Political parties based on a religious identity or centered on issues of church and state are one of the oldest forms of political organization in Latin America. Such parties have also been proliferating in recent decades as evangelical Christians with political ambitions organize their own electoral vehicles, bringing significant diversity to a field long dominated by the Catholic Church. What different forms of religious political party exist in contemporary Latin America? What explains their varying levels of electoral success, longevity, and cooperation or competition with other parties, both secular and religious? Do contemporary religious parties reinforce the longstanding cleavage between Catholicism and Protestantism in Latin America, or do they appeal to a broader Christian identity? Do such parties embrace an exclusionary Christian nationalism—the notion that Christianity lies at the core of national identity and that state policy should reflect Christian principles—or do their stances respect religious diversity, state secularism, and Latin America’s growing number of nonbelievers? This chapter will explore these questions as it surveys contemporary religious political parties across Latin America.
Political parties anchored in religious identity or issues of church and state are one of the oldest forms of political organization in Latin America. Recently, such parties have proliferated as evangelical Christians with political ambitions form their own electoral platforms, bringing diversity to a field long dominated by the Catholic Church. What forms of religious political party exist in contemporary Latin America? What factors explain their varied electoral success, longevity, and relations with other parties, both secular and religious? Do they reinforce the longstanding divide between Catholicism and Protestantism, or do they appeal to a broader Christian identity? Do these parties embrace an exclusionary Christian nationalism—asserting Christianity as the core of national identity and public policy—or do they respect religious pluralism and state secularism amid growing nonbeliever populations? This paper will explore these questions as it surveys contemporary religious political parties across Latin America.