Category:Argentina

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Argentina is a country in South America.

Overview

Jews, Christians, and Muslims in Argentina

Christianity (in its Roman Catholic form) was carried to South America in the 16th century by the Spanish conquistadors. Catholic practices, especially in rural areas, incorporated ancient Andean indigenous ceremonies. Spanish colonial rule, from the 16th to early 19th centuries, gave the Catholic Church a situation of monopoly, enforced by the Inquisition.

In the 19th century, with the creation of the modern Argentine State and the arrival of numerous immigrants, the religious situation became more diverse. The first Waldensian settlers from Italy arrived in South America in 1856 and more than 200,000 Jews came from Russia, Morocco and other European countries. Among the immigrants from the Ottoman Empire were also numerous Muslims.

Contemporary times

Today, the overwhelming majority of Argentine people identify themselves as Roman Catholics and the Catholic Church has a special role of predominance in Argentine society, even though the Argentine constitution grants freedom to all religions.

Argentina has the largest Jewish and Muslim populations in Latin America. Buenos Aires hosts numerous synagogues and Jewish cultural institutions. The King Fahd Islamic Cultural Center, the largest mosque in South America, was completed in 1996.

In recent decades Christian Evangelical Churches have also experienced an unprecedented growth.

In Depth

• Argentine Scholarship / Argentine Scholars -- survey of works by Argentine Scholars / biographies of Argentine Scholars

• Argentine Fiction / Argentine Authors -- survey of works by Argentine Authors / biographies of Argentine Authors

See also: Argentine -- Spanish language

External links

• Wikipedia / [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Religion_in_Argentina Wkipedia (Religion in Argentina)