La laicidad uruguaya

When the secular institutional regime was built in Uruguay, the French model served as a reference. Its developments since the beginning of the 20 ^th century, however, proved to be yet more radical than its French counterpart. This article focuses on the characteristics of Uruguayan secularism, with a closer look at its political and cultural meaning. We analyse the process which led to the institutional separation between the Catholic Church and the State in 1917, as well as the process of secularization of the Uruguayan society. We finally conclude by a presentation of how Uruguayan secularism is nowaday challenged.