Search results
Results from the WOW.Com Content Network
The status of religious freedom in South America varies from country to country. States can differ based on whether or not they guarantee equal treatment under law for followers of different religions, whether they establish a state religion (and the legal implications that this has for both practitioners and non-practitioners), the extent to which religious organizations operating within the ...
The majority of Latin American Protestants in general are Pentecostal. [5] Brazil today is the most Protestant country in South America with 22.2% of the population being Protestant, [6] 89% of Brazilian evangelicals are Pentecostal, in Chile they represent 79% of the total evangelicals in that country, 69% in Argentina and 59% in Colombia. [5]
Every country in South America includes a provision for the freedom of religion in its constitution. A few countries have explicitly outlawed discrimination along religious lines. [78] [79] While no country in South America has an official state religion, some confer preferential treatment to the Catholic Church.
While Colombia remains a mostly Roman Catholic country by baptism numbers, the 1991 Colombian constitution guarantees freedom and equality of religion. [5] The Colombian Constitution of 1991 abolished the previous condition of the Roman Catholic Church as state church, and it includes two articles providing for freedom of worship:
All students attending private religious schools must participate in religious education, regardless of a student’s religious beliefs. [1] In the past, Christianity was the only religion being practised in schools, and children are asked to recite Christian prayers at least four times per day. [3]
Freedom of religion in Brazil is a constitutionally protected right, allowing believers the freedom to assemble and worship without limitation or interference. Non-traditional religions are well tolerated in the Brazilian culture. [1] [2] [3]
Article 19 expressly guarantees freedom of religion: "Freedom of religion is guaranteed. Every person has the right to freely profess his religion and to disseminate it individually or collectively. All religious confessions and churches are equally free before the law." In 2023, the country was scored 4 out of 4 for religious freedom. [4]
Religious and spiritual belief organizations are required to register with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and acquire a national legal personality. Until 2019, when the “law on religious freedom, religious organizations and spiritual beliefs” (LEY Nº 1161) was promulgated, there was an exception for the Catholic Church.