Henry Graham Greene was an English writer and journalist regarded by many as one of the leading English novelists of the 20th century. Combining literary acclaim with widespread popularity, Greene acquired a reputation early in his lifetime as a major writer, both of serious Catholic novels, and of thrillers. He was shortlisted, in 1966 and 1967, for the Nobel Prize for Literature. Through 67 years of writing, which included over 25 novels, he explored the conflicting moral and political issues of the modern world. He was awarded the 1968 Shakespeare Prize and the 1981 Jerusalem Prize.
Plutarco Elías Calles was a general in the Mexican Revolution and a Sonoran politician, serving as President of Mexico from 1924 to 1928.
The Power and the Glory is a 1940 novel by British author Graham Greene. The title is an allusion to the doxology often recited at the end of the Lord's Prayer: "For thine is the kingdom, the power, and the glory, forever and ever, amen." It was initially published in the United States under the title The Labyrinthine Ways.
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 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 implementation of secularist and anticlerical articles of the 1917 Constitution. The rebellion was instigated as a response to an executive decree by Mexican President Plutarco Elías Calles to strictly enforce Article 130 of the Constitution, a decision known as Calles Law. Calles sought to eliminate the power of the Catholic Church, its affiliated organizations and to suppress popular religiosity.
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 the false 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, and/or its adherents. At various points after the Reformation, some majority Protestant states, including England, Prussia, Scotland, and the United States, made anti-Catholicism and opposition to the Pope (anti-Papalism), Catholic rituals, and Catholic adherents into major political themes. The anti-Catholic sentiment which resulted from this trend frequently led to religious discrimination against Catholic communities and individuals and occasionally led to the religious persecution of them 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 governor of the state of Tabasco from 1920 to 1924 and from 1931 to 1934. He was noted for his anti-Catholicism, during his term he led persecutions against 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. During the ongoing conflict over the anticlerical articles of the 1917 constitution, 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 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 were prohibited from holding 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 from regarding the separation of church and state throughout Mexico and added his own legislation.
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.
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.
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. Since 1857, however, 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 in 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.
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.
For Greater Glory: The True Story of Cristiada, also known as Cristiada and as Outlaws, is a 2012 epic historical war drama film directed by Dean Wright and written by Michael Love, based on the events of the Cristero War. It stars Andy García, Eva Longoria, Oscar Isaac, Rubén Blades, Peter O'Toole, and Bruce Greenwood. The film is the directorial debut for Wright, a veteran visual effects supervisor on films including The Two Towers (2002) and The Return of the King (2003), and was released on June 1, 2012.
José Reyes Vega was a Mexican priest who participated in the Cristero War as a general. He was known as "Father Vega".
Saturnino Cedillo Martínez was a Mexican politician who participated in the Mexican Revolution and the Cristero War. He was governor of San Luis Potosí from 1927 to 1931 through the Partido Nacional Revolucionario (PNR) and served as Secretary of Agriculture on two occasions, one under President Pascual Ortiz Rubio and again under President Lázaro Cárdenas. He maintained de facto control of his home state until shortly before his death. He "was the last of the great military caciques of the Mexican Revolution who maintained his own quasi-private personal army," building a fiefdom in the state of San Luis Potosí. He rose in rebellion against Cárdenas and was killed.
