have Hispanic
Departments across the USA. Dr. Jesse Miranda and other Hispanic A/G leaders
believe that there are at least as many Hispanic Departments in Anglo A/G
churches as there are autonomous Hispanic A/G congregations. In addition, there
are probably many more independent Hispanic congregations throughout the USA
than we discovered in our research in the early 1990s. A more conservative
estimate of the total number of Hispanic Protestant congregations in the USA
would be between 15,000 and 18,000 for 1995.
In conversations and discussions with national
Hispanic leaders and their Anglo counterparts in major denominations, the
author has come to the conclusion that:
(1) More than half of all Hispanics in the USA are bilingual or prefer
English as their first language. These are predominantly the second-generation
of native-born U.S. citizens who have been educated in the public or private
school systems in the U.S.; this would also apply to the third, fourth, etc.,
generations of Hispanics in the U.S.
(2) More than half of all Hispanics who are active in Protestant
churches in the U.S. attend predominantly English-speaking Anglo congregations.
(3) The other 50% of active Hispanic Protestants attend predominantly
Spanish-speaking or bilingual churches, either autonomous Hispanic
congregations or Hispanic Departments in Anglo, Black or Korean churches.
(4) Another reality is that growing numbers Hispanics (as defined by the
U.S. Bureau of the Census) are becoming nominal in their religious affiliation,
whether Catholic or Protestant. In other words, they don't attend religious
services as often as they used to, although those who claim to be Protestant
report more frequent church attendance than Catholics according to public
opinion polls.
(5) My estimates on the size of the Hispanic Protestant population in
the U.S. are based on a series of studies done by Gallup and other national
polling organizations during the 1970s, 1980s and 1990s. My projection for 1995
is consistant with the annual growth rate reported by
Gallup and others for the Hispanic Protestant population in the U.S.