COUNTRY
MexicoPOPULATION
114,975,406 (July 2012 est.)GDP PER CAPITA
$14,800 (2011 est.)RELIGIONS
Roman Catholic 76.5%, Protestant 5.2% (Pentecostal 1.4%, other 3.8%), Jehovah's Witnesses 1.1%, other 0.3%, unspecified 13.8%, none 3.1% (2000 census)AT THE CENTER
Matthew Scherer on 9/11, the Financial Crisis, and Climate Change as Conversion Events (Full Screen)
RELATED RESOURCES
ORGANIZATIONS (4)
Catholic Association of Mexican Youth
General Directorate of Religious Associations
Mexican Episcopal Conference
General Directorate of Religious Associations
Mexican Episcopal Conference
PEOPLE (7)
QUOTES (11)
Mexican Episcopal Council on the Role of the Church in Politics
August 14, 2009
Benedict XVI on the Excommunication of Mexican Politicians
May 10, 2007
Vicente Fox on Religious Freedom upon Signing an Anti-Discrimination Bill
June 9, 2003
August 14, 2009
Benedict XVI on the Excommunication of Mexican Politicians
May 10, 2007
Vicente Fox on Religious Freedom upon Signing an Anti-Discrimination Bill
June 9, 2003
PUBLICATIONS (2)
Religious Culture in Modern Mexico
February 1, 2007
Alone Before God: The Religious Origins of Modernity in Mexico
September 1, 2002
February 1, 2007
Alone Before God: The Religious Origins of Modernity in Mexico
September 1, 2002
Mexico
Interviews (13)
Contemporary Mexico is shaped by a variety of influences, including its deeply rooted Roman Catholicism and the secular ideals of the Mexican Revolution (1910-21). Catholicism arrived in the territory of modern-day Mexico with the Spanish conquistadors in the 16th century. The Church was a powerful social and political force during Spanish rule (1519-1821), but the 19th century saw constant struggles between anti-clerical Liberals and pro-clerical Conservatives. The 1910 revolution strengthened secularists, and their influence is clear in the 1917 Constitution, which stripped the Church of any legal status and denied many civil rights to members of the clergy. These restrictions sparked the Cristero War (1926-29), a violent, Church-supported rebellion against the government. As a result, the government ceased enforcing these provision, and in 1992 the most restrictive of these articles were formally amended. Freedom of religion is protected, but explicit limits are placed on Church property, the Church is barred from political action, and secular education is mandatory.
Background: This discussion between Reverend Karpf and Katherine Marshall took place in Washington DC, soon after Ted Karpf retired from seven years at the World Health Organization in Geneva. The interview focuses on his extraordinary life journey, exploring his understanding of the church and his pastoral role. He describes his central role in the earliest understandings of the implications of the HIV/AIDS pandemic, and how that led to his work on national and international public health...
This discussion between Shanti Sattler and Katherine Marshall took place on July 28, 2010 in Phnom Penh, and focused on the work and role of the International Center for Conciliation in Cambodia, where Ms. Sattler spent two years. In this interview, she discusses ICfC's approach to memories of history and conflict, how it got started in Cambodia, and what the Cambodian experience has taught. She describes the work on village dialogues, highlighting the depth of remaining tensions and the need...
Background: This exchange between Ginny Bouvier and Susan Hayward on July 2, 2010 focuses on Bouvier’s experience growing up within the Catholic Church, her exposure to liberation theology, and her growing commitment to issues of human rights and gender in Latin America. She emphasizes ways in which women have used and defied gender expectations to seek justice and to form bonds of solidarity. Women in the Catholic Church in Latin America have distinctive experiences that arise from the...
Background: In this June 2010 exchange with Katherine Marshall, Karen Torjesen reflects on the evolution of her intellectual interest in religious history towards a focus on the role of women in the early church. That interest in religion and its gender dimensions paralleled a growing interest in women's studies. The two threads found themselves united in the development of Claremont's interreligious studies program and rooted in the social realities of the Los Angeles community. Her focus...
Background:
"It is not what the mind knows; it is what the heart knows that changes the world."
“Women are the boldest and most unmanageable of revolutionaries.”
This exchange with Katherine Marshall (in June, 2010) explores Sister Joan's path to her present work. Her focus on peace processes and the women’s movement stems from her Benedictine faith; Benedictines, she explains, strive for stability, which goes hand in hand with peace. Her most urgent call is to include women in policy processes...
"It is not what the mind knows; it is what the heart knows that changes the world."
“Women are the boldest and most unmanageable of revolutionaries.”
This exchange with Katherine Marshall (in June, 2010) explores Sister Joan's path to her present work. Her focus on peace processes and the women’s movement stems from her Benedictine faith; Benedictines, she explains, strive for stability, which goes hand in hand with peace. Her most urgent call is to include women in policy processes...
Background: This May 2010 exchange between Dena Merriam and Katherine Marshall highlights Ms. Merriam’s pioneering work in creating a Global Initiative for women that centers on women. She recounts how she has come to see women's spiritual voices as critical to global peace, and why their voices and the agendas and energy they reflect result in differences in approach and outcome. Her initiative has taken shape over the past decade, born of the glaring gap in women's roles at the pivotal...
Background: This discussion between Milton Amayun and Katherine Marshall recounts Dr. Amayun's extraordinary career in international public health that is continuously and across many dimensions inspired by Christian faith. Dr. Amayun was trained in medicine in Manila, Philippines and later received his Master's degree in public health from Harvard University. He has just taken up a position directing USAID's public health programs in Benin, after a career largely spent working for World...
Background: Homa Sabet Tavangar's new book, Growing up Global: Raising Children to Be At Home in the World, explores imperatives and opportunities that go with living in today's plural societies. Her multi-faith and international background inspired her to research and write the book. The special challenges of applying principles of human rights at the level of child-rearing are the focus of this interview, as are the broader implications of Homa's experience and insights, including her...
Background: Bishop Alvaro Ramazzini, of the Diocese of San Marcos in Guatemala, highlights the many challenges facing contemporary Guatemala through the prism of his experience in the rural agricultural district of San Marcos. These challenges include barriers that keep the poor from owning land; drug trafficking and organized crime; violent crime; child malnutrition; and a marginalized indigenous population. Bishop Ramazzini sees these challenges stemming from a crisis of coherence in the...
Background: This discussion between Katherine Marshall, Brady Walkinshaw, and Corina Villacorta was part of preparatory work for a January 30-31, 2009 consultation in Antigua, Guatemala on roles of faith-inspired organizations in development. The conference was part of a joint Berkley Center for Religion, Peace and World Affairs and Luce Foundation project on religion and international relations. In the conversation, Ms. Villacorta describes how for her, World Vision is “a place that linked...
Background: Schuyler Thorup has been directly involved in international humanitarian relief and development for nearly two decades. Through Catholic Relief Services, the official international humanitarian agency of the United States Catholic community, Schuyler has served in a variety of capacities in Angola, Zimbabwe, Peru, Armenia, Malawi and the U.S. As the Guatemala-based Regional Director for Latin America and the Caribbean, Schuyler is currently responsible for overseeing CRS' programs...
Background: This discussion between Patrick McDonald and Katherine Marshall was conducted as part of preparatory work for a January 30-31, 2009 consultation in Antigua, Guatemala on the roles of faith-inspired organizations in development in Latin America. Patrick McDonald founded VIVA in 1994 to link and support the many Christian organizations, most of them small, that work with at-risk children. In this interview, conducted as part of the preparations for the Berkley Center/WFDD...
Background: Father Robert J. Vitillo is a full-time Special Advisor to Caritas on HIV and AIDS, directing the Caritas Internationalis response to wide-ranging aspects of the global pandemic in various parts of the world. He previously served as the Executive Director of the Catholic Campaign for Human Development, United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB). Prior to joining the staff of USCCB, Father Vitillo was Caritas Internationalis delegate to the United Nations in New York and...