| Freedom of religion |
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| Religion portal |
The status of religious freedom in South America varies from country to country. States can differ based on whether or not they guarantee equal treatment under law for followers of different religions, whether they establish a state religion (and the legal implications that this has for both practitioners and non-practitioners), the extent to which religious organizations operating within the country are policed, and the extent to which religious law is used as a basis for the country's legal code.
There are further discrepancies between some countries' self-proclaimed stances of religious freedom in law and the actual practice of authority bodies within those countries: a country's establishment of religious equality in their constitution or laws does not necessarily translate into freedom of practice for residents of the country. Additionally, similar practices (such as having religious organizations register with the government) can have different consequences depending on other sociopolitical circumstances specific to the countries in question.
Every country in South America includes a provision for the freedom of religion in its constitution. A few countries have explicitly outlawed discrimination along religious lines.[1][2] While no country in South America has an official state religion, some confer preferential treatment to the Catholic Church.[1][3] Antisemitic vandalism has been reported in three countries in South America.[4][5][6]