Anticlericalism in Argentina

Definition

Anticlericalism is a complex ideology that is very difficult to define. In general it implies the rejection of clericalism, understood as a tendency toward clerical control of public life. It developed in the Christian countries and in particular Catholic contexts. Sometimes anticlericalism rejects religion in general, but frequently its enemy is the clergy, a certain authority (such as the Pope), the religious orders in general or a particular one (notably the Jesuits). Many times it does not imply the absolute negation of religion but rather its adaptation to modernity.

Introduction

Anticlericalism played an important role in the political and cultural processes of Argentina in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. It helped to shape the links between the Argentine State, the Church, and society, defending a new model of public sphere and a set of inalienable principles. Progress, civilization, state sovereignty, or individual rights were at stake in every polemic around...