Trends to look for in the New Year–Latino/a Religion Edition

With presidential politics sure to drown out most political discussion by mid-year, here are a few things that religion watchers, journalists, and other interested parties want to look for in 2015

• Latino/a millennials moving farther into the “none” category–reasons, numbers, and panic from various church leaders coming soon!
• Latino/a Muslim communities not rare demographic blip, but communities requiring serious study with local and national leaders coming into their own.
• Latino/a belief in and interest in climate change, requires much more examination and study, especially the stark contrasts between Catholics and just about everyone else
• Latino/a folk religion–no not the sensationalizing of things like Santa Muerte or curanderismo, but the ongoing necessary work of excavating the indigenous roots of Latino/a religious sensibilities, that began ages before Catholicism was forced upon the indigenous populations of the Americas.
• The influence of the prosperity gospel not only within Pentecostalism, but among Latino/a Catholics. What does it mean to diminish the role of suffering to the point that faith really begins to look like thaumaturgy.

Assuming I can find my way out from under an all-consuming academic life and some long-overdue writing projects, I hope to post more often this year on these topics among others, or at the very least, link up to some of the most interesting Latino/a public intellectuals out there.

Happy New Year!