Atheist Thanks to God

Abstract This paper explores the phenomenon of the non-religious (“nones”) in Latin America by examining the implications of the secular paradox within this population. The secular paradox refers to the tension that secular individuals experience when they engage with religious aspects. Our analysis shows that this tension is a prevalent occurrence in the experience of Latin Americans, nuanced by social representations such as the “atheist thanks to God.” These social imaginaries illustrate the inherent interplay and porosity between the religious and the secular in the region, characterised by its “baroque modernity:” a cultural configuration that both integrates and resists patterns promoted by capitalist and Western modernity. After analysing Latin American nations in terms of the prevalence of religious disaffiliation, the paper focuses on the intersections of the secular and the religious in specific cases such as Mexico and Argentina. The findings indicate that conceptions of religion among our interlocutors are linked to the historical Catholicism of the region, as well as to political secularism, which is both assertive and permeable to religious legitimation. Furthermore, the non-religious tend to purify certain elements of religion, prioritising social bonds while restricting secularism primarily to the intellectual level. By addressing the secular-religious tension among Latin American “nones,” this research contributes to a deeper understanding of secular identity beyond the modernity and secularisation of the Atlantic North.