Encyclopedia of Law and Religion

Get access Subject: Law

Edited by: Gerhard Robbers and W. Cole Durham

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In recent years, issues of freedom of religion or belief and state-religion relations have become increasingly important worldwide. The Encyclopedia of Law and Religion, unique in its breadth and global coverage, provides an important foundational resource for study of these issues. The encyclopedia covers the relation between law and religion in its various aspects, including those related to the role of religion in society, the relations between religion and state institutions, freedom of religion, legal aspects of religious traditions, the interaction between law and religion, and other issues at the junction of law, religion, and state.

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Uruguay

(4,912 words)

Author(s): Carmen Asiaín Pereira
I. Social Facts In contrast to the rest of the Americas, hardly any native religions remain in Uruguay, due to extermination by the Spanish conquerors or self- or externally imposed isolation. The Roman Catholic Church preceded the independent state and was crucial in determining the denominational structure adopted by the 1830 Constitution. Today Roman Catholics are still the majority group (66%), but the number of adherents is slowly decreasing in favor of new religious movements. Non-Catholic Christians are the second-largest group. These include traditional Prote…
Source: Encyclopedia of Law and Religion