Conference Report: Liberalism and Religion. Secularisation and the Public Sphere in the Americas

The development of political, economic, scientific and cultural spheres separate to and autonomous from the Catholic Church in Latin America during the long nineteenth century was a central aspect of the secularising agenda of liberalism, which contributed to the reformulation of relations between religious institutions, the state, and public life. But this was neither a linear nor an uncontested process. This workshop explored reformist, laicist, and anticlerical positions towards the Church in Latin American society to highlight the complex processes of negotiation between different groups of liberals and the Church, as well as their effects on the public sphere, examining the emergence of Masonic movements and the impact of Church-State relations on the evolution of citizenship and political identities. The workshop also reflected on the relationship between modernity, liberalism, and religion, in an attempt to historicise the categories of “religion” and the “secular”.