Latino Christians: A Branding Exodus?

“RECENTLY, the Pew Hispanic Center and the Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life collaborated on a major study entitled Changing Faiths: Latinos and the Transformation of American Religion. The report revealed some familiar truths””Latinos are a very religious demographic group””as well as some dramatic new findings. Foremost among those: Latinos are also a demographic group thats abandoning the Catholic Church in significant numbers. Frequently, they defect in order to join other, often Pentecostal or other revivalist, denominations.

No doubt, the reasons for this religious and sociological shift present ample food for thought for the Catholic hierarchy. But Latino Americans’ abandonment of traditional Catholic services also serves””or, ought to serve””as a serious wake-up call for leading brands and those who market them. After all, if Latinos (whose buying power is expected to reach $1.2 trillion by 2011) are willing to reassess what organized religion they subscribe to, would they be unwilling to apply the same kind of scrutiny to the brands they buy?”

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