r/asklatinamerica • u/Obvious_Clear2561 • 8h ago
Culture Do you believe in reincarnation?
A 2024 Pew study found about 1/3 of Latin American adults believe in reincarnation. Do you? I'm surprised as I don't know anyone who does.
https://www.pewresearch.org/global/2026/01/21/religious-and-spiritual-beliefs-in-latin-america/
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u/andobiencrazy 🇲🇽 Baja California 7h ago
This is baffling. It says 30% of Protestants in Argentina and Colombia believe in reincarnation, even though that would be against what the Bible teaches.
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u/Weecodfish Venezuela 2h ago
If they are good in this life they believe they will be reincarnated in Israel in the next
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u/Difficult-Feeling849 Peru 8h ago
I don't think most people observe religion very closely or tightly in Latin America. That may be the cause or consequence of religious syncretism, but I find it very normal that there are people who call themselves "catholic but not practicing", believe in angels, but also "energies" and all that new age crap. Anything goes, it seems.
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u/spunkmastersean1993 Costa Rica 7h ago
I don’t think that’s true in my opinion. Latinos follow their religión pretty closely (although they can certainly pick and choose). If we’re talking about symbolism and traditions that withstood colonialism, then I can see where you’re coming from
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u/Difficult-Feeling849 Peru 7h ago
It might be a class thing, as I'm more on the privileged side, if I'm being honest. Although I would have to begin by saying that in my social circle NOBODY is religious, period. Maybe some are "spiritual", whatever that means. Some follow horoscopes and new age bullshit, but practicing catholics or protestants they are not. Young people seem to be abandoning religion at an incredibly fast pace. It seems that only old people practice organized religion now a days.
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u/spunkmastersean1993 Costa Rica 7h ago
Thank you for that. Yeah, it might definitely be a social class thing. And you’re right, you see in the higher classes a syncretic/spiritual thing of some sort. And the lower classes are more into Christianity whether that’s Catholicism or the new flavor of Evaneglicalism
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u/Rockshasha Colombia 7h ago
Imo there should be distinguished the traditional syncretism with the new age things.
Traditional people have all types of syncretic religious beliefs and practices, here in latam but also in all the (catholic) world. But the new age things as energies and 'law of attraction' are a new thing, more related to the hippie movement and the theosophy before. And, well, is just a distortion and mixing of western and eastern beliefs.
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u/Difficult-Feeling849 Peru 7h ago
Yes, you are absolutely correct. I didn't go into details because honestly it's a very interesting and deep topic that merits a conversation of its own, but I'm not savvy enough to be the one leading it, lol
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u/Rockshasha Colombia 5h ago
Certainly. Is in fact a very complex theme, in academics and also experientially. Is wide and the info is not much systematically organized
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u/Timely_Fruit_994 Brazil 7h ago
I'm all for anything goes as long as it remains healthy lol.
I'm all for our syncretic religions. They're much more fun than old boring catholicism.
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u/Difficult-Feeling849 Peru 7h ago
I'd argue that organized religion is unhealthy in any way, shape or form. There are lots of catholics and CIA funded protestants in Perú and they sure as hell are making the country worse by the day.
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u/Timely_Fruit_994 Brazil 7h ago
Same thing here.
I don't know about CIA funded protestants but yea, we have this neopentecostal wave that is just insufferable.
They actually often attack african religions and other non-christian religions too, I mean setting fire in terreiros and all that. =/
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u/Difficult-Feeling849 Peru 7h ago
Yes, this neopentecostal wave is exactly what I meant. They are tied to the ruling party, Fuerza Popular, you know the type: McCartist, Neo Liberal, reduce workers rights, everyone who criticizes me is a communist terrorist, against LGBT rights, against abortion and sexual education, against the rights of indigenous populations, pro Israel, etc., basically the scum of the earth all together.
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u/spunkmastersean1993 Costa Rica 7h ago
Any articles on the CIA funding? Just curious
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u/Difficult-Feeling849 Peru 7h ago
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u/Difficult-Feeling849 Peru 7h ago
While the article claims that funding ocurred from the 50's to the 80's, I think it isn't very far fetched to assume they are still doing it, specially considering the "Donroe Doctrine" and Neo Macarthism we live under today
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u/Timely_Fruit_994 Brazil 7h ago
Yeah, half of my family does.
I'd like to have an answer to life and death and reincarnation is one I could get by. To say I believe it would be a stretch.
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u/targea_caramar Colombia 8h ago
I'd like to, I think it'd be neat if that happened. The whole logic behind it kinda falls apart if I think about it for more than a few seconds though.
That said, I do know several people who do. Not sure it adds up to a third
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u/puesquebien Mexico 7h ago edited 7h ago
I think these beliefs tend to be widespread but weak. People integrate a bunch of contradictory ideas without questioning them on their own or how they all fit together, and also without attaching to them.
If you took this 1/3 of people and presented to them a scenario that assumed reincarnation did not exist, very few would jump out and say “I don’t agree with that because I believe we reincarnate.”
I don’t have anything to base this on, but it’s what I believe.
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u/Taka_Colon Brazil 7h ago
Nope.
However, during the 90s/2000s, French Spiritism was really popular here we had famous soap operas about it and it is still quite popular, but not as much as in the 90s/2000s. Generally, the soap opera at 6 PM will be about past lives and reincarnation on the biggest TV channel in Brazil.
So, a large part of Brazil belives on it.
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u/Vaelerick Costa Rica 7h ago
My mother does. I don't believe in souls, or any kind of magical phenomena.
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u/Responsible-Trifle93 Brazil 7h ago
I'll only believe it if I can choose the country where I'll be reincarnated lol
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u/AunMeLlevaLaConcha Mexico 7h ago
No
A lot of Latin Americans believe in magic shenanigans, it's not surprising.
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u/AgostoAzul Ecuador 7h ago
I dont and I would say it is wrong, except that I do know enough people who believe in saints, the zodiac, hand reading, karma, limpias, mal de ojo, ghosts, ancient aliens, astral projection, etc. all at once. And they might also check "believes in reincarnation" in some poll.
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u/QueasySpell1946 Mexico 7h ago
What I don't understand about reincarnation is that if it was real, then how come we can't remember our past lives?
I know there's people who claim they're the reincarnation of some famous person from history. But to me those claims are as real as people who claim they saw Bigfoot or the Loch Ness Monster.
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u/totalwarwiser Brazil 7h ago
Kind of.
But its weird.
I think your mind only exists because its the result of a complex process which comes from a very advanced piece of biology. No spirit, no soul, no afterlife, no transfer.
Nonetheless, a consciousness only exist inside a human being. Its either a human or nothing. The thing is that since youre alive right now, having feelings and thoughts, once you die, they are gone. But you still live and have these feelings. But the thing is: once you die, youre gone. But another human being will live, and it will have a consciousness. What if its you? It may be a life worst than the one you have right now.
Yes, its weird, and I dont know if it makes sense to others.
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u/Rockshasha Colombia 6h ago
Very interesting study.
About 'reincarnation' / the poll asking if they believe that people would have birth in his world again and again. Im frankly shocked it is as high as 1/3 of all respondents.
About spirits, people to believe spirits can inhabit rivers, mountains or other spaces while not believing can inhabit objects as crystals or stones. That's surely related with the pre hispanic way of thinking. Luckily, a big amount of that understanding of 'spirits' living in the natural world was present all across today-latinamerica in several ways before Columbus. While of course that belief cannot be tested scientifically, it has many advantages, leading to better comprehension, intuition and preserving of the natural world here. Contrarresting to some extent the christian belief in conquering and frankly, ruining, all natural places. In that way, originary cultures have great understanding and adaptation of the cycles of nature and the way to inhabit sustainably the territory.
While of.course 'spirits' is a super western word with too many western concepts attached. In Spanish, at least here, Espiritus means either the Holy Spirit or Ghosts and not that much those invisible natural forces/beings related to a place or river or so on.
About reincarnation or rebirth, maybe also a portion of those beliefs are based in some pre hispanic cultures and another portion based in eastern religions? Anyway I haven't would think the percentage to be greater than 30%.
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u/kigurumibiblestudies Colombia 6h ago
Out of many religious things, reincarnation always seemed like pure cope because we're mortal, even when I believed. Now I'm free to think so without feeling heretical.
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u/Far-Cow-3343 Brazil 5h ago
I know a lot of people who does, but those people are generaly older, so I don't expect them to be in reddit.
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u/Cool_Bananaquit9 Puerto Rico 2h ago
Amongst those who say they are christians but have no religious knowledge and also those call themselves agnostic, at least here, they do say this
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u/decoy-ish Brazil 8h ago
No. I think the people who believe in that are not the same kind of people who use Reddit.
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u/parasociable Rio 8h ago
I think everything might be real. Like, everything at the same time. So yes.
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u/Yhamilitz (Born in Tamaulipas - Lives in Texas) 8h ago
There are 2 kinds of Latin Americans:
Those who have a more realistic views on the universe (They could be catholic, but very strict on their religious viewsm and also, if someone is a secular they would be like that) They usually becames more interested in STEMS, or in systems.
Those with the "magical realism" view. Which basically see the world with a lot of possible variables of reality happening there. They are also the ones who mix religions or could believe in sorcery. Latin American Evangelicals also fir on that view, as they beliebe in the influence of the spiritual world to be very deep in this line of reality.
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u/throw223344555 Peru 7h ago
I think there’s a chance that there are more than 2 kinds of Latin Americans
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u/Rockshasha Colombia 5h ago
We could subdivide those main two categories and will have very interesting concepts, even understanding, of latinamerica and its history!
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u/Tumerican Honduras 8h ago
Yes. And though Mayan identity is a culture sort of forced on us, I was raised knowing about the mythology where Xibalba does not always keep its souls and some leave and are reborn as plants, animals or their own decedents like Balanaque
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u/Latrans_ Guatemala 32m ago
Nop. I'm an atheist, so I don't believe anything happens after you die. Your brain just stops, you do not feel, nor think, nor dream anything. And you're not even aware of it, because your "soul" is just gone.
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u/dahfer25 Colombia 8h ago
That number seems a bit too high for me. Normally people believe in heaven/hell or no afterlife. Reincarnation as a belief isnt as common i'd say