back to Latin America, Mandean
| Group | Where | Number of Adherents |
% of total pop. |
Number of congreg./ churches/ units |
Number of countries |
Year | Source | Quote/ Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mandean | Latin America | 0 | 0.00% | - | - | 1998 | World Almanac and Book of Facts 2000. Mahwah, NJ: PRIMEDIA Reference Inc. (1999), pg. 695. [Source: 1999 Encyc. Britannica Book of the Year] | Table: "Adherents of All Religions by Six Continental Areas, Mid-1998 " |
| Maya | Latin America | - | - | - | - | 200 C.E. | Cavendish, Richard (ed.). Man, Myth & Magic: An Illustrated Encyclopedia of the Supernatural (vol. 13). New York: Marshall Cavendish Corp. (1970), pg. 1770. | "Maya. American Indians speaking dialects of the Maya languages form the greater part of the Mexican states of Yucatan and Chiapas. They are also an important part of British Honduras, Guatemala, Honduras and El Salvador.... There is some mystery about them because so little is known about their existence before the early centuries of the Christian era, when they first began to erect stone buildings. " |
| Maya | Latin America | - | - | - | - | 900 C.E. | Cavendish, Richard (ed.). Man, Myth & Magic: An Illustrated Encyclopedia of the Supernatural (vol. 13). New York: Marshall Cavendish Corp. (1970), pg. 1772. | "The first phase of high culture broke up suddenly and catastrophically around 900 AD. Archeologists are seeking a reason but not enough is known; maybe there was a terrible civil war... Maya culture in the highlands did not recover. Meanwhile smaller Maya towns in the... Yucatan survived, and in the late 10th century, when underground streams were fully exploited the Yucatec Maya achieved a new importance. " |
| Maya | Latin America | - | - | - | - | 1970 | Cavendish, Richard (ed.). Man, Myth & Magic: An Illustrated Encyclopedia of the Supernatural (vol. 13). New York: Marshall Cavendish Corp. (1970), pg. 1773. | "Nowadays the Maya survive in large numbers as citizens of Mexico, Guatemala, and other Central American countries. They still speak dialects of their ancient language, and are hard-working citizens who are all Catholic by religion, though traces of their ancient ceremonies survive. The ancient gods have become absorbed as kind-hearted saints in the modern world. " |
| Maya | Latin America | 10,000,000 | - | - | - | 1998 | Gall, Timothy L. (ed). Worldmark Encyclopedia of Culture & Daily Life: Vol. 2 - Americas. Cleveland, OH: Eastword Publications Development (1998), pg. 289-290. | "Maya: Location: Southeastern Mexico; Guatemala; Belize; Honduras; El Salvador; Population: About 8 - 10 million; Religion: 'Folk Catholicism'; evangelical Christianity "; "Today's Mayas are descended from one of the great civilizations of the Americas... "; Pg. 290: "When Spanish missionaries introduced Catholicism to their regions, the Maya tended to graft it onto their existing religion, creating a unqiue brand of 'folk Catholicism.' Their traditional gods that belonged to the natural world, such as corn, rain, & the sun, became associated with Christian saints, & various rituals & festivals were transmuted into forms approved by the church. Since the 1960s, evangelical Christianity, mostly promoted by churches in the southern United States, has been adopted by large segments of the Mayan population. Entire towns have embraced conservative forms of Protestantism,which have not proven as amenable as Catholcim to the retention of... traditional folk religions... " |
| Mennonite World Conference | Latin America | 102,496 | - | - | 24 countries |
1997 | *LINK* Mennonite World Conference web site; page: "Mennonite and Brethren in Christ World Membership Totals " (viewed 8 Aug. 1999). | Table: "Mennonite and Brethren in Christ World Membership Totals "; "based on the most recent data available... from 1996 or 1997... statistics indicate baptized members "; Dif. religious bodies: 98. |
| New Religionists | Latin America | 913,000 | 0.20% | - | - | 1995 | The World Almanac and Book of Facts 1997 (K-111 Reference Corp.: Mahwah, NJ) pg. 646. [Source: 1996 Encyc. Britannica Book of the Year] | Table: "Adherents of All Religions by 6 Continental Areas,1995 "; "New-Religionists. followers of Asian 20th-cent. New Religions, New Religious movements, radical new crisis religions, and non-Christian syncretistic mass religions, all founded since 1800. " |
| New Religionists | Latin America | 919,000 | 0.19% | - | - | 1996 | The World Almanac & Book of Facts 1998 (K-111 Reference Corp.: Mahwah, NJ) pg. 654. [Source: 1997 Encyc. Britannica Book of the Year] | Table: "Adherents of All Religions by 6 Continental Areas,1996 "; "New-Religionists. followers of Asian 20th-cent. New Religions, New Religious movements, radical new crisis religions, and non-Christian syncretistic mass religions, all founded since 1800. " |
| New Religionists | Latin America | 604,000 | 0.12% | - | - | 1998 | World Almanac and Book of Facts 2000. Mahwah, NJ: PRIMEDIA Reference Inc. (1999), pg. 695. [Source: 1999 Encyc. Britannica Book of the Year] | Table: "Adherents of All Religions by Six Continental Areas, Mid-1998 "; "New-Religionists. Followers of Asian 20th-cent. New Religions, New Religious movements, radical new crisis religions, and non-Christian syncretistic mass religions, all founded since 1800, most since 1945. " |
| non-Christian | Latin America | 33,999,000 | 7.36% | - | - | 1995 | The World Almanac and Book of Facts 1997 (K-111 Reference Corp.: Mahwah, NJ) pg. 646. [Source: 1996 Encyc. Britannica Book of the Year] | Table: "Adherents of All Religions by Six Continental Areas, Mid-1995 " |
| non-Christian | Latin America | 34,625,000 | 7.06% | - | - | 1996 | The World Almanac & Book of Facts 1998 (K-111 Reference Corp.: Mahwah, NJ) pg. 654. [Source: 1997 Encyc. Britannica Book of the Year] | Table: "Adherents of All Religions by Six Continental Areas, Mid-1996 " |
| Nonreligious | Latin America | 15,551,000 | 3.37% | - | - | 1995 | The World Almanac and Book of Facts 1997 (K-111 Reference Corp.: Mahwah, NJ) pg. 646. [Source: 1996 Encyc. Britannica Book of the Year] | Table: "Adherents of All Religions by Six Continental Areas, Mid-1995 "; Nonreligious. Persons professing no religion, nonbelievers, agnostics, freethinkers, dereligionized secularists indifferent to all religions. " |
| Nonreligious | Latin America | 16,053,000 | 3.27% | - | - | 1996 | The World Almanac & Book of Facts 1998 (K-111 Reference Corp.: Mahwah, NJ) pg. 654. [Source: 1997 Encyc. Britannica Book of the Year] | Table: "Adherents of All Religions by Six Continental Areas, Mid-1996 "; Nonreligious. Persons professing no religion, nonbelievers, agnostics, freethinkers, dereligionized secularists indifferent to all religions. " |
| Nonreligious | Latin America | 17,159,000 | 3.70% | - | - | 1996 | *LINK* web site: "The Geography of Religion Website " (assembled by the students of Morehead State University, under Prof. Timothy C. Pitts); web page: "The Geography of Humanism " (viewed 2 March 1999); [Orig. source: Markham, Ian S., (Editor), A World Religions Reader. Cambridge, MA: Blackwell Publishers (1996), pp. 356-357.] | table with 3 columns: "Area "; "Adherents "; "Population Percentage "; "Secular Humanists are sometimes hard to classify, and perhaps even more difficult to obtain demographic data about. The following distribution lists two groups: Nonreligious and Atheists. Nonreligious are defined as persons professing no religion, nonbelievers, agnostics, freethinkers, and dereligionized secularists indifferent to all religion. Atheists are defined as persons professing atheism, skepticism, disbelief, or irreligion, including antireligious (opposed to all religion). " |
| Nonreligious | Latin America | 15,300,000 | 3.06% | - | - | 1998 | World Almanac and Book of Facts 2000. Mahwah, NJ: PRIMEDIA Reference Inc. (1999), pg. 695. [Source: 1999 Encyc. Britannica Book of the Year] | Table: "Adherents of All Religions by Six Continental Areas, Mid-1998 "; "Nonreligious: Persons professing no religion, nonbelievers, agnostics, freethinkers, dereligionized secularists indifferent to all religion. " |
| Orthodox (Eastern Christian) | Latin America | 549,000 | 0.11% | - | - | 1998 | World Almanac and Book of Facts 2000. Mahwah, NJ: PRIMEDIA Reference Inc. (1999), pg. 695. [Source: 1999 Encyc. Britannica Book of the Year] | Table: "Adherents of All Religions by Six Continental Areas, Mid-1998 " |
| other | Latin America | 184,000 | 0.04% | - | - | 1995 | The World Almanac and Book of Facts 1997 (K-111 Reference Corp.: Mahwah, NJ) pg. 646. [Source: 1996 Encyc. Britannica Book of the Year] | Table: "Adherents of All Religions by Six Continental Areas, Mid-1995 "; "Other religionists. Incl. 70 minor world religions and a large number of spiritist religions, New Age religions, quasi-religions, pseudoreligions, parareligions, mystic systems,etc. " |
| other | Latin America | 190,000 | 0.04% | - | - | 1996 | The World Almanac & Book of Facts 1998 (K-111 Reference Corp.: Mahwah, NJ) pg. 654. [Source: 1997 Encyc. Britannica Book of the Year] | Table: "Adherents of All Religions by Six Continental Areas, Mid-1996 "; "Other religionists. Incl. 70 minor world religions and a large number of spiritist religions, New Age religions, quasi-religions, pseudoreligions, parareligions, mystic systems,etc. " |
| other | Latin America | 95,000 | 0.02% | - | - | 1998 | World Almanac and Book of Facts 2000. Mahwah, NJ: PRIMEDIA Reference Inc. (1999), pg. 695. [Source: 1999 Encyc. Britannica Book of the Year] | Table: "Adherents of All Religions by Six Continental Areas, Mid-1998 "; "Other religionists. Including minor world religions and a large number of spiritist religions [although 'Spiritists' listed separately], New Age religions, quasi-religions, pseudo religions, parareligions, religious or mystic systems, and religious and semireligious brotherhoods of numerous varieties. " |
| Parsis | Latin America | 1,000 | 0.00% | - | - | 1995 | The World Almanac and Book of Facts 1997 (K-111 Reference Corp.: Mahwah, NJ) pg. 646. [Source: 1996 Encyc. Britannica Book of the Year] | Table: "Adherents of All Religions by Six Continental Areas, Mid-1995 " |
| Parsis | Latin America | 1,000 | 0.00% | - | - | 1996 | The World Almanac & Book of Facts 1998 (K-111 Reference Corp.: Mahwah, NJ) pg. 654. [Source: 1997 Encyc. Britannica Book of the Year] | Table: "Adherents of All Religions by Six Continental Areas, Mid-1996 " |
| Pentecostal | Latin America | - | - | - | - | 1994 | Cox, Harvey. Fire from Heaven: The Rise of Pentecostal Spirituality and the Reshaping of Religion in the Twenty-First Century; New York: Addison-Wesley Publishing Co. (1994), pg. 168. | "In his book Is Latin America Turning Protestant? David Stoll pulls together statistics from a number of sources to show that non-Catholic Christianity is growing in many of the continent's countries at 5 or 6 times the rate of the general population. If the statistics in Brazil are any indication, 90% of this non-Catholic increase is pentecostal. Stoll predicts that if current rates of growth continue, 5 or 6 Latin American countries will have non-Catholic--mostly pentecostal--majorities by 2010. In several other nations th non-Catholic percentage... will have reached 30 to 40%. " |
| Primal New Religious Movements | Latin America | - | - | - | - | 1987 | Bishop, Peter & Michael Darton (editors). The Encyclopedia of World Faiths: An Illustrated Survey of the World's Living Faiths. New York: Facts on File Publications (1987), pg. 311. | Graphic: "Number of Primal New Religious Movements (PRINERMS) By Area (All numbers are approximate) "; Number of PRINERMS in Latin America: 300. |
| primal-indigenous | Latin America | 1,061,000 | 0.23% | - | - | 1995 | The World Almanac and Book of Facts 1997 (K-111 Reference Corp.: Mahwah, NJ) pg. 646. [Source: 1996 Encyc. Britannica Book of the Year] | Table: "Adherents of All Religions by Six Continental Areas, Mid-1995 "; Called "Ethnic religionists " in this table. |
| primal-indigenous | Latin America | 1,042,000 | 0.21% | - | - | 1996 | The World Almanac & Book of Facts 1998 (K-111 Reference Corp.: Mahwah, NJ) pg. 654. [Source: 1997 Encyc. Britannica Book of the Year] | Table: "Adherents of All Religions by Six Continental Areas, Mid-1996 "; Called "Ethnic religionists " in this table. |
| primal-indigenous | Latin America | 1,231,000 | 0.25% | - | - | 1998 | World Almanac and Book of Facts 2000. Mahwah, NJ: PRIMEDIA Reference Inc. (1999), pg. 695. [Source: 1999 Encyc. Britannica Book of the Year] | Table: "Adherents of All Religions by Six Continental Areas, Mid-1998 "; [Listed in table as 'Ethnic religionists] |
| Protestant | Latin America | 100,000 | - | - | - | 1900 | Landry, Lionel. The Land and People of Colombia; Philadelphia: J. B. Lippincott Co. (1970), pg. 67. | "in Latin America, where the total Protestant community had grown from 100,000 at the beginning of the century to almost 3,000,000 by the middle of the 1950's. " |
| Protestant | Latin America | 3,000,000 | - | - | - | 1955 | Landry, Lionel. The Land and People of Colombia; Philadelphia: J. B. Lippincott Co. (1970), pg. 67. | "in Latin America, where the total Protestant community had grown from 100,000 at the beginning of the century to almost 3,000,000 by the middle of the 1950's. " |
| Protestant | Latin America | 7,000,000 | - | - | - | 1960 | *LINK* Epstein, Jack. "Kicking of icon outrages Brazil Catholics " in Dallas Morning News, November 24, 1995; (viewed 30 July 1999, web site: RickRoss.com). | "In 1960, Latin American had only 7 million Protestants. By 1990, that number had reached 51 million, according to the Worldwide Evangelisation Crusade. " |
| Protestant | Latin America | 51,000,000 | - | - | - | 1990 | *LINK* Epstein, Jack. "Kicking of icon outrages Brazil Catholics " in Dallas Morning News, November 24, 1995; (viewed 30 July 1999, web site: RickRoss.com). | "In 1960, Latin American had only 7 million Protestants. By 1990, that number had reached 51 million, according to the Worldwide Evangelisation Crusade. " |
| Protestant | Latin America | - | - | - | - | 1994 | Cox, Harvey. Fire from Heaven: The Rise of Pentecostal Spirituality and the Reshaping of Religion in the Twenty-First Century; New York: Addison-Wesley Publishing Co. (1994), pg. 168. | "In his book Is Latin America Turning Protestant? David Stoll pulls together statistics from a number of sources to show that non-Catholic Christianity is growing in many of the continent's countries at 5 or 6 times the rate of the general population. If the statistics in Brazil are any indication, 90% of this non-Catholic increase is pentecostal. Stoll predicts that if current rates of growth continue, 5 or 6 Latin American countries will have non-Catholic--mostly pentecostal--majorities by 2010. In several other nations th non-Catholic percentage... will have reached 30 to 40%. " |
| Protestant | Latin America | 31,684,000 | 6.86% | - | - | 1995 | The World Almanac and Book of Facts 1997 (K-111 Reference Corp.: Mahwah, NJ) pg. 646. [Source: 1996 Encyc. Britannica Book of the Year] | Table: "Adherents of All Religions by Six Continental Areas, Mid-1995 " |
| Protestant | Latin America | 34,816,000 | 7.10% | - | - | 1996 | The World Almanac & Book of Facts 1998 (K-111 Reference Corp.: Mahwah, NJ) pg. 654. [Source: 1997 Encyc. Britannica Book of the Year] | Table: "Adherents of All Religions by Six Continental Areas, Mid-1996 " |
| Protestant | Latin America | 17,263,000 | 3.70% | - | - | 1996 | *LINK* web site: "The Geography of Religion Website " (assembled by the students of Morehead State University, under Prof. Timothy C. Pitts); web page: "The Geography of Protestantism " (viewed 2 March 1999); [Orig. source: Markham, Ian S., (Editor), A World Religions Reader. Cambridge, MA: Blackwell Publishers (1996), pp. 356-357.] | table with 3 columns: "Area "; "Adherents "; "Population Percentage " |
| Protestant | Latin America | 4,800,000 | 10.00% | - | - | 1997 | Scotchmer, David G. "Life of the Heart: A Maya Protestant Spirituality " in South and Meso-American Native Spirituality, ed. by Gary H. Gossen. New York: Crossroad Publishing Co. (1997), pg. 497. | "Of Latin America's 480 million people, Protestants easily number over 10% and are growing annually three times faster than the population itself. " |
| Protestant | Latin America | 45,295,000 | 9.07% | - | - | 1998 | World Almanac and Book of Facts 2000. Mahwah, NJ: PRIMEDIA Reference Inc. (1999), pg. 695. [Source: 1999 Encyc. Britannica Book of the Year] | Table: "Adherents of All Religions by Six Continental Areas, Mid-1998 " [Note that for Latin America the combined totals given for Catholic and Protestants add up to 25 million more people than the total number of Christians, meaning that many are double counted.] |
| Protestant - affiliated | Latin America | - | 12.10% | - | - | 1993 | Johnstone. Operation World. Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 1993, p. 21. | Table |
| Quaker | Latin America | 7,172 | - | - | - | 1940 | Ferm, Vergilius (ed.). An Encyclopedia of Religion; Westport, CT: Greenwood Press (1976), pg. 722. [1st pub. in 1945 by Philosophical Library. 1976 reprint is unrevised.] | "Their subdivisions were in 1940:... Latin America, 7,172... " |
| Quaker | Latin America | 5,871 | - | - | - | 1963 | Rosten, Leo (ed.). Religions in America; New York: Simon & Schuster (1963), 8th ed. [1st pub. in 1952. 8th ed. completely revised], pg. 175. | "There are 123,411 Friends in the United States, including Alaska and Hawaii with an additional 822 in Canada and Mexico, and 5,871 in Central and South America. " |
| Quaker | Latin America | 6,000 | - | - | - | 1978 | Crim, Keith (ed.). The Perennial Dictionary of World Religions. San Francisco: Harper Collins (1989). Reprint; originally pub. as Abingdon Dictionary of Living Religions, 1981; pg. 267. | "Of the nearly 200,000 Friends in the world in 1978, 121,000 were in the U.S., 20,000 in Great Britain,... and 6,000 in Latin America (E.F.A. converts). " |
| Shinto | Latin America | 1,000 | 0.00% | - | - | 1995 | The World Almanac and Book of Facts 1997 (K-111 Reference Corp.: Mahwah, NJ) pg. 646. [Source: 1996 Encyc. Britannica Book of the Year] | Table: "Adherents of All Religions by Six Continental Areas, Mid-1995 " |
| Shinto | Latin America | 1,000 | 0.00% | - | - | 1996 | The World Almanac & Book of Facts 1998 (K-111 Reference Corp.: Mahwah, NJ) pg. 654. [Source: 1997 Encyc. Britannica Book of the Year] | Table: "Adherents of All Religions by Six Continental Areas, Mid-1996 " |
| Shinto | Latin America | 500 | 0.00% | - | - | 1996 | *LINK* web site: "The Geography of Religion Website " (assembled by the students of Morehead State University, under Prof. Timothy C. Pitts); web page: "The Geography of Shintoism " (viewed 2 March 1999); [Orig. source: Markham, Ian S., (Editor), A World Religions Reader. Cambridge, MA: Blackwell Publishers (1996), pp. 356-357.] | table with 3 columns: "Area "; "Adherents "; "Population Percentage " |
| Shinto | Latin America | 7,000 | 0.00% | - | - | 1998 | World Almanac and Book of Facts 2000. Mahwah, NJ: PRIMEDIA Reference Inc. (1999), pg. 695. [Source: 1999 Encyc. Britannica Book of the Year] | Table: "Adherents of All Religions by Six Continental Areas, Mid-1998 " |
| Sikhism | Latin America | 8,000 | 0.00% | - | - | 1995 | The World Almanac and Book of Facts 1997 (K-111 Reference Corp.: Mahwah, NJ) pg. 646. [Source: 1996 Encyc. Britannica Book of the Year] | Table: "Adherents of All Religions by Six Continental Areas, Mid-1995 " |
| Sikhism | Latin America | 9,000 | 0.00% | - | - | 1996 | The World Almanac & Book of Facts 1998 (K-111 Reference Corp.: Mahwah, NJ) pg. 654. [Source: 1997 Encyc. Britannica Book of the Year] | Table: "Adherents of All Religions by Six Continental Areas, Mid-1996 " |
| Sikhism | Latin America | 8,000 | 0.00% | - | - | 1996 | *LINK* web site: "The Geography of Religion Website " (assembled by the students of Morehead State University, under Prof. Timothy C. Pitts); web page: "The Geography of Sikhism " (viewed 2 March 1999); [Orig. source: Markham, Ian S., (Editor), A World Religions Reader. Cambridge, MA: Blackwell Publishers (1996), pp. 356-357.] | table with 3 columns: "Area "; "Adherents "; "Population Percentage " |
| Sikhism | Latin America | 0 | 0.00% | - | - | 1998 | World Almanac and Book of Facts 2000. Mahwah, NJ: PRIMEDIA Reference Inc. (1999), pg. 695. [Source: 1999 Encyc. Britannica Book of the Year] | Table: "Adherents of All Religions by Six Continental Areas, Mid-1998 " |
| Spiritism | Latin America | 8,768,000 | 1.90% | - | - | 1995 | The World Almanac and Book of Facts 1997 (K-111 Reference Corp.: Mahwah, NJ) pg. 646. [Source: 1996 Encyc. Britannica Book of the Year] | Table: "Adherents of All Religions by Six Continental Areas, Mid-1995 " |
| Spiritism | Latin America | 8,834,000 | 1.80% | - | - | 1996 | The World Almanac & Book of Facts 1998 (K-111 Reference Corp.: Mahwah, NJ) pg. 654. [Source: 1997 Encyc. Britannica Book of the Year] | Table: "Adherents of All Religions by Six Continental Areas, Mid-1996 " |
| Spiritism | Latin America | 11,498,000 | 2.30% | - | - | 1998 | World Almanac and Book of Facts 2000. Mahwah, NJ: PRIMEDIA Reference Inc. (1999), pg. 695. [Source: 1999 Encyc. Britannica Book of the Year] | Table: "Adherents of All Religions by Six Continental Areas, Mid-1998 " |
| Zoroastrianism | Latin America | 0 | 0.00% | - | - | 1998 | World Almanac and Book of Facts 2000. Mahwah, NJ: PRIMEDIA Reference Inc. (1999), pg. 695. [Source: 1999 Encyc. Britannica Book of the Year] | Table: "Adherents of All Religions by Six Continental Areas, Mid-1998 " |
| Adventist | Latvia | - | - | 33 units |
- | 1993 | Gall, Timothy L. (ed). Worldmark Encyclopedia of Culture & Daily Life: Vol. 4 - Europe. Cleveland, OH: Eastword Publications Development (1998), pg. 225. | "In 1993, the number of parishes in Latvia was as follows: Lutheran, 290; Roman Catholic, 191; Russian Orthodox, 100; Baptist, 69; Old Believers, 56; Pentecostal, 44; Adventist, 33; Jewish, 5; and others, 23. " |
| attendance - weekly | Latvia | - | 5.00% | - | - | 1997 | *LINK* web site: "The University of Michigan News and Information Services "; web page: "Study identifies worldwide rates of religiosity, church attendance " (viewed 17 April 1999). "News Release: December 10, 1997 " By Diane Swanbrow. | Table: weekly church attendance in various nations. "Source: Based on latest avail. data from... World Values surveys. Results with an asterisk are from the 1990-1991 survey; all others are from 1995-1997 survey. " |
| Baptist | Latvia | - | - | 68 units |
- | 1993 | Gall, Timothy L. (ed). Worldmark Encyclopedia of Culture & Daily Life: Vol. 4 - Europe. Cleveland, OH: Eastword Publications Development (1998), pg. 225. | "In 1993, the number of parishes in Latvia was as follows: Lutheran, 290; Roman Catholic, 191; Russian Orthodox, 100; Baptist, 69; Old Believers, 56; Pentecostal, 44; Adventist, 33; Jewish, 5; and others, 23. " |
| Baptist World Alliance | Latvia | 6,147 | 0.12% | 75 units |
- | 1998 | *LINK* Baptist World Alliance web site; page: "BWA Statistics " (viewed 31 March 1999). | "Figures are for BWA affiliated conventions/unions only (no independents included). "; Table with 3 columns: Country, "Churches ", & "Members "; "1997/1998 Totals "; [BWA stats. in individual countries are sum of figures for member bodies of BWA in the countries.]; [County population figures for 1998 from United Nations data available here.] |
| Catholic | Latvia | - | 24.40% | - | - | 1935 | Gall, Timothy L. (ed). Worldmark Encyclopedia of Culture & Daily Life: Vol. 4 - Europe. Cleveland, OH: Eastword Publications Development (1998), pg. 225. | "In 1935, 55.1% of Latvians were Lutheran, 24.4% were Roman Catholic, 8.9 were Orthodox, 5.5% were Old Believers, 4.8% were Jewish, and the rest belonged to other religions. " |
| Catholic | Latvia | - | 33.00% | - | - | 1992 | Geography Department (Mary M. Rodgers, series editor). Latvia (series: Then and Now). Minneapolis, Minn.: Lerner Publications Co. (1992), pg. 21-22. | "Roman Catholics make up one-third of the population. Catholicism flourished under the Catholic Poles, who ruled southeastern Latvia between the 16th and 18th centuries. " |
| Catholic | Latvia | - | - | 191 units |
- | 1993 | Gall, Timothy L. (ed). Worldmark Encyclopedia of Culture & Daily Life: Vol. 4 - Europe. Cleveland, OH: Eastword Publications Development (1998), pg. 225. | "In 1993, the number of parishes in Latvia was as follows: Lutheran, 290; Roman Catholic, 191; Russian Orthodox, 100; Baptist, 69; Old Believers, 56; Pentecostal, 44; Adventist, 33; Jewish, 5; and others, 23. " |
| Catholic | Latvia | 500,000 | 19.90% | 175 units |
- | 1995 | 1998 Catholic Almanac: Our Sunday Visitor: USA (1997), pg. 333-367. | Figures are as of Dec. 31, 1995. Number used for "congregations " is from number of Catholic parishes. |
| Christianity | Latvia | - | - | - | - | 1201 C.E. | Ruggiero, Adriane. The Baltic Countries: Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania. Parsippany, New Jersey: Dillon Press (1998), pg. 38. | "The early Baltic people were pagans who believed in many gods. "; "German missionaries first appeared in Latvia in the early 1200s and established churches. The first German fort was built in Riga in 1201 by a German bishop who also set pu an order of crusading knights to carry out the conversions. The Knights of the Sword... wore white robes covered with crosses and swords. These garments identified them as crusaders with a holy mission. " |
| Christianity | Latvia | - | - | - | - | 1997 | *LINK* CIA World Factbook web site (viewed Aug. 1998) | Lutheran, Roman Catholic, Russian Orthodox; Total pop.: 2,421,163. |
| Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints | Latvia | 200 | - | 5 units |
- | 1995 | Deseret News 1997-98 Church Almanac. Deseret News: Salt Lake City, UT (1996), pg. 188-408. | "Year-end 1995: Est. population [of country]; Members, [number shown in '# of adherents' column to left] " |
| Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints | Latvia | - | - | 4 units |
- | 1997 | Deseret News 1999-2000 Church Almanac. Deseret News: Salt Lake City, UT (1998), pg. 267-410. | Information from a variety of sources. Figures for year-end 1997. |
| Eastern Orthodox | Latvia | - | 8.90% | - | - | 1935 | Gall, Timothy L. (ed). Worldmark Encyclopedia of Culture & Daily Life: Vol. 4 - Europe. Cleveland, OH: Eastword Publications Development (1998), pg. 225. | "In 1935, 55.1% of Latvians were Lutheran, 24.4% were Roman Catholic, 8.9 were Orthodox, 5.5% were Old Believers, 4.8% were Jewish, and the rest belonged to other religions. " |
| Jehovah's Witnesses | Latvia | 1,681 | 0.07% | 18 units |
- | 1997 | *LINK* official organization web site | Adherent/member count is for "1997 Peak Witnesses "; Memorial attendance (annual sacrament meeting) for same year: 3,956. |
| Jehovah's Witnesses | Latvia | 1,882 | 0.08% | 21 units |
- | 1998 | *LINK* Jehovah's Witnesses official web site; section: "Statistics "; web page: "Worldwide Report " (viewed 16 April 1999). | Table: "1998 Report of Jehovah's Witnesses Worldwide "; This adherent/member count is for "1998 Peak Witnesses " |
| Jehovah's Witnesses - Memorial attendance | Latvia | 3,956 | 0.16% | 18 units |
- | 1997 | *LINK* official organization web site | From 1997 Statistics "Memorial attendance " column. Count of all who attend this once-a-year meeting, whether or not a "publisher " in full standing. Most would be considered adherents. |
| Jehovah's Witnesses - Memorial attendance | Latvia | 4,189 | 0.17% | - | - | 1998 | *LINK* Jehovah's Witnesses official web site; section: "Statistics "; web page: "Worldwide Report " (viewed 16 April 1999). | Table: "1998 Report of Jehovah's Witnesses Worldwide "; "Memorial attendance " column indicates attendance at yearly communion meeting. |
| Judaism | Latvia | - | 4.80% | - | - | 1935 | Gall, Timothy L. (ed). Worldmark Encyclopedia of Culture & Daily Life: Vol. 4 - Europe. Cleveland, OH: Eastword Publications Development (1998), pg. 225. | "In 1935, 55.1% of Latvians were Lutheran, 24.4% were Roman Catholic, 8.9 were Orthodox, 5.5% were Old Believers, 4.8% were Jewish, and the rest belonged to other religions. " |
| Judaism | Latvia | 94,000 | 5.40% | - | - | 1937 | Gilbert, Martin (ed.) The Illustrated Atlas of Jewish Civilization: 4,000 Years of Jewish History. New York: Macmillan Publishing Co. (1990), pg. 161. | Map: "European Jewry on the Eve of the Holocaust 1937-41 "; "Figures show Jewish populations in 1937 and percentage of total population. " |
| Judaism | Latvia | - | - | - | - | 1992 | Geography Department (Mary M. Rodgers, series editor). Latvia (series: Then and Now). Minneapolis, Minn.: Lerner Publications Co. (1992), pg. 22. | "Although many of the Jews living in Latvia at the outbreak of World War II were killed during the conflict, a small Jewish community has survived. In 1990, when religious freedoms increased, the first Jewish high school in what was then the Soviet Union opened in Riga. " |
| Judaism | Latvia | - | - | 5 units |
- | 1993 | Gall, Timothy L. (ed). Worldmark Encyclopedia of Culture & Daily Life: Vol. 4 - Europe. Cleveland, OH: Eastword Publications Development (1998), pg. 225. | "In 1993, the number of parishes in Latvia was as follows: Lutheran, 290; Roman Catholic, 191; Russian Orthodox, 100; Baptist, 69; Old Believers, 56; Pentecostal, 44; Adventist, 33; Jewish, 5; and others, 23. " |
| Judaism | Latvia | 15,000 | - | - | - | 1998 | *LINK* Jewish Communities of the World web site (1998) | Table: World Jewry. "collected our data from from demographic and other academic studies, community reports, and up-dates in the general media... consulted with experts to verify findings before reaching our assessments and estimates. " |
| Latvian Evangelical Lutheran Church | Latvia | - | - | - | - | 1996 | 1997 Britannica Book of the Year. Pg. 781-783. | "Believers are predominantly affiliated with the Latvian Evangelical Lutheran Church; Russian Orthodox, Roman Catholic and Protestant minorities. " |