This Spotlight Analysis was originally published on October 13, 2023, and has been updated twice since then to reflect PRRI’s most recent data.
In recent elections, greater attention has been paid to the Hispanic vote as this group has become the largest ethnic minority group in the United States. Although Hispanic Americans make up less than 20% of the population, they represent a significant share of the American electorate. This Spotlight Analysis explores the political and religious makeup of Hispanic Americans.
According to the PRRI Census of American Religion — including the recently published 2025 edition — the percentage of Hispanic Americans who identify as religiously unaffiliated has steadily increased over the past decade, rising from 18% in 2013 to 25% in 2024, before declining slightly to 23% in the past year. During the same period, the share who identify as Christian has decreased, from 79% in 2013 (53% Catholic and 23% Protestant) to 74% today (46% Catholic and 23% Protestant).
Party Affiliation
When it comes to partisanship, three in ten Hispanic Americans identify as Democrats (31%), one in four as independent (25%), and two in ten as Republicans (21%). Hispanics’ political identification has changed significantly over the past decade. The share who identify as Democrats has fluctuated over time, increasing from 34% in 2013 to a peak of 41% in 2021, before declining to 31% more recently. Similarly, the share of Hispanic Americans identifying as independent has steadily declined, from 41% in 2013 to 25% in 2025. By contrast, the share identifying as Republicans has more than doubled over the same period, increasing from 10% in 2013 to 21% in 2025.
Which Hispanic Americans Identify as Republican?
While Hispanic Protestants were more likely than Hispanic Catholics and the unaffiliated to identify as Republicans in 2013, all groups have become more likely to do so over the past decade. Republican identification among Hispanic Protestants has doubled, from 17% to 34%, and among Hispanic Catholics, from 9% to 20%. Among the Hispanic unaffiliated, the share has risen more modestly, from 8% to 12%.
Which Hispanic Americans Identify as Independent?
In 2013, more than half of Hispanic unaffiliated (51%) identified as independent, compared with about four in ten Hispanic Catholics (39%) and Hispanic Protestants (37%). However, all groups have become significantly less likely to identify as independent over time, with a sharp decline after 2021. By 2025, this share has declined to about one-quarter overall, including 29% of unaffiliated Hispanics, 25% of Hispanic Catholics, and 24% of Hispanic Protestants.
Which Hispanic Americans Identify as Democrats?
Democratic identification among Hispanic Catholics and the unaffiliated has fluctuated over time, while Hispanic Protestants have become less likely to identify as Democrats. Among Hispanic Catholics, nearly four in ten (38%) identified as Democrats in 2013; this share increased to 47% in 2021 before declining to 39% in 2025. Similarly, 30% of unaffiliated Hispanics identified as Democrats in 2013, increasing to 40% in 2021 before declining to 32% in 2025. By contrast, the share of Hispanic Protestants identifying as Democrats has decreased consistently over the years, from 31% in 2013 to 20% in 2025.
Which Hispanic Americans Don’t Identify With Any Partisan Group?
Unaffiliated and Protestant Hispanic Americans have become notably more likely to identify politically as “other” since 2013. While about one in ten in each religious group identified as “other” in 2013, these shares declined to about 5% in 2020 before increasing significantly to 27% among Hispanic unaffiliated and 22% among Hispanic Protestants. Hispanic Catholics also followed a similar pattern, although the increase has been more modest, reaching 16% in 2025, slightly higher than 14% in 2013.
Hispanic Americans’ political ideology has shifted over time as well. The share identifying as liberal remained relatively stable from 2013 to 2024, at around 28%, before declining to 23% over the past year. The share identifying as conservative has slightly decreased, from 33% in 2013 to 28% in 2025. By contrast, the share of Hispanic Americans identifying as moderate increased significantly, from 27% in 2013 to 40% in 2024, before declining to 36% over the past year.
Conservative Hispanic Americans
Ideologically, both Hispanic Catholics and the unaffiliated have become less likely to identify as conservative. The share of Hispanic Catholics identifying as conservative has declined from 34% in 2013 to 26% in 2025, while the share among unaffiliated Hispanics has also declined from 24% to 15%. By contrast, Hispanic Protestants have remained relatively stable at around 43%, with a brief decline to 36% in 2019.
Moderate Hispanic Americans
All groups have become significantly more likely to identify as moderate over time, including Hispanic Catholics (from 29% in 2013 to 43% in 2024), Hispanic unaffiliated (from 26% to 39%), and Hispanic Protestants (from 25% to 36%). However, each group has experienced a decline over the past year, falling to 40%, 34%, and 29%, respectively.
Liberal Hispanic Americans
With the exception of Hispanic Protestants, the share of Hispanics identifying as liberal has remained relatively stable among both the unaffiliated and Catholics, with a slight decline over the past year. Around four in ten unaffiliated Hispanics have identified as liberal since 2013. Among Hispanic Catholics, the share decreased slightly from 28% in 2013 to 22% in 2025. Furthermore, the share of Hispanic Protestants identifying as liberal has consistently declined, from 23% in 2013 to 14% in 2025.
