The challenge of integrating beliefs, cults and practices in Argentina

Pastors on TV, outdoor meditation and sanctuaries of Gauchito Gil along the routes are only some signs of religious diversity that have become visible in the media and public spaces. Is this a new phenomenon? Is the presence of different cults the same in all the provinces? Is Argentina a respectful country with the different representations of the sacred?

The answers of these questions and others are part of the book “Experiencias plurales de lo sagrado. La diversidad religiosa argentina” [Plural experiences of the sacred. Argentine religious Diversity], which was recently compiled by Fabián Flores, CONICET associate researcher at the Universidad Nacional de Luján (UNLu) [National University of Luján] and Paula Seiguer, CONICET assistant researcher at the Instituto de Historia Argentina y Americana “Dr. Emilio Ravignani” (IHAYA, CONICET-UBA) [“Dr. Emilio Ravignani” Institute of Argentine and American History]

In this interview, Flores explains the complexity of the Argentine religious scenario and its historical and geographical features.

Is religion important for Argentine people?

Yes, it is, because it explains not only the religious part per se but also the social dynamics. I think that nowadays we face a particular situation that has generated the recurrence of religions, which has sparked the academic interest in the new characteristics resulting from new forms of religiosities. Furthermore, it is notable to consider that all this has increased with the election of an Argentine Pope and its impact. “The Pope Francis effect” has caused turmoil over the studies of religions.

Why are you studying religious diversity?

In the last decades, we have been studying intensively this religious phenomenon, what proves its transcendence and allows us to explain our daily reality as well as to understand several issues regarding how the world works. Through religion it is possible to explain the organization of the states, the internal conflicts that arise, etc. It is not only related to the individual part and specific beliefs, it also has character and social relevance. As social scientists we cannot ignore the religious aspect because it helps us to understand society as a whole. It should not be taken separate from the social aspect, it has to be considered as an aspect that organises, articulates and allows us to grasp reality.

Which was the objective of the book?

Religion is far from disappearing and from being separated of people’s lives: it is very present in new forms and dynamics. The objective was to reintroduce the different ways in which religion becomes evident in everyday life. Through diverse fieldworks in different historical moments and geographical settings, this book aims to show how certain religious manifestations arise and how, from our perspective, they occupy a secondary position within a constantly dynamic religious field that reinvents itself. We have tried to focus on four main points regarding the religious phenomenon in Argentina to reflect religious diversity.

Which are those four aspects?

The first one is the idea that religious diversity is not a new phenomenon; it has a vast and profound history. Some of cases illustrated in this book hint at the presence of this diversity from even before the creation of the Argentine State. The second issue is that the religious groups that have been organized and constituted should be considered within specific times, spaces and contexts to understand how they work. The third point is related to the religious identities of those groups and the subjects who are part of them. Religious identities are not given but produced and resignified all the time. The last aspect deals with how religious leadership is developed: points of tension and conflict according to how the group deals with particular situations. This shows that the religious field is very dynamic, it is constantly changing, and the focus should be not only on those leaders but also on how they assume their positions with regard to other religious groups.

Which are the main cases analysed?

The book has a wide diversity of empirical work; eleven studies within a large time framework ranging from the beginning of the nineteenth century to the present, more than 200 years of religious diversity. They have been grouped in four sections according to their characteristics of the selected subjects and the period. There is a first group which focuses on Christian missions. The second group deals with the links between religion and immigration. The third group analysis how a trip is articulated by the religious aspect; and the last one consists in current religions and practices that make us think about the relationship between religion, body and spirituality. We found a great diversity set in different historical times, nonetheless, they all deal with the idea that those groups have tried to position themselves in a tense religious scenario.

What is it about the chapter you wrote?

I am working in a CONICET project that deals with different pilgrimage experiences in the city of Luján and analysed specially a new case: the enthronement of Mamã Muxima. Luján is the main pilgrimage centre of the country. In 2014, people organized the first pilgrimage of Angolan people to enthrone their patron saint, Mamã Muxima. She was the first African virgin to be enthroned in a church that concentrates most of the Marian devotions of the world. This fact introduces a new way of accepting another internal diversity within the Catholic Church. My study covers the speeches that articulated this pilgrimage model and the perspectives that try to reinvent all local tradition with the notion that the African component has been present since the origin of the devotion through the figure of the Negro Manuel. These processes make the pilgrimage practice have common grounds with the current form of religiosity.

Taking into account these cases, ¿Is it possible to say that Argentina is a country that accepts religious diversity?

Religious diversity is reflected in the fact that there are different cults and practices that change and consolidate. This is different from pluralism, in which we all value religious diversity in a positive way. I think we still need to work to reach that. From state areas, there have been some advances in this last time, but that was not enough. We still have to work on the perspective of the society and the relationships it establishes to understand others. The catholic-centred mould in which we grow is very strong and everything that does not fit into that view becomes dangerous, a conflict that cannot be solved. The media reproduces these stereotypes and prejudices. It is relevant to understand that diversity is as important as plurality. The society should value the existence of religions in a positive way, and only after that consider the idea of equality.