Positivism and secularization in Uruguay

Abstract

The historical development of modern Uruguay is closely linked to the separation between the Catholic Church and the State at the beginning of the 20th century. That is why the role that secularism has played in the identity construction of Uruguay today, closely linked to the emergence, development and consolidation of Batllismo as a dominant political current, and centralized in the figure of José Batlle y Ordoñez, can not be ignored as an analysis variable. In this work we will seek to problematize the religious particularity of the Uruguayan case in relation to the rest of the Latin American continent, according to the historical trajectory of the religious phenomenon in the country and its link with educational institutions, as well as the relationship that it maintained with positivism installed in the country. Finally, the work aims to make a brief review of the emergence and installation of positivism as a current of thought in Uruguay.