La Iglesia/ The Church

(Church of Guadalupe: pictured above)


Religion is a funny thing here in Buenos Aires. Many people pass the church and sign the cross. Some people do it very subtlety. All day long, there are people coming in and out the churches. I haven’t been to Spain or Italy but I would think that this would be the same. But I wonder if the general beliefs are similar?

When I ask people about the subject, most of the time, I get a response of overall distrust in church, the Roman Church. They don’t agree with the money that is flowing into the church but they do believe in God. They always say, God can be found in your home, without giving money and without the church.

They are lucky here because they have a very strong sense of family, friends and community. Church isn’t there only means to a community in Argentina. They create their own communities and nurture them. The church influence may be different in smaller towns. I don't know.

There are certainly many people who do not believe in God and still create these strong bonds with friends and family.

In the U.S. the only reason that I would ever go to church would be to have a sense of community.

My personal believes are not affected by a structure and with this, here, I seem to fit in just fine. In Buenos Aires, I have a sense of community that I have always wanted, without church.