Roberto J. Blancarte (born in Mazatlán, Mexico in 1957) is Professor and Director of the Center of Sociological Studies at El Colegio de México in Mexico City. He obtained his Ph.D. at the Écoles des Hautes Études en Sciences Sociales in Paris, France (1988). Founder and main counselor of the Interdisciplinary Program for the Study of Religions (PIER) of El Colegio Mexiquense in Zinacantepec, Mexico. Associate researcher of the Groupe Sociétés, Religions, Laïcités in France. Member of the National Committee of Bioethics (2006-2007) and the National Comission to Prevent Discrimination of Mexico (2005-2008). He has been counselor at the Mexican Embassy to the Holy See and Chief of Staff of the Vice-ministry of Religious Affairs. His research work has dealt with sociology of religion, particularly Church-State relations, secularisation, “laicity” and lately around the connection between secular State and sexual and reproductive rights. He has been Visiting Professor at Dartmouth College (NH, USA) and the École Pratique des Hautes Études (France). Author and editor of several books, including Historia de la Iglesia católica en México (1992); Religión, Iglesias y democracia (1995); Laicidad y valores en un estado democrático (2000); Afganistán, la revolución islámica frente al mundo occidental (2001); El sucesor de Juan Pablo II: Escenarios y candidatos del próximo cónclave (2002); Entre la fe y el poder: Política y religión en México (2004); Sexo, religión y democracia (2008); Los retos de la laicidad y la secularización en el mundo contemporáneo (2008); Para entender el Estado laico (2008) and numerous articles in scientific reviews. He writes weekly a column on politics and religion for a national newspaper (Milenio) and participates actively in local politics, particularly around the subject of civil freedoms.
A few years ago, I was asked by James Beckford and N. J. Demerath III, to contribute a chapter to the Handbook on Sociology of Religion (Sage, 2007). What I finally said in that contribution was that one of the good reasons for analyzing Mexico's religion and society is the fact that the country, and in fact the entire region of Latin America, is simultaneously host to both a Western and a non-Western society. I tried to explain that Mexico, like many other Latin American or Caribbean countries, experiences modernity or post-modernity with all the ambivalence and paradoxes of any country that was colonized and partially Westernized. Precisely because of that, Latin America could and should be a perfect reminder that theories devised to explain particular situations are not always automatically applicable in general. Furthermore — I stated — in order to achieve global reach, concepts and theories should incorporate particular experiences. “Theory construction can then become a two-way process, not only in the sense of a dialogue between theory and empirical data — between analysis and facts — but also between the different experiences of Western, semi-Western and non-Western societies.” I insisted that I perceived this as a permanent dialogue between different perspectives in an attempt to create universal tools for a broader understanding of society: we could call this a “system of cultural mirrors in social sciences” that would seek to elaborate new universal paradigms, theories and concepts. This is how I see the role of the Latin American Studies Association. If elected to the Executive Council, I would like to promote in that direction this important and inevitable exchange, in order to increase the understanding of our societies and of our disciplines.