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January 2026

January 21, 2026

Ongoing Catholic Decline in Latin America Under Pope Francis

For more than five centuries, Catholicism has been the civilizational grammar of Latin America. From...

October 2025

October 11, 2025

Pope Leo, The Liberation Theologian?

From the vantage of Latin America’s long tradition of “theology from the below,” Pope Leo...

September 2024

September 29, 2024

Why is Pope Francis Increasingly Unpopular in the Americas?

The declining popularity of Pope Francis in both Latin America and the United States, as...

December 2023

December 08, 2023

The Two Skeleton Saints – A Journey Into the Fascinating World of Santa Muerte and San La Muerte

By guest contributor, anthropologist Luciano Martucci The unprecedented ethnographic exposition in Bologna, which revealed the...

September 2022

September 09, 2022

From Bloody Heretic to Catholic Saint – The Beatification of Brazilian Folk Saint Padre Cicero

Beatification News by Eduardo Lima In a country where people have revered folk religious figures...

June 2022

June 08, 2022

Catholic Decline Continues in Latin America under Argentine Pope Francis

There is compelling evidence of continued Catholic decline in Latin American, which is home to...

September 2021

September 03, 2021

The Good Death Resurrected – Memento Mori and Santa Muerte as Spirit of the Times

Co-authored by Dr. Kate Kingsbury* and Professor R. Andrew Chesnut Having spent the past decade...

August 2021

August 18, 2021

Holy Hellraisers – Meet the Thug Saints of Venezuela

By Guest Contributor Marvin J. Mijares* Since I can remember, I have heard of people...

August 11, 2021

Sebastian and Santa Muerte – Simpatico Saints of Holy Death and LGBTQ

Having contemplated hundreds of Catholic saints over the past decade for my research both on...

February 2021

February 10, 2021

2020 Census Reveals Catholic Decline and Protestant Growth in Mexico Under Pope Francis

By guest contributor Dr. Alejandro Díaz-Domínguez* This analysis originally appeared in the Nexos online blog...

October 2020

October 04, 2020

Evangelical Churches Seize Power in Latin America: ‘The Catholic Church Has Been Lax’

"The Bible returns to the presidential palace." That's what the Bolivian interim President Jeanine Áñez...

June 2020

June 14, 2020

The New Pentecostal Inquisition in Latin America – Guatemalan Maya Spiritual Guide Burned at Stake for Witchcraft

Co-authored by Dr. Kate Kingsbury* and Dr. Andrew Chesnut It's Brazil that's been in the...

November 2019

November 26, 2019

Why Have Evangelical Churches Gained So Much Political Influence in Latin America? Expert Points to 5 Factors in BBC Interview

“The Bible has returned to the palace," Bolivian interim President Senator Jeanine Áñez said when...

November 23, 2019

Pachamama as Lightning Rod of Division over the Papacy of Pope Francis

Pachamama has become the latest lightning rod of division in the Catholic Church. She is...

October 2019

October 11, 2019

Competing for Amazonian Souls – The Amazon Synod and Pentecostal Competition in the Global South

By Professor Andrew Chesnut and Doctor Kate Kingsbury* While the Catholic Church adopts a preferential...

August 2019

August 16, 2019

Holy Child of Raffles – The Mexican Christ Child Asleep on a Skull

Having researched the Mexican skeleton saint Santa Muerte for the past decade I am quite...

July 2019

July 09, 2019

Brazil’s Black Sister Supernatural Queens – Oxum and Our Lady of Aparecida

Co-authored by Dr. Kate Kingsbury* and Dr. Andrew Chesnut In a country with the world’s...

April 2019

April 28, 2019

Spirits of the Times – Research Team Kingsbury and Chesnut Discuss the Global Exorcism Boom

Co-authored by Dr. Kate Kingsbury* and Dr. Andrew Chesnut As of the past few decades,...

February 2019

February 09, 2019

Mexican Church Rebukes Holy Child of Huachicolero, Patron Saint of Gas Thieves, as Worse than Santa Muerte

Co-authored by Dr. Kate Kingsbury* and Dr. Andrew Chesnut He only appeared two years ago...

January 2019

January 28, 2019

President Lopez Obrador and Mexico’s New Religious Diversity

By Guest Columnist Ezer R. May May* and translated from the original Spanish by Dr....

November 2018

November 14, 2018

The Knights Templar and Saint Nazario – The Narco-Gospel of a Mexican Drug Cartel

The interminable drug war in Mexico reveals that the lethal mix of religion and terrorism...

October 2018

October 13, 2018

Deciphering the Narcotheology of the Knights Templar Mexican Narcocult

Authored by guest contributor Dr. Kate Kingsbury* - please note this piece is an abbreviated...

September 2018

September 29, 2018

Is Brazil Still Catholic? Andrew Chesnut Discusses the Brazilian Religious Landscape on NPR’s Interfaith Voices

I began my academic career as a specialist in religion in Brazil and authored the...

September 06, 2018

An Analytical Snapshot of American Catholics

Pew Research Center, for which I have served as an academic consultant, has published seven...

August 2018

August 06, 2018

Pope Francis’ Absolute Ban on the Death Penalty Aimed at U.S.

In a major shift on Church teaching, Pope Francis has declared capital punishment unacceptable in...

July 2018

July 24, 2018

The Virgin of Guadalupe – Queen of Mexico and Empress of the Americas

The Virgin of Guadalupe (official title: Our Lady of Guadalupe; in Spanish: Nuestra Señora de Guadalupe)...

June 2018

June 28, 2018

Mexican Presidential Candidate AMLO Campaigns with Virgin of Guadalupe

The man who will very likely be elected the next president of Mexico in Sunday’s...

May 2018

May 17, 2018

From Kitchen Saint to Skeleton Saint Rey Pascual – The Bizarre Case of Pascual Bailon

Co-authored by Dr. Andrew Chesnut and Dr. Kate Kingsbury* Guatemalan folk saint Rey Pascual’s foundation...

May 01, 2018

Latin American Millennials Question Pope Francis’s Handling of Sexual Abuse Cases

Co-authored by Dr. Kate Kingsbury* and Dr. Andrew Chesnut Recent figures reveal that the Catholic...

April 2018

April 27, 2018

Pope Francis Endorses Exorcism as Tool for Combating the Devil

Co-authored by Dr. Kate Kingsbury* and Dr. Andrew Chesnut For those of us who've been...

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