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The modern history of anticlericalism has often been characterized by deep conflicts between the government and the Catholic Church, sometimes including outright persecution of Catholics in Mexico. Mexico is in the top 45 countries where Christians are most persecuted. [1] [2]
In one form or another, anticlericalism has been a factor in Mexican politics since the Mexican War of Independence from the Spanish Empire (1810-1821), which is attributable to the frequent change in government and those governments' eagerness to access wealth in the form of the property of the Church. [3] Mexico was born after its independence as a confessional state, with its first constitution (1824) stating that the religion of the nation was and would perpetually be Roman Catholic, and prohibiting any other religion. [4]
After the Revolution of Ayutla (1854-1855), nearly all of the top figures in the government were Freemasons and fierce anticlericalists. [5] In 1857 a Constitution was adopted under which Benito Juárez attacked the property rights and possessions of the Church. The supporters of tradition backed the ill-fated Second Mexican Empire (1863-1867) supported by the Second French Empire. When Maximilian I of Mexico was deposed and killed, the country saw a series of anti-clerical governments. Then after the moderate Porfirio Díaz there was a strong resurgence of anticlericalism. [3]
In 1917, a new Constitution was enacted, hostile to the Church and religion, which promulgated an anti-clericalism similar to that seen in France during the Revolution. [3] The new Mexican Constitution was hostile to the Church as a consequence of the support given by Catholic church authorities to the dictatorship of Victoriano Huerta. [6] [7] [8] [9] [10] The 1917 Constitution outlawed teaching by the Church, gave control over Church matters to the state, put all Church property at the disposal of the state, outlawed religious orders and foreign-born priests, gave states the power to limit or eliminate priests in their territory, deprived priests of the right to vote or hold office, prohibited Catholic organizations which advocated public policy and religious publications from commenting on policy, prohibited clergy from religious celebrations and from wearing clerical garb outside of a church, and deprived citizens of the right to a trial for violations of these provisions. [11] [12] One political scientist stated that the gist of the 1917 constitution was to "effectively outlaw the Roman Catholic Church and other religious denominations"; [13] it also emboldened Communist labor unions, paving the way for anti-religious governments. [14]
Recent President Vicente Fox stated: "After 1917, Mexico was led by anti-Catholic Freemasons who tried to evoke the anticlerical spirit of popular, indigenous President Benito Juarez of the 1880s. But the military dictators of the 1920s were a lot more savage than Juarez." [15] Fox goes on to recount how priests were killed for trying to perform the sacraments, altars were desecrated by soldiers, and freedom of religion outlawed by generals. [15]
As a reaction against the strict enforcement of the above anti-clerical articles in the constitution of 1917 in Mexico, specifically Article 130, armed conflict broke out in the Cristero War (also known as the Cristiada) of 1926 to 1929. This was a civil war between Catholic rebels called Cristeros and the anti-clerical Mexican government of the time that was mainly localized in central Western states in Mexico.
Though conflict between church and state marked the presidency of Álvaro Obregón (1920–1924), who "accused the clergy of being insincere and of producing conflict" but "spoke of Jesus Christ as 'the greatest socialist who has been known to Humanity'", [16] it was with the election of President Plutarco Elías Calles in 1924 that anti-clerical laws were stringently applied throughout the country. Calles added a requirement that prohibited priests from ministering unless licensed by the state. [17] State officials began to limit the number of priests so that vast areas of the population were left with no priest at all. [17] Churches were expropriated for use as garages, museums and the like, and the Mexican bishops, deported or underground, as a last resort of protest suspended all remaining ministry and urged the people to protest the persecution of their faith. [3] One contemporary is quoted as saying that "while President Calles is sane on all other matters, he completely loses control of himself when the matter of religion comes up, becomes livid in the face and pounds the table to express his hatred." [18] Wearing clerical garb outside of churches was outlawed during his rule and priests exercising their right of political speech could be imprisoned for five years. On November 18, 1926, Pope Pius XI promulgated the encyclical Iniquis afflictisque decrying the severe persecution of the faithful in Mexico and the deprivation of the rights of the faithful and the Church. [19]
The formal rebellion began on January 1, 1927, with the "Cristeros" battle cry ¡Viva Cristo Rey! ("Long live Christ the King!"). When Jalisco federal commander General Jesús Maria Ferreira moved on the rebels, he calmly stated that "it will be less a campaign than a hunt." Just as the Cristeros began to hold their own against the federal forces, the rebellion was ended by diplomatic means, in large part due to the pressure of United States Ambassador Dwight Whitney Morrow. The war had claimed the lives of some 90,000: 56,882 on the federal side, 30,000 Cristeros.[ citation needed ] Numerous civilians and Cristeros were killed in anticlerical raids, while Cristeros killed atheist teachers and people suspected of supporting the government, and also blew up a passenger train. [20] [21]
On September 29, 1932 Pope Pius XI issued a second encyclical on the persecution, Acerba Animi . The effects of the war on the Church were profound. Between 1926 and 1934 at least 40 priests were killed. [22] Where there were 4,500 priests serving the people before the rebellion, in 1934 there were only 334 priests licensed by the government to serve fifteen million people, the rest having been eliminated by emigration, expulsion and assassination. [22] [23] By 1935, 17 states had no priest at all. [24]
The persecution was worst under the rule of Tabasco's governor Tomás Garrido Canabal. His rule, which marked the apogee of Mexican anti-clericalism, was supported by his Radical Socialist Party of Tabasco (PRST). In 1916 his predecessor Francisco J. Múgica had restored the name of the state capital Villa Hermosa de San Juan Bautista ("Beautiful Town of St. John the Baptist") to Villahermosa ("Beautifultown"). [25] Garrido Canabal founded several fascist paramilitary organizations "that terrorized Roman Catholics", [26] most notably the so-called "Red Shirts". [26] [27]
The Catholic Church has recognized several of those killed in connection with the Cristero rebellion as martyrs. Perhaps the best-known is Miguel Pro, SJ. This Jesuit priest was shot dead by firing squad on November 23, 1927, without benefit of a trial, on trumped-up charges. The Calles government hoped to use images of the execution to scare the rebels into surrender, but the photos had the opposite effect. Upon seeing the photos, which the government had printed in all the newspapers, the Cristeros were inspired with a desire to follow Father Pro into martyrdom for Christ. His beatification occurred in 1988. On May 21, 2000, Pope John Paul II canonized a group of 25 martyrs from this period (they were previously beatified on November 22, 1992.) For the most part, these were priests who did not take up arms, but refused to leave their flocks, and were killed by federal forces. Thirteen additional victims of the anti-Catholic regime have been declared martyrs by the Catholic Church, paving the way to their beatification. These are primarily lay people, including the 14-year-old José Sánchez del Río. The requirement that they did not take up arms, which was applied to the priest martyrs, does not apply to the lay people, though it had to be shown that they were taking up arms in self-defense.
As Mexico entered the mid-twentieth century, the more violent oppression of earlier in the century had waned but the Church remained severely suppressed. By 1940 it "legally had no corporate existence, no real estate, no schools, no monasteries or convents, no foreign priests, no right to defend itself publicly or in the courts. ...Its clergy were forbidden to wear clerical garb, to vote, to celebrate public religious ceremonies, and to engage in politics," but the restrictions were not always enforced. [28]
Open hostility toward the Church largely ceased with the election of Manuel Ávila Camacho (1940–46), who agreed, in exchange for the Church's efforts to maintain peace, to non-enforcement of most of the anticlerical provisions, an exception being Article 130, Section 9, which deprived the Church of the right of political speech, the right to vote, and the right of free political association. [29]
In 1991 President Salinas proposed the removal of most of the anticlerical provisions from the constitution, a move which passed the legislature in 1992. [29]
Plutarco Elías Calles was a Mexican military general and politician. He was the powerful interior minister under President Álvaro Obregón, who chose Calles as his successor. The 1924 Calles presidential campaign was the first populist presidential campaign in Mexico's history, as he called for land redistribution and promised equal justice, more education, additional labour rights, and democratic governance.
Anti-clericalism is opposition to religious authority, typically in social or political matters. Historical anti-clericalism has mainly been opposed to the influence of Roman Catholicism. Anti-clericalism is related to secularism, which seeks to separate the church from public and political life.
The Constitution of Mexico, formally the Political Constitution of the United Mexican States, is the current constitution of Mexico. It was drafted in Santiago de Querétaro, in the State of Querétaro, by a constituent convention, during the Mexican Revolution. It was approved by the Constituent Congress on 5 February 1917. It is the successor to the Constitution of 1857, and earlier Mexican constitutions.
State atheism is the incorporation of positive atheism or non-theism into political regimes. It may also refer to large-scale secularization attempts by governments. It is a form of religion-state relationship that is usually ideologically linked to irreligion and the promotion of irreligion to some extent. State atheism may refer to a government's promotion of anti-clericalism, which opposes religious institutional power and influence in all aspects of public and political life, including the involvement of religion in the everyday life of the citizen. In some instances, religious symbols and public practices that were once held by religion were replaced with secularized versions. State atheism can also exist in a politically neutral fashion, in which case it is considered as non-secular.
The Cristero War, also known as the Cristero Rebellion or La Cristiada[la kɾisˈtjaða], was a widespread struggle in central and western Mexico in response to the imposition of secularist and anticlerical articles of the 1917 Constitution of Mexico, which were perceived by opponents as anti-Catholic measures aimed at imposing state atheism. The rebellion was instigated as a response to an executive decree by Mexican President Plutarco Elías Calles to enforce Articles 3, 5, 24, 27, and 130 of the Constitution, a move known as the Calles Law. Calles sought to eliminate the power of the Catholic Church and all organizations which were affiliated with it and to suppress popular religious celebrations in local communities.
José Ramón Miguel Agustín Pro Juárez, also known as Blessed Miguel Pro, was a Mexican Jesuit Catholic priest executed under the presidency of Plutarco Elías Calles on charges of bombing and attempted assassination of former Mexican President Álvaro Obregón.
Anti-Catholicism is hostility towards Catholics or opposition to the Catholic Church, its clergy, or its adherents. At various points after the Reformation, some majority Protestant states, including England, Prussia, and Scotland made anti-Catholicism and opposition to the Pope and Catholic rituals major political themes, and the anti-Catholic sentiment which resulted from it frequently lead to religious discrimination against Catholic individuals. Historian John Wolffe identifies four types of anti-Catholicism: constitutional-national, theological, popular and socio-cultural.
Tomás Garrido Canabal was a Mexican politician, revolutionary and atheist activist. Garrido Canabal served as dictator and governor of the state of Tabasco from 1920 to 1924 and again from 1931 to 1934, and was particularly noted for his anti-Catholicism. During his term he fiercely persecuted the Church in his state, killing many priests and laymen and driving the remainder underground.
The Red Shirts were a paramilitary organization, existing in the 1930s, founded by the atheist and anti-Catholic anticlerical Governor of Tabasco, Mexico, Tomás Garrido Canabal, during his second term. As part of their attempt to destroy the Church, they systematically destroyed church buildings. The group, created to carry out the governor's orders, takes its name from its uniform of red shirts, black pants, and black and red military caps. It consisted of men and women aged 15 to 30.
The Calles Law, or Law for Reforming the Penal Code, was a statute enacted in Mexico in 1926, under the presidency of Plutarco Elías Calles, to enforce the restrictions against the Catholic Church in Article 130 of the Mexican Constitution of 1917. Article 130 declared that the church and state are to remain separate. To that end, it required all "churches and religious groupings" to register with the state and placed restrictions on priests and ministers of all religions. Priests and ministers could not hold public office, canvass on behalf of political parties or candidates, or inherit property from persons other than close blood relatives. President Calles applied existing laws regarding the separation of church and state throughout Mexico and added his own legislation.
Enrique Gorostieta Velarde was a Mexican soldier best known for his leadership as a general during the Cristero War.
Anacleto González Flores was a Mexican Catholic layman and lawyer who was tortured and executed during the persecution of the Catholic Church under Mexican President Plutarco Elías Calles.
Iniquis afflictisque is an encyclical of Pope Pius XI promulgated on November 18, 1926, to denounce the persecution of the Catholic Church in Mexico. It was one of three encyclicals concerning Mexico, including Acerba animi (1932) and Firmissimam Constantiamque (1937). The Mexican government at the time was engaging in violently anticlerical persecution of the Church and the Pope harshly criticised the government for its abuses.
The history of the Catholic Church in Mexico dates from the period of the Spanish conquest (1519–21) and has continued as an institution in Mexico into the twenty-first century. Catholicism is one of the two major legacies from the Spanish colonial era, the other being Spanish as the nation's language. The Catholic Church was a privileged institution until the mid nineteenth century. It was the sole permissible church in the colonial era and into the early Mexican Republic, following independence in 1821. Following independence, it involved itself directly in politics, including in matters that did not specifically involve the Church.
Irreligion in Mexico refers to atheism, deism, religious skepticism, secularism, and secular humanism in Mexican society, which was a confessional state after independence from Imperial Spain. The first political constitution of the Mexican United States enacted in 1824, stipulated that Roman Catholicism was the national religion in perpetuity, and prohibited any other religion. Moreover, since 1857, by law, Mexico has had no official religion; as such, anti-clerical laws meant to promote a secular society, contained in the 1857 Constitution of Mexico and in the 1917 Constitution of Mexico limited the participation in civil life of Roman Catholic organizations, and allowed government intervention to religious participation in politics.
The Catholic Church in Latin America began with the Spanish colonization of the Americas and continues up to the present day.
The question of whether Freemasonry is anticlerical is the subject of debate. The Catholic Church has long been an outspoken critic of Freemasonry, and some scholars have often accused the fraternity of anticlericalism. The Catholic Church forbids its members to join any Masonic society under pain of interdiction. Freemasons usually take a diametrically opposite view, stating that there is nothing in Freemasonry that is in any way contrary to Catholicism or any other religious faith.
The Mexican Catholic Apostolic Church Spanish: Iglesia Católica Apostólica Mexicana (ICAM) was founded in 1925, by separation from the Catholic Church in Mexico. It was created to bolster revolution and cause a schism with the Catholic Church in Mexico with the support of the Regional Confederation of Mexican Workers (CROM) and Mexican President Plutarco Elías Calles' approval. Its development was marked by several internal crises, followed by consequent splits and mergers. Since 1993, it has been officially listed in the Mexican Federal Registry of Religious Associations.
National League for the Defense of Religious Liberty or National League for the Defense of Religious Freedom was a Mexican Catholic religious civil rights organization formed in March 1925 that played a crucial role in the Cristero War of 1926–1929. The Mexico City-based organization was created by former members of the short-lived National Catholic Party, the Union of Mexican Catholic Ladies ; a student organization, the Jesuit-led Catholic Association of Mexican Youth ; the Knights of Columbus; the National Parents' Association; and the National Catholic Labor Confederation. The League had by June of its founding year about 36,000 members and chapters in almost every state of the country. The organization arose after the anti-clerical provisions of the 1917 Mexican Constitution were strictly enforced by the fiercely anti-Catholic President Plutarco Calles and after he enacted further draconian provisions in the Calles Law.
Acerba animi is an encyclical of Pope Pius XI promulgated on 29 September 1932, to denounce the continued persecution of the Catholic Church in Mexico. It was the second of three encyclicals concerning persecution in Mexico, including Iniquis afflictisque (1926) and Firmissimam constantiamque (1937). The Mexican government at the time was engaging in violently anticlerical persecution of the Church, and the Pope harshly criticised the government for its past and current abuse of the Church and its faithful and chided the government for not only violating its promises to the Church made in the recent cessation of the Catholic uprising, the Cristero War, but expanding the persecution.
huerta high clergy.
urrutia .