Abstract
This chapter proposes an in-depth analysis of the complex connections between religion and politics in democratic Argentina by focusing on the actions of political and religious leaders with respect to the approval of legislation on sexual education in 2006. Based on a reconstruction of the parliamentary defeat and the tedious path towards the effective implementation of sexual education in the education system, I examine the active negotiation between politics and religion in the public sphere, as well as the intervention strategies and discursive foundations of the religious institutions—principally the Catholic Church—that frequently influence legislation and governmental policies. I analyze the interaction between political culture, ecclesiastical power, and citizens’ rights in order to rethink national public administration and the possible conditions for guaranteeing an inclusive democracy.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Similar content being viewed by others
Notes
- 1.
However, it was only in the 2007 academic year that sexual education was made an obligatory topic in educational establishments. As we have also observed, the passing of a law does not per se guarantee its implementation in all of Argentina ’s territory. In fact, multiple interests operate that delay or block its execution.
- 2.
A perspective on gender implies a critical view of the roles and stereotypes historically assigned to men and women. According to this perspective, the anatomical and physiological differences between the sexes are resignified according to the ruling sociocultural standards in each society. From this follows the category of gender as a social construction—in contrast to the natural biological interpretation maintained by Christian anthropology—which proposes that values, representations, and symbols outline the meanings that are attributed to each sex in any given socio-historical moment. In a historical–cultural analysis of the social roles assigned to men and women, their unequal character stands out in their differing access to material and symbolic goods, and resources.
- 3.
One of the most evident examples of ecclesiastical efficacy in governmental decisions was recorded during the government of Carlos Menem (1989–1999), when specialists convened by the Ministry of Education designed the Minimum Common Content related to the Federal Education Law in 1995. In response, episcopal authorities deemed it relativist in its conception of man and reductionist in its presentation of the family and the Church as cultural products. In addition, episcopal authorities spoke with the then Minister of Education, Jorge Rodriguez, to ‘suggest’ modifying this basic content and including references to the existence of God in personal and social life. The Ministry of Education’s acquiescence to the Catholic leadership’s demands caused the resignation of the specialists who had proposed the Minimum Common Content and considered the 63 modifications that were finally introduced to be unacceptable.
- 4.
In the Buenos Aires City Council, various projects dealing with the same issue were also discussed. After several failed proposals, the sexual education law was passed on October 12, 2006.
- 5.
The activity was carried out in the framework of the provincial Reproductive Health Law (2003), which resulted in the establishment of the “Adolescence and Health” course in this high school. It was implemented after three recorded cases of premature pregnancy at this high school, which drove its principal to create other opportunities for the school’s students to receive sexual education .
- 6.
The Argentine Episcopal Conference has 20 Episcopal Commissions, with the goal of addressing the multiple dimensions of social life. As a result, the Catholic Church deploys its actions in the areas of culture, communications, penitentiaries, universities, family, and education. Each commission has a president who is responsible for broadcasting the axiological standards and program directives to the larger society. In the context of the discussion of the Law on Sexual Education, Garlatti’s presence became important because of the role he played at the forefront of the Episcopal Commission on Catholic Education.
- 7.
However, the prelate’s conjectures did not coincide with similar experiences in other countries. For example, in Holland, sexual education forms part of school curricula from the earliest levels of education, and the rate of adolescent pregnancies is less than 1 %. Here, easy access to information appears to facilitate a later initiation of sexual relations.
- 8.
The results of diverse public opinion polls from the consultancy Analogias, the National University Tres de Febrero, the Center for Studies of State and Society (CEDES, Centro de Estudios de Estado y Sociedad), and the Latin American Center Health and Women (CELSAM, Centro Latinoamericano Salud y Mujer), among others, correspond with one another in signaling the support of Argentine society for public policies on these subjects.
- 9.
In particular, inquiry into the forms and content of these links, and their continuities and ruptures with those established by political and religious leaders from the time of Christopher Columbus to the present.
- 10.
Other recent precedents also shed light on a series of difficulties in the implementation of approved laws that were resisted by “intense minorities”—that is, groups of integral activists who have networks at the intersection of public power and communications media. In 2008, 5 years after the creation of the Sexual Health and Responsible Procreation Program, 3,400,000 low-income women were without any free professional guidance to make decisions about issues linked to family planning (Clarín 2008).
References
Baubérot, J. (2005). Historia de la laicidad francesa. Mexico City: El Colegio Mexiquense.
Bauman, Z. (2003). Modernidad líquida. Mexico City: Fondo de Cultura Economica.
Casanova, J. (1994). Public religions in the modern world. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.
Casanova, J. (1999). Religiones públicas y privadas. In J. Auyero (Ed.), Caja de Herramientas. El lugar de la cultura en la sociología norteamericana (pp. 115–162). Bernal: University of Quilmes Press.
CEDES. (2003). Salud y derechos sexuales y reproductivos en la Argentina: salud pública y derechos humanos (Nuevos Documentos CEDES 15). Buenos Aires: CEDES.
De Ezcurra, P. (2007). Los debates sobre educación sexual en la ciudad de Buenos Aires a través de la prensa (2004–2006). Undergraduate thesis in Education Science, University of San Andres.
Felitti, K. (2009). La educación sexual en la agenda católica: debates, contenidos y experiencias en la historia argentina reciente. Keynote address presented at I Jornadas de Religión y Sociedad en la Argentina contemporánea y países del Cono Sur, Religar, Buenos Aires.
Giberti, E. (1962). Escuela para padres. Buenos Aires: Esece Editora.
Giberti, E. (1965). Adolescencia y educación sexual. Buenos Aires: Roberto O. Antonio.
Habermas, J. (2006). Entre naturalismo y religión. Barcelona: Paidos.
Negre de Alonso, L. (2006). Dictamen en minoría de comisión sobre mensaje y proyecto de Ley de Educación Nacional. Honorable cámara de Senadores, diario de sesiones, anexo al orden del día N° 1335.
Petracci, M. (2004). Salud, derecho y opinión pública. Buenos Aires: Editorial Norma.
Wainerman, C., Di Virgilio, M., & Chami, N. (2008). La escuela y la educación sexual. Buenos Aires: Ediciones Manantial.
Episcopal Documents
Argentine Episcopal Conference. (2005a). No legislarás cuando de sexo se trate. Declaración de la Conferencia Episcopal Argentina, November 2.
Argentine Episcopal Conference. (2005b). Declaración de la Asamblea de la Conferencia Episcopal Argentina. November 9.
Argentine Episcopal Conference. (2006a). El desafío de educar en el amor.
Argentine Episcopal Conference. (2006b). Comisión de Educación Católica: La educación de la sexualidad en las escuelas.
Argentine Episcopal Conference. (2006c). Declaración del Episcopado Argentino al Pueblo de Dios sobre la educación sexual en las escuelas.
Argentine Episcopal Conference. (2006d). Ante la nueva Ley de Educación Nacional. November 10.
Educación y Proyecto de Vida. (1985). Documento del Equipo Episcopal de Educación Católica, Documentos del Episcopado Argentino, Tomo XIII.
Newspaper Sources
Clarín. (2003a). Crítica a la educación sexual en las escuelas. Clarín, May 17. http://edant.clarin.com/diario/2003/05/17/s-04402.htm. Accessed 20 May 2003.
Clarín. (2003b). Los obispos, contra la educación sexual sin permiso de los padres. Clarín, November 16. http://edant.clarin.com/diario/2003/11/16/s-04201.htm. Accessed 21 Nov 2003.
Clarín. (2008). El Programa de Salud Sexual llega todavía a pocas mujeres. Clarín, July 11. http://edant.clarin.com/diario/2008/07/11/sociedad/s-01712660.htm. Accessed 16 July 2008.
Página/12. (2005). De eso sí se habla. Página/12, November 13. http://www.pagina12.com.ar/diario/sociedad/3-59163-2005-11-13.html. Accessed 18 Nov 2005.
Página/12. (2006). El pecado de enseñar. Página/12, October 6. http://www.pagina12.com.ar/diario/sociedad/3-74063-2006-10-06.html. Accessed 15 Oct 2006.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2017 Springer International Publishing Switzerland
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Esquivel, J.C. (2017). Religious Actors and Discourses in the Public Sphere: Controversies Around Sexual Education in Argentina. In: Vaggione, J., Morán Faúndes, J. (eds) Laicidad and Religious Diversity in Latin America. Boundaries of Religious Freedom: Regulating Religion in Diverse Societies, vol 6. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-44745-2_6
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-44745-2_6
Published:
Publisher Name: Springer, Cham
Print ISBN: 978-3-319-44744-5
Online ISBN: 978-3-319-44745-2
eBook Packages: Social SciencesSocial Sciences (R0)