Religion in Argentina

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A majority of the population of Argentina is nominally Roman Catholic. About 2% are Protestant, and another 2% are Jewish. In the last decades, as in the rest of Latin America, there has also been a rise in Evangelical movements, which have mostly gathered converts from Catholicism in the lower classes. Although Jews only account for 2% of Argentina's population, Buenos Aires has the second largest population of Jewish people in the Americas, second only to New York City. Argentina also boasts the largest Muslim minority in Latin America (see Islam in Argentina).

Catholic practices (especially in the non-central areas) incorporate a great deal of syncretism; for example, religious festivals in the north-western provinces feature Catholic icons in (or along with) ancient Andean pagan ceremonies.

Contents 1 Attitudes towards religion 2 Popular cults 3 Legal status 4 References

[edit] Attitudes towards religion

Catholicism is part of the cultural heritage of most Argentinians. A study conducted by Marita Carballo (board member of Gallup International) for her book "Cultural Values at the Turn of the Millennium" (1999) showed that 78% of Argentinians call themselves Catholic. However, as a whole only 8% attend church more than once a week, and 16% only once a month; among avowed Catholics only 28% attend weekly services, and a quarter of them do not attend any. In most cases, they attend church occasionally for weddings, funerals and major religious feasts. In addition, very few Argentinians align strictly to Catholic mandates (such as those on contraception).

The study shows a decrease in the perceived authority of the Church, but not an increased secularization; in fact, people who consider themselves "religious" went from 62% in 1984 to 81% in 1999. There is however a tendency to moral relativism: 54% of those surveyed expressed the opinion that "there is no clear dividing line between good and evil" because "they depend completely on the circumstances".

A separate Gallup poll for Latin America (2000) showed that 93% of Argentinians profess to follow some religion (83% of them are Catholics), and that regular attendance to church is tied to ideological considerations, as well as gender, age, education level and status (women and older people go to church more; left-wing-leaning people, educated people and those of higher socio-economical status go less). The remaining 7% of Argentinians can be considered non-religious or secular.

[edit] Popular cults

Besides traditional religious practices, there are also a number of unconventional practices, usually part of local folklore. One of the most famous is the veneration of La Difunta Correa ("The Deceased Correa").

Deolinda Correa was a woman whose husband fought in the civil war in 1840. Correa, along with her infant son, followed her husband's battalion. While in San Juan, Correa suffered from starvation and thirst, and eventually died as a result. A group of soldiers found her body a few days afterwards, her son still alive and nursing from her breast. Because of this apparent miracle, people built shrines in her name in Vallecito, where she is buried. Her followers believe that Deolinda Correa has supernatural powers, and each year they make a pilgrimage to her grave, where they present gifts and plastic bottles of water to thank her for miracles that they believe she granted.

Another popular cult is that of the Gauchito Gil ("the little gaucho Gil", Antonio Mamerto Gil Núñez), born in the province of Corrientes (allegedly in 1847). Gil was forced to enlist to fight in the civil war, but he deserted and became an outlaw à la Robin Hood.

From the Río Negro Province, Ceferino Namuncurá, son of the Mapuche cacique Manuel Namuncurá, is also source of veneration all over the Patagonia. He died of tuberculosis with only 18 years of age, while in Italy during his catholic education, and was later named venerable by the Vatican.

Many other beliefs in advocations of the Virgin, saints and other religious characters exist throughout the country, which are locally or regionally popular, among them the following:

• In Corrientes: Virgin of Itatí, Curuzú José.
• In Salta and Jujuy: Virgin of the Rosary, Virgin of the Mercies, Virgin of Río Blanco and Paypaya.
• In Santiago del Estero: Our Lord of Mailín, Virgin of Huachana, Virgin of Sumampa.
• In Bariloche: Virgin of the Snows, Virgin of Nahuel Huapi.
• In Catamarca: Virgin of the Valley.
• In Buenos Aires: San Cayetano.
• In Buenos Aires Province: Virgin of the Rosary of San Nicolás de los Arroyos, Virgin of Luján, Pancho Sierra.
• In Córdoba: Virgin of Punilla.
• In Neuquén: Virgin of Andacollo.
• In La Rioja: Niño Alcalde, Christ of the Rock (Cristo de la Peña), Indian Virgin of Sanagasta.
• In Misiones: Virgin of Iguazú.
• In San Juan: Virgin of the Valley of Tulum.
• In La Pampa: Saint Mary of La Pampa.
• In Santa Cruz: Virgin of Guer Aike.

[edit] Legal status

The Preamble of the Argentine Constitution reflects the deistic beliefs of many of the crafters, often influenced by ideas of the Freemasonry (when not Freemasons themselves). The statement of the Constitution's goals ends by "invoking the protection of God, source of all reason and justice".

The Constitution includes several references to religion. The 14th article, which summarizes the rights of the citizens, includes religious freedom: "All the inhabitants of the nation are entitled to the following rights: ... to freely profess their cult...". The 93rd article allows for the president and the vice-president taking office to swear their oath before Congress "respecting their religious beliefs".

The Roman Catholic Church is Argentina's state religion. The state grants special privileges to it, based on the second article of the Constitution:

El Gobierno federal sostiene el culto católico, apostólico, romano.

"The Federal Government supports the Apostolic Roman Catholic religion."

Officially speaking, this support is economic (the federal state pays a salary to bishops and cardinals) as well as institutional (for example, the military structures have special posts for Catholic chaplains). The state also subsidizes many private schools, most of which are affiliated with the Catholic Church. The total economic support of the Church by the state amounts to 12 million Argentine pesos per year (about 4 million USD). Each bishop receives a monthly salary that is set by law to the equivalent of 80% of that a judge, about 4,300 pesos or 1,430 USD. Older seminarists and retired priests receive minor pensions, and parishes in conflictive and border areas are subsidized with 335 pesos per month (112 USD). As of December 2005, and after recent conflicts with the national government, the Argentine Episcopacy is considering the possibility of forgoing this support, in favor of full independence. [1]

The Constitution used to state that the president must be a Roman Catholic. This requirement was removed from the text in the 1994 constitutional reform. The old 1853 text also included a goal "to keep a pacific relationship with the Indians and promote their conversion to Catholicism", which was deleted in the reform.

The law that regulates the acknowledgement of religions by the state dates from 1978, and makes it prohibitively bureaucratic for minority cults to attain official recognition, since it was passed by the dictatorial government of the time basically to search those cults for politically subversive elements. The current government has expressed its intention to modify the law, which would allow, for example, for the quick recognition of the native Mbyá-Guaraní tribal religion. [2]

For more historical details about the relations and conflicts of the Argentine State with the Catholic Church, see the article on State-Church relations in Argentina.

[edit] References

• The Argentine Constitution (in Spanish)
• U.S. Department of State - 2004 Annual Report for International Religious Freedom: Argentina
• Religious Freedom World Report - Argentina
• Marita Carballo. Valores culturales al cambio del milenio (ISBN 950-794-064-2). Cited in La Nación, 2005-05-08.
• ACI Digital, January 2000 (In Spanish)