Abstract
This text presents data based on a comparative research comprehending four Latin American countries: Argentina, Brazil, Mexico and Uruguay. The focus on the forms of legal constitution of religious groups enables a series of questions to be formulated. What procedures are involved in obtaining legal personality for "religious" groups? Which bureaucratic bodies should their leaders address? How are state apparatuses structured to confer legal personality and what criteria do they adopt to recognize "religious" groups? Such questions are developed by following the situation of some religious minorities in order to produce an understanding about more general characteristics concerning the way religions are managed in the four countries. This articles aims to establish a connection between discussions on social definitions of religion and discussions on configurations of religious diversity.
Keywords
religious diversity; legal personality; regulation of religion; religious pluralism