More Latinos leaving Catholicism for evangelical Protestantism

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By Stan Oklobdzija /STAFF WRITER

In immigrant communities across the United States, a battle is being waged for the souls of Latinos - and a distinctly American style of worship is beginning to take hold.

According to a landmark study, as many as 600,000 Latinos in this country leave the Catholic Church every year in favor of Protestant evangelical churches.

Furthermore, of the approximately 30 percent of Latinos nationwide who identify themselves as non-Catholic, the vast majority are affiliated with an evangelical or “born-againâ€