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COUNTRY

Mexico

POPULATION

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)


Mexico

Mexico

Quotes (11)

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.

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  • Popebenedictxvi Benedict XVI on the Excommunication of Mexican Politicians
    May 10, 2007
    Excommunication is not something arbitrary but a measure prescribed by the Code [of Canon Law]. Thus, it simply states in Canon Law that the killing of an innocent child is incompatible with going to Communion, where one receives the Body of Christ. Consequently, nothing new, surprising or arbitrary, has been invented.
  • Article 130: Separation of Churches and State
    January 28, 1992
    The rules established at this article are guided by the historical principle according to which the State and the churches are separated entities from each other. Churches and religious congregations shall be organized under the law.
    The Congress shall legislate for religious beliefs, churches and religious congregations. Statutory law, which will have public order's rank, shall develop and specify provisions as follows:
    a) Both churches and religious congregations shall have legal existence...
  • Article 1: Equality Before the Law
    In the Mexican United States all individuals shall be entitled to the privileges and immunities granted by this Constitution. Such privileges and immunities shall not be restricted or suspended, but in the cases and under the conditions established by this Constitution itself ... Discrimination based on ethnic or national origin as well as discrimination based on gender, age, disabilities of any kind, civil status or on any other reason which attempts against human dignity and which is...
  • Article 24: Freedom of Religion
    Every man shall be free to choose and profess any religious belief as long as it is lawful and it can not be punished under criminal law.

    The Congress shall not be authorized to enact laws either establishing of prohibiting a particular religion.

    Religious ceremonies of public nature shall be ordinarily performed at the temples. Those performed outdoors shall be regulated under the law.

  • Article 27: Property
    January 28, 1992
    II. All religious associations organized according to article 130 and its derived legislation, shall be authorized to acquire, possess or manage just the necessary assets to achieve their objectives;
  • Article 3: Education
    February 5, 1917
    I. According to the religious liberties established under article 24, educational services shall be secular and, therefore, free of any religious orientation.
    II. The educational services shall be based on scientific progress and shall fight against ignorance, ignorance's effects, servitude, fanaticism and prejudice.
  • Article 55: Chamber of Deputies
    The members of the Chamber of Deputies shall be: ... Uncompromised from any religious bond ...
  • Article 5: Protection of Liberty
    ... The State cannot permit the execution of any contract, covenant, or agreement having for its object the restriction, loss or irrevocable sacrifice of the liberty of man, whether for work, education, or religious vows. The law, therefore, does not permit the establishment of monastic orders, whatever be their denomination or purpose. Likewise no person can legally agree to his own proscription or exile, or to the temporary or permanent renunciation of the exercise of a given profession or...
  • Article 82: The President
    The President shall: ... Not be a member or priest of any religious cult ...
  • Foxvicente Vicente Fox on Religious Freedom upon Signing an Anti-Discrimination Bill
    June 9, 2003
    This signature makes this a historic date for our country. It's historic because it establishes that nobody should be excluded from their social well-being because of their ethnic origin, gender, age or religion.
  • Mexican Episcopal Council on the Role of the Church in Politics
    August 14, 2009
    The Church cannot and should not embark upon the political enterprise of realizing a more just society on its own. It cannot and should not substitute the State. But neither can it nor should it remain on the margins in the struggle for justice.