Latin America’s Religious Transformation. Search for a Grounded Paradigm

• In Event: 341 - Section on Sociology of Religion Refereed Roundtable Session and Business Meeting
  In Refereed Roundtable 60min: Table 02. Catholicism in National and Global Context

Abstract

This is an interpretative, critical and selective review on scholar contributions that have been trying to make sense of the religious transformation in Latin America. Here I explore the religious situation in Latin America and analyze the explanations given to make sense of it. After assessing the literature that uses either the secularization or rational choice approaches, the paper studies the explanations that highlight the idea of ‘popular religiosity’. Due to the problems found on these three theoretical frameworks, I propose a new methodological approach, the ‘lived-religion’ one.
After analyzing the advantages of using it, I show how it may lead to a better understanding of the religious particularities of the Latin America, while engaging in a dialogue with other regions of the world.

Author

• Enzo Gustavo Morello, Boston College