Religion

In Chile, there are as many different religious organizations represented as there are different ethnic groupings in the country. Roman Catholicism dominates the religious landscape of Chile, where just over half (54%) of the population professes affiliation with the religion. Unaffiliated (14%) or nonreligious people are tied with Protestant Christianity (14%), the two largest religious groups in Chile after Catholicism. In addition, Chile is home to a variety of little minority religions, some of which date back to before the advent of Europeans in the 1500s. Over time, settlers, missionaries, and colonists brought others with them.

Catholicism was first brought to Chile by Dominican and Franciscan friars who were traveling with the Spanish in the sixteenth century. The nation's first parish and diocese were both founded in 1561 and 1547, respectively. Around 1650, the northern and central regions of Chile were the first to adopt the religion, but the southern regions were hesitant to do so. Five archdioceses, 18 dioceses, two prelatures, an apostolic vicariate, a military ordinary, and a personal prelature are all currently present in Chile. However, according to the 2002 census, the number of churchgoers has considerably declined over time.