Religion in Buenos Aires

The Prominence of Roman Catholicism

In spite of a vast and diverse population, the city of Buenos Aires remains surprisingly uniform in its religious and racial make up. This sprawling medical tourism hotspot of more than 12 million inhabitants is comprised overwhelmingly of European immigrants, particularly those of Catholic Spanish and Italian descent. Millions of these arrived in Buenos Aires between 1860 and 1940 drawn by the higher quality of life. These Italian and Spanish immigrants chose to settle down in the city and greatly influenced the social, linguistic, and religious fabric of Buenos Aires. In fact, as recently as 1994, only Catholics could serve as the country’s President.

Other Religions and Cults

Although Roman Catholicism is the predominant force here, there is freedom of worship in Buenos Aires. Moslems, mainly consisting of Arab émigrés from Syria and Lebanon, constitute about one percent of the local population. Jews, many of whom arrived here during the Peron regime, are also estimated at around one percent of the local demographic. Like with many other Latin American Catholic countries over the past fifty years, Protestantism is making deep inroads into this medical tourism destination’s traditional Catholic heartland. Makeshift churches with names like the Church of Jesus Christ is Love, housed in converted cinema complexes dot many of the city’s working class neighborhoods.

Veneration of the dead has a special place in Buenos Aires’ religious traditions. To get a better feel for the city’s religious make up, schedule a visit to one of the city’s elite cemeteries like the Recoleta on your medical tourism itinerary. On any given day you’ll see lines of pilgrims filing past the graves of luminaries like Eva and Juan Peron. Many will ask for favors from the departed by placing a hand on the grave and leaving offerings.

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