Overview:

• Recognition and registration are amalgamated, not ideally differentiated.

• The Catholic Church is automatically recognised meaning that it needn’t keep registered with the Secretariat of Worship.

• The reality of the claim that registered groups receive the same benefits as the Catholic Church must be investigated further to determine its validity.

• In addition to the state privilege extended to the Catholic Church, the stipulation that only registered groups may engage in the subjectively worded “public activities” makes Argentina restrictive.

• The stipulation that a group needs a place of worship before it can pursue registration is evidential of a lack of existential recognition for belief systems and denominations as distinct from organisations and places of worship.

• The requirement for non-Catholic groups to register with the General Inspectorate of Justice in addition to an initial registration with the Secretariat of Worship demonstrates a further example of the inequality of the system and its restrictivity.

• The stipulation of reporting to the Secretariat of internal religious and organisational affairs is not part of the mandate of genuine recognition.

Positive elements:

• The government broadly upholds freedom of religion or belief for minorities.

Recommendations:

• Establish two distinct systems, one to deal with existential recognition and another for legal registration as per the ideals of recognitionism.