Latin America has long been considered the world stronghold of Roman Catholicism. This religious identity has been virtually inseparable from the social and political fabric of the region since the arrival of the Conquistadors. Only 30 years ago, just 2-3 percent of Latin Americans declared themselves Protestant. Today 15 percent do, and their numbers are growing at a rate double that of population growth in the region. By the year 2010 some sociologists estimate the percentage of evangelicals in Latin America could reach 31 percent. Some countries, such as Brazil, could hit 57 percent, with over 100 million evangelical Protestants.
The Afro-Brazilian religion of umbanda is an eclectic combination of African spiritism and catholicism similar to Cuban santeria and Haitian vodou (voodoo). For centuries African gods were hidden behind the faces of Catholic saints so it would appear the prohibited religion was not being practiced. Today, 300 years after its arrival from West Africa, 70 million Brazilians practice some form of the religion alongside traditional catholicism.
