Abstract

The following article aims to present two analytical tools for understanding the process of disaffection from religious institutions in the context of Latin American modernity: the concept of "non-religion" and a strategy focused on the liminality of the religious ('liminal religiosity'). The main argument holds that religious disaffection, understood through the growth of the unaffiliated population and other associated phenomena, implies the existence of a heterogeneous space rather than a residual and negative category. To achieve this, and through a methodology of literature review, a critical examination is made of the main theoretical nuclei of the social sciences regarding the religious phenomenon, identifying some underlying patterns such as a normative conception of secularization and the predominance of a Western modern narrative that would hinder problematizing new trends in regional religious change. It is concluded that these proposals may serve as valuable tools insofar as they are complemented by less restrictive models, grounded in more versatile theoretical and methodological frameworks, and an open, minimalist understanding of religion that is attuned to the uniqueness of Latin American modernity.