New Mexico

Religions

The first religions in New Mexico were practiced by Pueblo and Navaho Indians. Franciscan missionaries arrived at the time of Coronado's conquest in 1540, and the first Roman Catholic church in the state was built in 1598. Roman Catholicism has long been the dominant religion, though from the mid-1800s there has also been a steady increase in the number of Protestants. The first Baptist missionaries arrived in 1849, the Methodists in 1850, and the Mormons in 1877.

The state's Roman Catholic churches had about 670,511 members in 2000. Protestants included 132,675 Southern Baptists, 41,597 United Methodists, 22,070 members of Assemblies of God, 18,985 members of Churches of Christ, and 13,224 Presbyterians (USA). The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints reported about 42,261 members. The Jewish population was estimated at 10,500 and the Muslim congregations had 2,604 adherents. About 761,218 people (about 41.8% of the population) were not counted as members of any religious organization.