Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Populism and Laicity

  • Living reference work entry
  • First Online:
Encyclopedia of Latin American Religions

  • 37 Accesses

Definition

In Latin America, laicism is a historical concept. It designates three moments in its development in the region. The first one emphasizes the separation between the state and the churches, sometimes with an anticlerical position against the Catholicism authority in the public space. The second one refers to the political autonomy with respect to the religious, where political legitimacy comes from the general will and not from transcendental values (Blancarte 2008). And the third one is defined as a liberal process in which the rights and freedoms of citizens are guaranteed against collective or religious supremacy (Blancarte 2011).

Populism, on the other hand, is a polysemic concept that does not refer to an ideology or identifies with any social class. It is above all an antagonistic discourse that simplifies the political struggle in good and bad. The political leaders speak on behalf of the people as a uniform and elastic subject where everything fits. The populists...

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this chapter

Log in via an institution

Institutional subscriptions

References

  • Arditi B (2009) El populismo como periferia interna de la política democrática. In: Panizza F (ed) El populismo como espejo de la democracia. Fondo de Cultura Económica, México, pp 97–133

    Google Scholar 

  • Blancarte R (2008) Laicidad y laicismo en América Latina. Estud Sociológicos XXVI(76):139–164

    Google Scholar 

  • Blancarte R (2011) Para entender el Estado Laico. Ediciones Nostra, México

    Google Scholar 

  • Casanova J (2009) The secular and secularisms. Soc Res 76(4):1049–1066

    Google Scholar 

  • Conniff M (2003) Neo-populismo en América Latina: La década de los 90 y después. Rev Cienc Política 1:31–38

    Google Scholar 

  • Constant B (1978) La libertad de los antiguos comparada con los modernos. Centro de Estudios Latinoamericanos, México

    Google Scholar 

  • Deusdad B (2003) El concepto de liderazgo político carismático: populismo e identidades. Opción 19(41):9–35

    Google Scholar 

  • Esquivel J (2008) Laicidades relativas, avatares de la relación Estado Iglesia en Brasil. In: Blancarte R (ed) Los retos de la laicidad y la secularización en el mundo contemporáneo. El Colegio de México, México, pp 163–192

    Google Scholar 

  • Giner S (1997) Formas modernas de Religión. Alianza Universidad, Madrid

    Google Scholar 

  • Huaco M (2012) Procesos constituyentes y discursos contra hegemónicos sobre laicidad, sexualidad y religión. CLACSO, Buenos Aires

    Google Scholar 

  • Judis BJ (2016) The populist explosion: how the great recession transformed American and European politics. Columbia Global Reports, Nueva York

    Google Scholar 

  • Laclau E (2006) La razón populista. Fondo de Cultura Económica, México

    Google Scholar 

  • Mallimaci F, Di Stefano R (2001) Religión e Imaginario Social. Ediciones Manantial, Buenos Aires

    Google Scholar 

  • Marchar O (2006) En el nombre del pueblo, La razón populista y el sujeto de lo político. Cuad del CENDES 23(62):37–58

    Google Scholar 

  • McCormick J (2012) Sobre la distinción entre democracia y populismo. Rev Let Libres 160:15–17

    Google Scholar 

  • Mouffe C (2009) El “fin de la política” y el desafío del populismo de derecha. In: Panizza F (ed) El populismo como espejo de la democracia. Fondo de Cultura Económica, México, pp 51–73

    Google Scholar 

  • Mudde C (2012) Reflexiones sobre un concepto y su uso, el ABC del populismo. Rev Let Libres 160:10–14

    Google Scholar 

  • Stavrakakis Y (2009) Religión y populismo en la Grecia contemporánea. In: Panizza F (ed) El populismo como espejo de la democracia. Fondo de Cultura Económica, México, pp 313–350

    Google Scholar 

  • Todorov T (2012) Los enemigos íntimos de la democracia. Editorial Galaxia Gutenberg, Barcelona

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Universidad La Salle México, Ciudad de México, Mexico

    Felipe Gaytan

Authors
  1. Felipe Gaytan
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Felipe Gaytan .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Sociology/Anthropology, Oakland Univ Sociology/Anthropology, Rochester, MI, USA

    Henri Gooren

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 2018 Springer International Publishing AG, part of Springer Nature

About this entry

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this entry

Gaytan, F. (2018). Populism and Laicity. In: Gooren, H. (eds) Encyclopedia of Latin American Religions. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-08956-0_373-1

Download citation

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-08956-0_373-1

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Cham

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-319-08956-0

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-319-08956-0

  • eBook Packages: Springer Reference Religion and PhilosophyReference Module Humanities and Social SciencesReference Module Humanities

Publish with us

Policies and ethics

Search

Navigation