T
he Constitution of the United Mexican States, written in 1917, allows people to practice ceremonies, devotions, and observances of their faith in places of public worship or in their homes “provided they do not constitute an offense punishable by law.” The Constitution demands strict separation of church and state. The Congress is forbidden from passing any law establishing or prohibiting any religion. No minister of any religion may hold public office.
More than eighty percent of Mexicans are at least nominally Catholic. Many Mexicans, especially in rural areas practice a mixture of Catholicism and indigenous beliefs. As originally written, the constitution placed severe restrictions on the Catholic Church. Article 24 stated that “every act of public worship must be performed strictly inside places of public worship, which shall at all times be under government supervision.” It also stated that all public education would be “maintained entirely apart from any religious doctrine.” Religious organizations were forbidden from providing elementary, secondary, and normal education, and education for laborers or field workers. The establishment of monastic orders was strictly forbidden. Churches were not allowed to acquire, hold or administer real property or mortgages. Places of public worship were the property of the nation. The law did not recognize any personality in groups called churches.
It is estimated that there are between 5000 and 7000 different churches in Mexico. Many of these are protestant or evangelical churches. In some of the southern states, particularly Chiapas, the local population whose culture includes a mixture of Catholic and indigenous beliefs have resisted the growth of protestant and evangelical churches and there have been cases of violent confrontation and expulsions over the past few decades although exact statistics and not available. In some cases local authorities have cooperated with in the discrimination against or expulsion of evangelicals.
