Did you know that by the start of the fall semester next year, Latinos are expected to make up forty-six percent of the high school-age Catholic population in the United States, surpassing their Anglo counterparts as the largest segment for the first time?

Pathways of Hope and Faith Among Hispanic Teens, a new book from Instituto Fe y Vida, sheds light on both the strengths and challenges this young generation presents to our parish youth ministry programs.

Here are a few highlights from the study and the publication:

• Among young Catholics, Hispanics are more interested in learning about their faith, more likely to pray or read the Scriptures on a regular basis, and more likely to say they feel close to God or that their faith is an important part of their daily lives than their Anglo peers.
• There are significant socioeconomic and religio-cultural differences between most Hispanic teens and other young Catholics that can make it difficult to form them into a cohesive community.
• As a result, Latino youth are still underrepresented in Catholic youth ministry and confirmation programs, often despite continuous efforts from their parents and youth ministers to encourage their participation.

How can you tap into the religious instincts of the Hispanic teens and expand the outreach of your ministry? The answers to this and many other questions begin with a fresh analysis of surveys and interviews with over 3,000 teenagers conducted by the National Study of Youth and Religion (NSYR). A unique feature of this book is that it contains sixty-four excerpts from actual conversations with Hispanic teens. You can hear them reflect on their lives, their families, and their religious beliefs, practices, and experiences in their own words.

Before anything was written for this project, a multidisciplinary and ecumenical team of nine writers and six conversation partners gathered to reflect on the NSYR findings regarding Hispanic teens. The richness borne of this broad and enlightened approach has produced a collection of theological reflections and more than sixty specific pastoral recommendations that will guide youth ministers and parents to be more effective in fostering the religious formation of the Latino teens in their care. For example, there is a great need to invest in the cultural competence of our youth ministry leadership teams, and Pathways of Hope and Faith suggests three easy ways any parish can accomplish that goal.

Each chapter concludes with a set of questions for reflection and a list of books, articles, and websites that provide additional resources. In addition, the final chapter offers an overall summary of the findings regarding Hispanic Catholic teens and identifies ten factors that need to be addressed in the Catholic Church to provide a more comprehensive outreach to them. The table of contents, introduction, and interview samples from the book can be found on the Fe y Vida website.

Fe y Vida is pleased to offer a special discount available only to NACYML members. To take advantage of the discounted price, download the order form .