Guam

Like Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands, Guam is a US territory, though not a state.  It is listed separately here to make it easily searchable and to acknowledge its distinct and enduring cultural identity.

A U.S. territory in the far west Pacific, Guam is the native island of Chamorros, whose culture weaves aspects their own pre-colonial values with influences of Spaniards, Filipinos, Mexicans and mainland Americans. Chamorro identity has long been deeply intertwined with Catholicism, and still is, though Guam is a pluralistic society and its economy relies on the U.S. military bases there and tourism from several parts of East Asia.

Attraction to prosperity is transforming the island population over time: many Chamorros have moved to the mainland, while Filipinos and Micronesians have taken their place, making Chamorros a minority on their own island. Still, their values shape the Church. Chamorros hold tight to what is most important — family, respect for elders, faith, and respect for the dead. The ideal of Catholic practice in Guam is “respectful, not ostentatious.”

Guam’s matrilineal history is manifest in the roles women are traditionally granted as techas, prayer leaders for particular occasions; in the primacy of Marian devotion, particularly to Our Lady of Kamalen, regarded as patroness and protector of the island; and in the religious importance of promesas and intregas, promises passed down across generations of women to carry on particular devotions.

In the last several years, Guam has struggled through a major sexual abuse crisis that has caught up its now-deposed bishop, but it has not affected participation in the Church as it has in places like Ireland and the United States. Read more...

    Religious Affiliation
    Chart source: Pew-Templeton Global Religious Futures Project, 2010
    Total Population
    165,718 1
    Urban
    94.8% 1
    Rural
    5.2% 1
    Immigrants as % of Population
    47.7% 2
    Homicides
    4.15 per 100,000 people (global median: 5.8) 3
    Internet Users
    81% 6
    Religious Freedom: Government Restrictions Index (GRI)
    -
    Religious Freedom: Social Hostilities Index (SHI)
    -

    These statistics are derived from the Vatican's official publication, Statistical Yearbook of the Church 2020 (Vatican City: Librera Editrice Vaticana, 2022). The numbers may differ from data reported by other sources on this site.

    Baptized Catholics
    147,000
    Baptized Catholics as % of Total Population
    87.72
    Baptisms per Year (Under age 7)
    1,056
    Baptisms per Year (Over age 7)
    69
    First Communions per Year
    922
    Confirmations per Year
    1,606
    Students Enrolled in Catholic Primary Schools
    2,994
    Students Enrolled in Catholic Secondary Schools
    1,088
    Church Marriages per Year
    132
    Church Marriages in Which Both Spouses are Catholics
    125
    Priests
    54
    Women Religious (Nuns & Sisters)
    64
    Catholics per Priest
    2,718
    Parishes
    27
    Homes for Aged, Handicapped, Invalids
    1