Executive Summary

Latino Catholics:

Presence, Participation, and Leadership in the Catholic Church

In the United States, a third (32.7 percent or about 25 million) of Catholics are Latinos. From 1970-2000, the number of Latino Catholics increased by over 18 million (a 264 percent increase) and accounted for 86 percent of the growth in the U.S. Catholic population. If this trend continues for another generation, Latino Catholics will make up half of all U.S. Catholics—about 45 to 50 million people.

This "Latinozation" of the American Catholic Church has profound implications for both the future of the church and the Latino community. As a greater number of Latinos join the Catholic Church, the Latino community will help to invigorate the church. Similarly, Latinos will continue to seek meaning in the Catholic faith and from the church, as well as assistance for their spiritual growth and economic well-being. The future of the Catholic Church and the Latino community are inextricably linked.

This report attempts to evaluate the Latino experience in the U.S. Catholic Church by examining the presence and participation of Latinos in the life of the church, during mass and at leadership levels.

Among the many questions we will examine concerning Latinos in the Catholic Church include the following:

• How many Latino Catholics reside in the United States and what percentage of the total Catholic population do they represent?
• Are the numbers of Latino Catholics increasing or decreasing?
• Is the proportion of Latino adults affiliated with the church increasing or decreasing?
• What are the long-term trends in denominational affiliation among Latinos?
• How important is religion in Latinos’ lives?
• What perceptions of the Catholic Church do Latinos have?

In relation to Latino participation in the Catholic Church, this report will examine the extent to which Latinos attend mass, volunteer, make financial contributions and hold offices in their parishes. This report will also take a look at the extent to which Latinos hold institutional leadership roles as deacons, priests and bishops in the church.

This study will also explore Latino values and visions of leadership. What kind of leaders do Latinos value and want to follow? What are the hopes, aspirations, and dreams of Latinos for themselves, their families, and the nation? What is the relationship between Latino cultural values and what some Catholic sociologists have referred to as the "Catholic imagination"?

This study (which is part of a more lengthy report) represents one of the most comprehensive empirical investigations of Latino civic and religious involvement, and leadership values conducted in the United States. The findings are drawn principally from the National Community on Latino Leadership Inc.'s (NCLL) National Latino Leadership Survey of 2,662 Latino adults conducted in fall 1999.

This report represents a collaborative effort between NCLL and the National Catholic Council on Hispanic Ministry, Inc. (NCCHM). NCCHM's interest in this type of research stems from its involvement in the development of Latino leadership since 1993. Recognizing the growing significance of the Hispanic population in the U.S. Catholic Church and in U.S. society, the organization foresaw the need for greater representation in leadership positions.

NCCHM convened church and lay leaders from across the country to explore existing leadership development efforts and to determine the specific needs of -- and resources available for --Latino leadership development in a faith-based context. These individuals found neither church nor secular programs were doing an adequate job of preparing strong Latino Catholic leaders to make significant contributions to the church and society. In their research, the church and lay leaders discovered that a more comprehensive approach was necessary.

With funding from the Lilly Endowment Inc., NCCHM launched a six-year initiative in which it developed a training curriculum that integrated secular strategies for leadership development in education, civic participation, politics and community organizing, along with the theological, spiritual and pastoral aspects of leadership. NCCHM piloted this faith-based leadership development model on a national scale in both English and Spanish. Later, the group produced a comprehensive program manual, The Power to Serve: Latino Leadership for Church and Society, to aid institutions in the implementation of the model program at local levels.

This report will add to the current knowledge about the Latino presence in U.S. churches and society, and will provide insights about what the Catholic Church should do to prepare for and to value emergent Latino leadership.