Religious Argentinians

Argentineans and Religion

Approximately 90 percent of Argentineans are born Roman Catholics or Christians. About two percent of the population is Protestant and, according to recent Argentinean statistics, about 400,000 Jews live in Buenos Aires.

According to the World Christian Database. Argentines are 92.1% Christian or Roman Catholic, 3.1% agnostic, 1.95 Muslim, 1.3% Jewish, 0.9% Atheist, and 0.9% Buddhist and other.

The following is from the Argentina.gov website:

According to the National Constitution , in its 14th. Article establishes that “All inhabitants in the Nation have same rights conforming to the laws that rule their practice, namely: to run any licit industry; to sail and trade; to petition; to come in, stay, travel and go out of the territory; to publish their ideas on the press with no prior censorship; to use and dispose of their real estate; to get associated for useful purposes; to freely practice their cult or religion ; to teach and to learn ". The Argentinean government has a Secretary of Cult whose main purpose is to keep records of all cults via. a registry of all recognized cults along with maintaining peace between the different cults.

Major Festivals Observed by Argentineans

Main Popular Festivities
• Our Lady of Itatí: July 9.
• Virgen of Carmen de Cuyo: July 16.
• Pacha Mama: August 1.
• Saint Cayetano: August 7.
• Our Lady of Luján: October 1.
• San Martín de Tours: November 11.
• New Year: January 1.
• The Three Wise Men: January 6.
• Easter and Sunday of Resurrection: The date varies according to the year.
• Immaculate Conception of Virgin María: December 8.
• Christmas: December 25.

Up until recently the President of Argentina needed to be Roman Catholic in order to become president. Also the Roman Catholic Church supported and the government financially, this is a conflict of interest where the Church would have say in many political debates.

In reference to Maine

The religion in Maine according to city-data.com is Maine had about 283,024 Roman Catholics and an estimated 8,290 Jews in 2000. The leading Protestant denominations were the United Methodist Church, with 31,689 adherents; the United Church of Christ, 29,122; and the American Baptists USA, 26,259. The Muslim community had about 800 members. Over 800,000 people (about 63.6% of the population) were not counted as members of any religious organization.

Problems faced by Argentineans, and other religious people, that would immigrate to Maine

Except for New Years, Easter, and Christmas many of the Festivals that are observed or celebrated by Argentineans are not observed here in the United States. If the Argentinean people were to assimilate here then it would be very difficult for them to observe or celebrate their own festivals which are very important to their own religions. I feel that this is true to many religions because, the Unites States only observes a handful of Holiday's and employers are not willing to allow time for people to celebrate the days that are important to them religiously.

Another issue is that many people have the notion that Christianity and Catholicism are under the same church and they are not. Where the Pope is the head of the Catholic church there is no head of the Christian church other than Christ. This I have found, from talking to Catholics and Christians in Maine, is an issue because many people assume that the Catholic holiday's are the same as Christians and they are not.

What Can be Done?

1. Don't assume that one religion is above another
2. Don't assume that one religion is connected to another without doing some research
3. Be respectful of other's holidays and observances, if you don't know anything about them ask.

Argentina: demographics and immigration to North America

General Information about Argentina

Argentina, officially the Argentine Republic is the second largest country in South America. It is the eighth -largest country in the world by land area and the largest among Spanish-speaking nations.

Population

In 2001 census , Argentina had a population of 36,260,130 inhabitants, and the official population estimate for 2009 is of 40,134,425. Argentina ranks third in South America in total population and 33rd globally. The population growth rate in 2008 was estimated to be 0.92% annually, with a birth rate of 16.32 live births per 1,000 inhabitants and a mortality rate of 7.54 deaths per 1,000 inhabitants.

Argentina is considered a country of immigrants. Most Argentinians are descended from colonial-era settlers and of the 19th and 20th century immigrants from Europe, and 86.4% of Argentina's population self-identify as European decedents. An estimated 8% of the population is Mestizo, and a further 4% of Argentinians are of Arab or East Asian heritage. In the last national census, based on self-identification, 600,000 Argentinians (1.6%) declared to be Amerindians.

Argentina, an ethnically diverse country, about 90 percent of the Argentinean population consists of immigrants from Italy and Spain and their descendants. In the late nineteenth and twentieth centuries, other ethnic groups, including Germans, Poles, Welsh, Irish, Lebanese, Hungarians, Czechs, Danish, French, Jews, Japanese, Koreans, and Swiss also chose Argentina for settlement. Almost half of the immigrants who arrived during that period eventually returned to their countries of origin.

Religion

Approximately 90 percent of Argentinians are born Roman Catholics. About two percent of the population is Protestant and, according to recent Argentinean statistics, about 400,000 Jews live in Buenos Aires.

According to the World Christian Database. Argentines are 92.1% Christian, 3.1% agostic, 1.95 Muslim, 1.3% Jewish, 0.9% Atheist, and 0.9% Buddhist and other.Argentine Christians are mostly Roman Catholic.

Language

The official language of Argentina is Spanish, usually called castellano (Castilian) by Argentines.

Immigration to the United States

Prior to the 1970s, Argentinean immigrants were classified by the U.S. government within the broad category of "Other Hispanics," and immigration statistics from before that time do not exist. Nonetheless, Argentinean immigrants to the United States are a relatively new group.

In 1970 there were 44,803 Argentinean immigrants in the United States. The 1990 U.S. Census, which counted 92,563 Argentinians, indicates that nearly half of all Argentinean immigrants arrived in the United States in the last two decades alone.

Early Argentinian immigrants came to the United States, primarily during the 1960s, in search of greater economic opportunities. Later Argentinians began to immigrate to the United States during the mid- to late-1970s— in order to escape political persecution during the "dirty war." This group was more diverse and less educated than their predecessors, although their educational attainment tended to be higher than that of Argentina's overall population.

In the 1970s, 20 % of the Argentinians in the United States resided in the New York metropolitan area. In the 1980s, this percentage increased to just over 23 percent.

Overall, Argentinean Americans typically prefer metropolitan areas, such as New York City, where 17,363 Argentinean Americans were counted in the 1990 U.S. Census, and Los Angeles, home for 15,115 Argentinean immigrants. The least preferred destinations are North Dakota and Montana, where only 15 Argentinians were counted in each state.

Just the Beginning of issues encountered in the Immigration to the United Sates

Due to Argentina's ethnically diverse population challenges arises as any attempts are made to to ethnically classify Argentinean Americans. Commonly used terms when referring to people of South America are "Hispanic" and "Latino." The use of these terms do present problems when they are used to define Argentinian Americans as well as many other people from the Americas. The word "Hispanic" derives from the Latin word "Hispania," a proper name in Latin that describes the area also known as the Iberian Peninsula (Spain and Portugal). The questionnaire for the 1990 U.S. Census, uses the term to apply to Argentinian Americans which, excludes almost half of their population, most of whom are Italian born or of Italian descent. The term "Latino" also presents some major difficulties in describing the cultural and ethnic diversity of South America, which extends far beyond its Latin European heritage. The term Latin America excludes the native people of Central and South America, as well as its numerous immigrant groups who have little in common with the Latin European countries.