Uruguay: The Country Where Christmas Is Called Family Day

In a country where Christmas is officially called Family Day and Holy Week is Tourism Week, religion has long ceased to be a public affair and has become purely personal. Uruguay is the only country in the Western Hemisphere where the proportion of non-religious citizens consistently exceeds 47%, and Catholicism, which dominated here for three centuries, remains primarily a cultural tradition.

This is not the result of a sudden crisis of faith, but the outcome of the region’s earliest and most consistent process of secularization (secularization → a secular state)—a process completed more than a hundred years ago and still unparalleled in its depth and peaceful nature.

Transition to a Secular Society

Uruguay’s transition to a secular society began earlier than in most Latin American countries and was almost conflict-free.

1861 – Secularization of cemeteries. 1877 – Mandatory civil marriage. 1885 – Introduction of secular education. 1907 – A law allowing women to initiate divorce. 1909 – Removal of religious symbols from government offices. 1911–1915 – The second presidential term of José Batlle y Ordóñez, an ideologue of the progressive reforms of the early twentieth century, who regarded religion as a citizen’s private matter. 1918 – The Constitution finally enshrined the complete separation of Church and State (Article 5): “The State does not support any religion.” 1919 – Renaming of all religious holidays in the calendar.

Since then, neither Navidad nor Semana Santa have appeared in official documents and school textbooks in Uruguay. There are Día de la Familia (25 December), Día de los Niños (6 January) and Semana de Turismo or Semana Criolla (Holy Week).

## Modern Religious Landscape (2023–2025 data)

Latinobarómetro 2023 (published in March 2024): – 47.2% do not belong to any religion; – 1.2% are atheists; – 0.3% are agnostics; – 36.5% are Catholic (the lowest figure in Latin America); – 10–11% are Evangelical Protestants; – less than 3% belong to Umbanda, Judaism, or other religions.

In twenty years (2000–2023), the share of non-religious people rose from 23% to 49%—the fastest growth in the region. Pew Research Center (June 2025) confirms that Uruguay is the only country in Latin America where the proportion of people who consider religion “very important” has fallen by 16 percentage points over the past decade. The World Values Survey places Uruguay in the “secular-rational” values cluster, alongside the Netherlands, Sweden, and Japan.

What Uruguayans themselves say

Among Uruguayans, the topic of religion comes up regularly, and the tone is almost always the same:

“Being a practicing Catholic in Uruguay is OK, but you will be asked, ‘Why?’ Most of my friends baptize their children and get married in church because it looks nice, and then never go back.”

“It is harder to be an Evangelical. People are respectful, but they find it a little strange. It is like being vegan at an asado.”

“The most pleasant thing is complete freedom. No one will ask why you don’t go to mass, and no one will judge if you go every day. Religion is indeed a private matter.”

According to its members, the Catholic community is small but very close-knit and active in social work (Caritas Uruguay and Catholic schools); however, it has virtually no political influence.

## The Role of the Church in Society Today

The Catholic Church in Uruguay retains influence only in three areas:

1. Private education (about 15% of schoolchildren attend Catholic schools, which are among the best in the country).
2. Charity and social assistance.
3. Cultural heritage.

Cardinal Daniel Sturla, Archbishop of Montevideo, has repeatedly noted that the Uruguayan Church has long adopted the model of “a minority that offers, not imposes.” That is why progressive reforms (legalization of marijuana in 2013, same-sex marriage in 2013, and abortion in 2012) passed with almost no opposition from the episcopate, unlike in Argentina, Chile, or Paraguay.

## Major Churches Still Worth Seeing

Despite the secularity of society, the architectural heritage is impressive.

The Catedral Basílica Metropolitana de la Inmaculada Concepción (Montevideo, 1790–1804) is the country’s main Catholic church, a neoclassical building and the site of the first bishops’ consecrations.

Iglesia de las Carmelitas (Barrio Prado, Montevideo, 1929–1954) is one of the most beautiful neo-Gothic churches in South America. Built of granite, it is almost always empty.

Santuario Nacional Virgen de los Treinta y Tres (Florida) is the only mass pilgrimage site. Every year from November 8 to 10, some 70,000–80,000 people gather here—the only time Uruguay seems “religious—Catholic.”

Catedral de San José (San José de Mayo) is a minor basilica, a nineteenth-century neoclassical building.

Iglesia Matriz del Santísimo Sacramento (Colonia del Sacramento) is the country’s oldest church (1680, rebuilt in 1810) and a UNESCO site.

Conclusion

Uruguay has proven that deep secularization can occur peacefully, without anticlerical excesses or the loss of moral guidelines. Religion did not die here; it simply became a choice rather than a duty. Judging by the indices of happiness, quality of life, and social trust, in which Uruguay consistently ranks among the top three in Latin America, this choice has proven to be one of the most successful in the region’s history. A country where God has not gone away—He simply ceased to be compulsory. And everyone seems to be better off for it.

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