Argentina - Religion

RELIGION

Argentina is predominantely Roman Catholic, with 2% of the population Protestant and another 2% of the population Jewish. Currently a steady rise of Evangelicals is occurring in the recent decades, mainly due to gathered converts from Catholicism in lower classes. Even though the total population of Jewish is 2%, Buenos Aires contains the second largest population of Jewish in the Americas next to New York. Argentina also holds the largest population of Muslims in Latin America. Catholic practices incorporate a great deal of syncretism with religious festivals in the northwestern provinces featuring Catholic icons with ancient Andean pagan ceremonies.
Most claim Catholicism to be their religion mainly due to their cultural heritage in Argentina, leading to 78% of Argentineans claiming to be Catholic. However despite the percentage, people for the most part do not attend church on a weekly basis, let alone a monthly basis. Weddings, funerals, and most religious feasts are the most common reasons to attend church.
There has also been a recent decrease in perceived authority in the church throughout Argentina, however this does not lead to an increase in secularization. People believe for the most part that “there is no clear dividing line between good and evil,” because “they depend completely one the circumstances.” For the most part, attending church depends on ideological considerations, gender, age, education level, and status (i.e. generally women and older people attend more frequently, where as left-wing leaning people, more educated, and those of higher socio-economical status go less). Roughly 7% consider themselves secular or non-religious.