Christianity is the most widely professed religion in Argentina, with Catholicism being its largest denomination. This historical background is very much due to the Spanish influence brought about through the newly conquered territories. However, affiliation with Protestant churches is increasing, and immigration throughout the 20th century has brought other religions from various regions to Argentina.Creencias, valores y actitudes en la sociedad argentina, conicet.gov.ar, 29 January 2020 (Spanish)
Argentina is a secular nation and its constitution guarantees freedom of religion.US State Dept 2022 report Good Friday and Christmas are recognised as national holidays. A very detailed survey on belief and religious practice f life.
Christianity
Catholicism
In 2020, estimates for the number of Catholics vary from as low as 62.9% of the population,US State Dept 2022 report to as much as 92.12%.Catholics And Culture website, Retrieved 2023-08-01 The CIA Factbook lists 92% of the country as Catholic, but adds that less than 20% practice their faith regularly.Argentina. The World Factbook. Central Intelligence Agency. in People and Society section see also Religions Argentina
Argentina's society, culture, and politics are deeply imbued with 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 and the violent tactics of the Dirty War. Although Catholicism is not the official religion of the state, and freedom of religion is guaranteed by the Constitution, Catholic representatives take part in many state functions. Today, areas of Church-State contention include contraception, economic policies, and the disputed involvement of the Church in the Dirty War.
Catholic practices in Argentina (especially in indigenous areas) might be seen as incorporating a great deal of syncretism; for example, religious festivals in the north-western provinces feature Catholic icons in (or along with) ancient Andean indigenous ceremonies. The Pachamama worship is still widespread throughout Salta and Jujuy along with Catholic beliefs, without opposition from the Catholic bishops.
The church in Argentina is divided into dioceses and archdioceses. Buenos Aires, for example, is an archdiocese owing to is size and historical significance as the nation's capital. Buenos Aires Metropolitan Cathedral, the seat of the archbishop, houses the remains of General José de San Martín in a mausoleum.
There are nine Catholic universities in Argentina: the Pontifical Catholic University of Argentina (Buenos Aires), the Universidad del Salvador (Buenos Aires), the Universidad Católica de Córdoba, the Universidad de La Plata, the Universidad de Salta, the Universidad de Santa Fe, the Universidad de Cuyo, and the Universidad de Santiago del Estero. Religious orders run and sponsor hundreds of primary and secondary schools throughout the country, with and without government funding.
Cardinal Archbishop of Buenos Aires Jorge Bergoglio of Argentina was elected to the papacy, as Pope Francis, on 13 March 2013. https://www.humanite.fr/monde/habemus-papam-et-130-000-tweets-la-minute-517427 Habemus Papam et 130 000 Tweets la minute
Other Christian denominations
Protestant churches have been gaining ground since the 1980s. In Latin America, most Protestants are called Evangélicos (Evangelicals). One survey in 2008 found approximately 9% of the total population were Protestant; most of whom, 7.9% of the total population were Pentecostal. While Pentecostal churches originally attracted mostly the lower class, they show an increasing appeal to the urban middle class. Middle class congregations develop a distinctive style of Pentecostalism, more adapted to society. The Protestant fraternity known as the Independent Orange Order has the only established Orange Lodge in South America, based in Buenos Aires.
In addition 1.2% of the population were Jehovah's Witnesses and 0.9% The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. This study also found that Protestants were the only group in which a majority regularly attended services. A 2013 survey found 15% Protestant (9% Pentecostal,4% refusing to say which Protestant denomination and 2% mainline ).
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints claims over 505,000 members with five temples and 742 congregations.
The very first Waldensian settlers from Italy arrived in South America in 1856 and today the Waldensian Church of the Río de La Plata (which forms a united church with the Waldensian Evangelical Church) has approximately 40 congregations and 15,000 members shared between Uruguay and Argentina.
The Argentine Catholic Apostolic Church is a derivative movement of the Brazilian Catholic Apostolic Church (Igreja Católica Apostólica Brasileira) founded by the excommunicated Roman Catholic Bishop Carlos Duarte Costa of Brazil in 1945. The Argentine Catholic Apostolic Church was founded, according to varying sources, in 1970 or 1971, in Buenos Aires by its first Archbishop–Primate Leonardo Morizio Dominguez.
The Anglican Church of the Southern Cone of America represents the Anglican Communion in Argentina.
A 2015 study estimates some 2,200 Christian believers from a Muslim background in the country, most of them belonging to some form of Protestantism.
Orthodox Christianity is represented by Antiochian, Constantinople, Russian, Serbian, Romanian and Greek Orthodox Churches.
Religious minorities
Islam
Argentina has the largest Muslim minority in Latin America. Although the national census does not ask about religious affiliation, precluding accurate statistics, Argentina's Muslim community is estimated to number around 2.14% of the total population by World Christian Database(2022). Which is roughly 910,000. According USA report estimates in 500,000 ranged around 600,000.
The 20th century saw an influx of immigrants from the Ottoman Empire, mostly Arabs from Syria and Lebanon. They are generically called 'Turcos' (Turks) in Argentina, because when most arrived, Lebanon and Syria were territories of the Turkish Ottoman Empire.Recopilaron casi 200 años de los sirio libaneses en Argentina It is estimated that today there are about 3.5 million Argentines of Arab descent.September 2001 Executive Summary, Racial Discrimination: The Record of Argentina, Human Rights Documentation Center The majority of these Arab immigrants were Arab Christians and some were Mizrahi and Sephardic Jews. Though accurate information is unavailable, it is likely that less than a quarter of Arab migrants were Muslim Arabs. The descendants of Mizrahi and Sephardic Jews are more likely to identify themselves as just Jews rather than Arab Jews today.
The King Fahd Islamic Cultural Center, the largest mosque in South America, was completed in 1996 with the help of the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, on a piece of land measuring 20,000 m2. The total land area granted by the Argentine government measures 34,000 m2, and was offered by President Carlos Menem following his visit to Saudi Arabia in 1992. The project cost around US$30 million, includes a mosque, library, two schools, and a park, and is located in the middle-class district of Palermo, Buenos Aires.
The Islamic Organization of Latin America (IOLA), headquartered in Argentina, is considered an active organization in Latin America in promoting Islamic-affiliated endeavors. The IOLA holds events to promote the unification of Muslims living in Latin America, as well as the propagation of Islam.
Judaism
Argentina has the largest Jewish population in Latin America and south of the Tropic of Cancer,CIA World Factbook with about 300,000 people. The community numbered about 400,000 after World War II, but the appeal of Israel, and economic and cultural pressures at home, led many to leave for Israel, Europe, or the United States; recent instability in Israel has resulted in a modest reversal of the trend since 2003.
One of the Jewish groups in Argentina includes the Sephardi Jews, composed of Spanish and Portuguese migrants to Argentina. Migration began in the 18th century and continued until a few years following the birth of Israel. A majority of Sephardi Jews migrated to Argentina because of both groups speaking the Spanish language. However, after the creation of Israel, Sephardi tensions amongst Muslims in Latin American countries began to rise resulting in the remaining Sephardi populations, found mainly in Morocco, migrating to Argentina. Buenos Aires holds almost the entire Sephardic Jewish population in Argentina, home to roughly 50,000. In Argentina, Sephardi Jews remained separate of Ashkenazi Jews, who in the later half of the 20th century, made up most of the Jewish population in Latin America. However, as an overwhelming amount of the Argentinian population became Ashkenazic, the Sephardic Jews began marrying outside of the Sephardi Jewish community.
Although Jews account for less than 1% of Argentina's population, Buenos Aires has the largest population of Jews in the Americas, outside of the United States. It is the seventh largest Jewish community in the world.
Buddhism Buddhism in Argentina has been practiced since the early 1980s.
Although Argentina is largely Roman Catholic, Chinese immigrants established the first Chinese Buddhist temple in 1986, and Korean immigrants founded their own temple. Since then many practicing groups have been founded, some of them rooted in the popular Sōtō tradition from Japan, but also in many Tibetan practices, such as meditation(Mahamudra, Dzog Chen, Lam Rim).
The XIV Dalai Lama visited Buenos Aires twice. The first time was in 2006, the second in 2011.
Hinduism
Argentina has 2,030 persons of Indian origin (PIOs) and 1,300 non-resident Indians (NRIs). Some of them still refer to ayurveda, practice yoga, enjoy Indian classical music and speak South Aisian dialects and languages. They have established an Indian Association in the northern provinces and organize social and cultural events to celebrate Indian festivals. Unfortunately, there is little interaction between them and those who have settled down in other parts of the extensive country. A large number of the Indian diaspora living in Buenos Aires are businessmen, doctors, financial or business executives, and employees of multinational corporations. Most of them have retained their Indian citizenship. Many Hindus are Indo-Caribbeans from Guyana, Jamaica, Trinidad and Tobago, and Suriname.
Paganism According to a New York Times article there is a witch's group with over 25,000 followers and possibly millions of practitioners of Argentine cábala (not to be confused with Kabballah from which the term descends), a practice blending astrology, superstition, soccer, and paraphernalia associated with neopaganism.. There is also at least one organization active that insists Wicca is not a “secta” (Spanish for cult) since it is performed in solitary in its individual form.
Legal status