COUNTRY
Argentina
POPULATION
42,192,494 (July 2012 est.)
GDP PER CAPITA
$17,700 (2011 est.)
RELIGIONS
nominally Roman Catholic 92% (less than 20% practicing), Protestant 2%, Jewish 2%, other 4%
The society, culture, and politics of Argentina are deeply imbued with Roman Catholicism. The Church’s place in Argentine national identity, which spans across the ideological spectrum, stems from the perpetual ability of Argentines on different sides of political and social divides to find some level of support in the Church. The Church solidified its hold on the territory of modern-day Argentina during the period of Spanish colonial rule from the 16th to early 19th centuries. Church leaders variously supported and opposed the policies of Juan Perón (1946-55) and the violent tactics of the Dirty War (1976-83). Roman Catholicism remains the official religion of the state and Catholic representatives take part in many state functions. Freedom of religion is also guaranteed by the Constitution. Today, areas of Church-State contention include contraception, economic policies, and the disputed involvement of the Church in the Dirty War. Around 90% of Argentines self-identify as Catholic, though only 20% practice their faith on a regular basis.
All the inhabitants of the Nation are entitled to the following rights, in accordance with the laws that regulate their exercise, namely: to work and perform any lawful industry; to navigate and trade; to petition the authorities; to enter, remain in, travel through, and leave the Argentine territory; to publish their ideas through the press without previous censorship; to make use and dispose of their property; to associate for useful purposes; to profess freely their religion; to teach and...
Foreigners enjoy within the territory of the Nation all the civil rights of citizens; they may exercise their industry, trade and profession; own real property, buy and sell it; navigate the rivers and coasts; practice freely their religion; make wills and marry under the laws. They are not obliged to accept citizenship nor to pay extraordinary compulsory taxes. They may obtain naturalization papers residing two uninterrupted years in the Nation; but the authorities may shorten this term in...
The Federal Government supports the Roman Catholic Apostolic religion.
July 5, 2007
There are priests... like Mujica, the priest of the poor, Monsignor Hesayne, De Nevares, and Angeleli in La Rioja that honored the fatherland, the Church and religion. But there are priests like the one that, thanks to God, they will begin to judge and bring to justice today in La Plata, like Von Wernich, that dishonored the Church, the poor and human rights.
We, the representatives of the people of the Argentine Nation, gathered in General Constituent Assembly by the will and election of the Provinces which compose it, in fulfillment of pre-existing pacts, in order to form a national union, guarantee justice, secure domestic peace, provide for the common defense, promote the general welfare and secure the blessings of liberty to ourselves, to our posterity, and to all men of the world who wish to dwell on argentine soil: invoking the protection...
July 13, 2010
They [the Catholic Church] are portraying this as a religious moral issue and as a threat to "the natural order," when what we are really doing is looking at a reality that is already there. It would be a terrible distortion of democracy if they denied minorities their rights.
July 8, 2010
In the coming weeks, the Argentine people will face a situation whose outcome can seriously harm the family. [...] At stake is the identity and survival of the family: father, mother and children. At stake are the lives of many children who will be discriminated against in advance, and deprived of their human development given by a father and a mother and willed by God. At stake is the total rejection of Gods law engraved in our hearts. [...] Let us not be naive: this is not simply a...
