Idiosyncrasy of the State and God: An Analysis on Religiosity and Ideology in Latin America

Authors

James D. Fiorenza, University of TampaFollow

Keywords

Latin America, Ideology, Voting, Religiosity, Political parties, Political violence, Catholicism

Document Type

Main Theme / Tema Central

Abstract

In this research paper, I will be analyzing the relationship between the religiosity of Latin America in terms of popular religion and religiosity of its followers, and how it has impacted and continues to impact the political systems of Latin America in terms of ideology. I will be conducting this research by conducting three case studies following the development of my hypothesis, my research of my case nations and the collecting of all needed data. After this, I will compare all my data and establish a well-developed conclusion which accurately conveys and demonstrates this data. My research will focus on answering this research question: How has religiosity impacted voting results for political parties of certain ideologies in Latin America? I am researching this subject to understand the intense and rapid political evolution of Latin America, in the context of religion and religiosity. To understand this change in the past century-and consequently be able to predict future development of ideology in Latin America- we need to understand the cultural change of Latin America and the cultural factors which impact ideology. I had two main hypotheses regarding my research- firstly, that an increase in Religiosity has led to an increase in votes for Revolutionary/Leftist parties in Latin America, and secondly that votes in elections in the 20th Century had a reactionary lean, but has since developed a revolutionary lean in the 21st Century. My research invalidated my first hypothesis and somewhat validated my second hypothesis, as there was very little correlation for support for leftist parties and religiosity. However, religiosity eventually did move from reactionary ideology closer to the center, and in some cases the center-left somewhat validating my second hypothesis that religiosity has gradually moved further left, albeit not as far left as predicted.

Recommended Citation

Fiorenza, James D. (2023) "Idiosyncrasy of the State and God: An Analysis on Religiosity and Ideology in Latin America," Culture, Society, and Praxis: Vol. 15: No. 1, Article 2.
Available at: https://digitalcommons.csumb.edu/csp/vol15/iss1/2