Poll: Latinos more apt to attend church than population as whole
By Bret Hayworth, Journal staff writer | Posted: Tuesday, September 26, 2006
Parishioners wish each other peace during an evening Mass at St. Michaels in South Sioux City, where Rev. Jose Mendoza presided. (Staff photo by Jerry Mennenga)
Selma DeAnda, 12, offered a succinct summation of why she was at St. Michael's Catholic Church in South Sioux City Thursday night.
Arriving 25 minutes early and sitting in the back pew with her sister, DeAnda said the best part of church attendance comes with communion. "It feels like when you take that, it makes you clean, if you've done something bad," she said.
Another to-the-point backing for church attendance came from an even younger girl, Valeria Salcido of South Sioux City. Eight-year-old Salcido said she enjoys coming with her family to St. Michael's "because I receive Jesus."
Last Thursday, five of the 20 people attending the 5:30 p.m. Mass at St. Michael's were Latino. Then about 65 Latinos attended the Spanish-language Mass an hour later. While they were part of a small congregation of local churchgoers, the Latinos were also part of a larger movement.
A Gallup Poll earlier this year found that nearly half of U.S. Latinos attend worship services nearly every week, a percentage higher than the general population as a whole. Forty-nine percent of U.S. Latinos said they attend church "once a week or almost every week," while 17 percent attend worship once a month, and 32 percent say they seldom or never attend church.
That compares to results from a 2004 poll, Gallup noted, that showed 44 percent of all Americans said they attend worship once a week, while 41 percent said they seldom or never attend church.
Dr. Gaston Espinosa, philosophy and religious studies assistant professor at Claremont McKenna (Calif.) College, said "religion is the marrow of Latino culture and society because it has always provided meaning and hope for working-class men and women throughout Latin America and the U.S. When everything else fails, Latinos have normally always turned to God for help and assistance."
Espinosa was the research director for the Hispanic Churches in American Public Life project in 2000, the largest study on Latino religion and politics in U.S. history.
Espinosa said the poll may be a bit off, since "Latinos, like the general population, tend to over-report their church attendance." But Espinosa said the project he researched showed that 93 percent of Latinos self-identify with some form of Christianity, with roughly two-thirds of those practicing Catholicism. He said the 8 million "Latino Protestants are more likely to attend church than their Catholic counterparts."
The Jehovah's Witnesses in Sioux City have seen an increase in the number of Spanish-speaking members, which was among the factors necessitating the need for a new house of worship at 4130 War Eagle Drive, Jehovah's Witnesses publisher Dave Callender said. A meeting/service is held in Spanish language on both Sundays and Wednesdays.
The Latinos at the second St. Michael's Thursday service observed the Rev. Jose Mendoza continually energetically gesturing as he delivered the sermon. There were about 30 present as the Mass opened, then 35 more trickled in by 6:45 on a rainy night. They murmured, "Senor, escucha nuestras oraciones" (Lord, hear our prayers) in response to the prayer petitions.
Alma Salcido, 33, said she found the Gallup Poll finding unsurprising. She said frequent churchgoing for Latinos runs the range of ages -- from old to young, all are quite diligent with their church attendance.
After immigrating to California from Mexico, Salcido moved to South Sioux City nine years ago, and said, "Mexican people, we come from a 95-percent Catholic country, and at least we go on Sundays, if not more. It gives me the peace, the support."
Salcido brought two children with her, and at home, she prays rosaries. "Religion is just like school -- you can't just do it here, you've got to do it at home," she said.
Nery Ortiz, 23, of South Sioux City, said regular church attendance is ingrained in Latinos, "it is how they are brought up."
Ortiz admitted he was in church for the first time in a long time, although he rarely missed while being raised by his parents. He sometimes goes to church with his girlfriend, who is Lutheran.
Ortiz said he goes to church because "you are thankful for a lot of stuff and you at least want to say thanks."
Bret Hayworth may be reached at (712) 293.4203 or brethayworth@siouxcityjournal.com
Arriving 25 minutes early and sitting in the back pew with her sister, DeAnda said the best part of church attendance comes with communion. "It feels like when you take that, it makes you clean, if you've done something bad," she said.
Another to-the-point backing for church attendance came from an even younger girl, Valeria Salcido of South Sioux City. Eight-year-old Salcido said she enjoys coming with her family to St. Michael's "because I receive Jesus."
Last Thursday, five of the 20 people attending the 5:30 p.m. Mass at St. Michael's were Latino. Then about 65 Latinos attended the Spanish-language Mass an hour later. While they were part of a small congregation of local churchgoers, the Latinos were also part of a larger movement.
A Gallup Poll earlier this year found that nearly half of U.S. Latinos attend worship services nearly every week, a percentage higher than the general population as a whole. Forty-nine percent of U.S. Latinos said they attend church "once a week or almost every week," while 17 percent attend worship once a month, and 32 percent say they seldom or never attend church.
That compares to results from a 2004 poll, Gallup noted, that showed 44 percent of all Americans said they attend worship once a week, while 41 percent said they seldom or never attend church.
Dr. Gaston Espinosa, philosophy and religious studies assistant professor at Claremont McKenna (Calif.) College, said "religion is the marrow of Latino culture and society because it has always provided meaning and hope for working-class men and women throughout Latin America and the U.S. When everything else fails, Latinos have normally always turned to God for help and assistance."
Espinosa was the research director for the Hispanic Churches in American Public Life project in 2000, the largest study on Latino religion and politics in U.S. history.
Espinosa said the poll may be a bit off, since "Latinos, like the general population, tend to over-report their church attendance." But Espinosa said the project he researched showed that 93 percent of Latinos self-identify with some form of Christianity, with roughly two-thirds of those practicing Catholicism. He said the 8 million "Latino Protestants are more likely to attend church than their Catholic counterparts."
The Jehovah's Witnesses in Sioux City have seen an increase in the number of Spanish-speaking members, which was among the factors necessitating the need for a new house of worship at 4130 War Eagle Drive, Jehovah's Witnesses publisher Dave Callender said. A meeting/service is held in Spanish language on both Sundays and Wednesdays.
The Latinos at the second St. Michael's Thursday service observed the Rev. Jose Mendoza continually energetically gesturing as he delivered the sermon. There were about 30 present as the Mass opened, then 35 more trickled in by 6:45 on a rainy night. They murmured, "Senor, escucha nuestras oraciones" (Lord, hear our prayers) in response to the prayer petitions.
Alma Salcido, 33, said she found the Gallup Poll finding unsurprising. She said frequent churchgoing for Latinos runs the range of ages -- from old to young, all are quite diligent with their church attendance.
After immigrating to California from Mexico, Salcido moved to South Sioux City nine years ago, and said, "Mexican people, we come from a 95-percent Catholic country, and at least we go on Sundays, if not more. It gives me the peace, the support."
Salcido brought two children with her, and at home, she prays rosaries. "Religion is just like school -- you can't just do it here, you've got to do it at home," she said.
Nery Ortiz, 23, of South Sioux City, said regular church attendance is ingrained in Latinos, "it is how they are brought up."
Ortiz admitted he was in church for the first time in a long time, although he rarely missed while being raised by his parents. He sometimes goes to church with his girlfriend, who is Lutheran.
Ortiz said he goes to church because "you are thankful for a lot of stuff and you at least want to say thanks."
Bret Hayworth may be reached at (712) 293.4203 or brethayworth@siouxcityjournal.com
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