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Religion and Society in Latin America

Religion and Society in Latin America is a research topic within Sociology and Political Science. Science Explorer counts 16k research works in it since 1951. 5.0% of them reached the world's top 10% most cited for their field and year.

This cluster of papers explores the complex interplay between religion and politics, with a focus on Brazil and Latin America. It delves into topics such as the rise of Pentecostalism, conservative activism, gender ideology, secularization, and the influence of religious groups on public policy. The papers also examine the dynamics of religious diversity, the impact of religious beliefs on social issues, and the role of various religious institutions in shaping political landscapes.

  • Religion
  • Politics
  • Brazil
  • Pentecostalism
  • Secularization
  • Conservatism
  • Gender Ideology
  • Public Sphere
  • Catholicism
  • Pluralism
Research works
16k
fractional, since 1951
In the world top 10%
792
per year above
Top-10% rate
5.0%
share of its works in the world top 10%
Growth, 2013–17 → 2018–22
+41%
the tick is no change

Which countries lead Religion and Society in Latin America research?

By volume, Brazil and Argentina publish the most (2.3k and 164 works in 2022–2025).

By volume, 2022–2025

  1. 1 Brazil 2.3k works
  2. 2 Argentina 164 works
  3. 3 United States 151 works
  4. 4 Spain 129 works
  5. 5 Mexico 117 works
  6. 6 Portugal 95 works
  7. 7 Chile 81 works
  8. 8 Colombia 48 works
  9. 9 France 41 works
  10. 10 Peru 37 works

How concentrated that is

The same countries as shares of everything the list above accounts for. A node where two countries do two thirds of the work and one spread evenly across twelve read alike as a ranking and not at all alike here.

Brazil: 72.4%Argentina: 5.3%United States: 4.8%Spain: 4.1%6 others listed: 13.4%72%largest
Brazil2,255 · 72.4%Argentina164 · 5.3%United States151 · 4.8%Spain129 · 4.1%6 others listed418 · 13.4%

Shares of the rows listed above, not of the whole node.

Which institutions lead Religion and Society in Latin America research?

By volume in 2022–2025, Pontifícia Universidade Católica de São Paulo publishes the most Religion and Society in Latin America research, followed by Universidade Federal de Juiz de Fora and Pontifícia Universidade Católica de Minas Gerais.

Who are the leading researchers in Religion and Society in Latin America?

The most-cited researchers publishing on Religion and Society in Latin America include Patrick Michel.

  1. 1 Patrick Michel France 797 citations

Ranked by citations received across their whole record, among researchers with at least three works on this topic.

Where is Religion and Society in Latin America research done?

The largest centres of Religion and Society in Latin America research in 2022–2025 are São Paulo (Brazil), Rio de Janeiro (Brazil), Belo Horizonte (Brazil) and Curitiba (Brazil). Among places with at least 20 works in it, it is an unusually large share of all research in São Bernardo do Campo, São Leopoldo and Juiz de Fora.

Largest cities, 2022–2025

  1. 1 São Paulo Brazil 341 works
  2. 2 Rio de Janeiro Brazil 235 works
  3. 3 Belo Horizonte Brazil 138 works
  4. 4 Curitiba Brazil 91 works
  5. 5 Buenos Aires Argentina 86 works
  6. 6 Recife Brazil 81 works
  7. 7 Campinas Brazil 71 works
  8. 8 Goiânia Brazil 69 works
  9. 9 Juiz de Fora Brazil 64 works
  10. 10 Porto Alegre Brazil 61 works

Where it is the local speciality

  1. São Bernardo do CampoBR · 48.7 works325×
  2. São LeopoldoBR · 32.4 works78×
  3. Juiz de ForaBR · 63.6 works64×
  4. SeropédicaBR · 23.0 works51×
  5. GoiâniaBR · 69.1 works48×
  6. VitóriaBR · 60.8 works41×
← less than its size predictsmore →

Location quotient: how much more of its research is in Religion and Society in Latin America than the world average.

See Religion and Society in Latin America on the map

Where is the best place to study Religion and Society in Latin America?

Among universities, judged by research, Universidade Católica Portuguesa, Universidade Federal Fluminense and Universidad de Buenos Aires score highest, combining excellence, specialisation, size, growth and international reach. Research strength is one signal when choosing where to study; it does not measure teaching.

0%5%10%mean 6.4%fractional works in this node (log) →share in the world top 10% →Universidade Católica Portuguesa: 14, 10.5%Universidade Federal Fluminense: 36, 6.6%Universidad de Buenos Aires: 28, 9.1%Pontifícia Universidade Católica do Rio Grande do Sul: 25, 5.9%Pontifícia Universidade Católica de Goiás: 43, 2.3%Universidade Federal do Estado do Rio de Janeiro: 12, 10.5%Universidade de Brasília: 29, 7.7%Universidade Federal da Paraíba: 50, 2.5%Universidade do Estado do Rio de Janeiro: 52, 3.9%Universidade de São Paulo: 56, 5.0%Universidade Católic…Universidad de Bueno…Universidade Federal…Pontifícia Universid…
above the meannear itbelow it

One dot per university in the table below. The upper left is the interesting corner: small places doing unusually strong work.

#UniversityScoreTop 10%SpecialisationWorksGrowth
1 Universidade Católica PortuguesaPortugal 69.310.5%43.9×14 +200.2%
2 Universidade Federal FluminenseBrazil 66.36.6%23.5×36 +253.0%
3 Universidad de Buenos AiresArgentina 58.59.1%21.8×28 -1.8%
4 Pontifícia Universidade Católica do Rio Grande do SulBrazil 58.55.9%50.0×25 +134.1%
5 Pontifícia Universidade Católica de GoiásBrazil 58.32.3%241.1×43 +199.6%
6 Universidade Federal do Estado do Rio de JaneiroBrazil 58.310.5%22.4×12 +64.7%
7 Universidade de BrasíliaBrazil 57.77.7%15.6×29 +41.0%
8 Universidade Federal da ParaíbaBrazil 57.52.5%38.1×50 +158.2%
9 Universidade do Estado do Rio de JaneiroBrazil 56.43.9%35.0×52 +86.6%
10 Universidade de São PauloBrazil 56.35.0%9.9×56 +21.5%

Universities only. Score blends excellence (30%), specialisation (25%), size (20%), growth (15%) and international reach (10%), 2015–2022; growth compares 2010–14 with 2015–19.

Is Religion and Society in Latin America research growing?

Output in 2018–2022 was 41% higher than in 2013–2017, peaking in 2020. The fastest-growing topics are Religion and Society in Latin America.

19801990200020102020
grewheldshrank

The same series as a ribbon — one cell per year, darker for more. The line above answers how much; this answers when.

Which topics inside it are moving

Growth and decline on one axis around a shared zero. Two lists side by side hide the thing that matters: whether the growth dwarfs the decline, or the other way round.