Argentina

Argentina is a Latin American country with a population of 40 million inhabitants distributed throughout a large territory, about 90% of whom live in cities. Most of the people are Catholic. Catholicism in Argentina is a wide social fact, not confined to the religious sphere. In the 16th century, the Spanish Conquest imposed a model of “Christianity” on the Argentinean territory. Catholicism became the monopolistic culture, not only subordinating those of Native Americans and African slaves but also excluding them from the public sphere altogether. Catholic culture established deep roots in Argentina, persisting postindependence, through liberal times, and well into the mid-20th century. However, modern Argentinean Catholicism is not the result of a parish civilization. It has been historically marked by the significance of urban structures and the persistent lack of priests. The discrepancy between the widespread (Catholic) belief and the low sacramental and parochial participation is one of the main characteristics of Argentina's religious panorama.

In contemporary, global times, Argentina is a believing society; 91% of the population believes in God. The religious identification shows a [Page 57]progressive pluralization; the percentage of Catholics in the country came down from 90% of the population in 1960 to 76.5% in 2008. The decline of the sense of belonging to Catholicism describes a fracture of the historical monopolistic cult, due to two main tendencies: (1) the growth of Pentecostal Protestantism and (2) an increase in religious indifference. Indeed, religiously indifferent people (agnostics, atheists, etc.) make up 11% of the population, and evangelical believers make up 9% of the population. In Argentina, there are other religious communities as well, such as Jehovah's Witnesses, Mormons, Jews, Muslims, Afro-Brazilians, and Buddhists. Jews in Argentina—approximately 300,000 persons, are the first Jewish community in Latin America. Argentina also became a place for the spread of religious movements. On the one hand, Pentecostal megachurches, such as the Igreja Universal do Reino de Deus (IURD; “Universal Church of the Kingdom of God”) and the Igreja Pentecostal Deus es amor (IPDA; “God Is Love Pentecostal Church”); indigenous beliefs; New Age manifestations; and Afro-Brazilian cults have consolidated their position assuming local features; on the other hand, Catholic and Pentecostal Protestant communities were born in the late 20th century and nowadays expand locally and globally.

Three main streams can be identified in the Argentinean religious landscape. First, the increasing quantity of people that define themselves as religiously indifferent confirms that people feel free to construct their identities beyond religious beliefs. Second, there is a new social space for beliefs other than Catholicism, such as the Pentecostal traditions, Native American religious traditions, Afro-Brazilian religions, and the multiple New Age manifestations, many of which express different subjectivities through corporal practices. Third, a deep process of de-institution-alization is in progress. We can perceive the inability of religious institutions to exert control over their parishioners. Most Argentineans relate to God in their own way, and only 2 out of 10 Argentineans attend a religious ceremony on a weekly basis.

We could say, as a form of conclusion, that the religious field in Argentina is a wide space with blurred boundaries that overlaps other social fields. This transformation during the past decades has resulted in a diversified social and religious landscape that is both innovative and vital.

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