Mexico – Religious Freedom Profile

Executive Summary

Religious freedom in Mexico is a complex subject. While the Mexican Constitution guarantees freedom of religion and belief to all its citizens and Mexico is party to a number of international agreements, including the San Jose Pact, the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) and the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR), in practice religious liberty violations are a relatively common occurrence. Although the root causes vary, many violations are allowed to occur because of reluctance on the part of the state to involve itself in “religious affairs”. This leads to a culture of impunity for those perpetrating the violations. Despite its highly religious population, Mexico has historically had a complicated relationship with “religion” and in particular the Roman Catholic Church. Its adherence to an extremely strict interpretation of the concept of a separation of church and state has at times led the government to distance itself from anything involving religion or religious groups, to the extent of failing to protect actively the individual‟s right to religious freedom.

The negative impact on religious freedom of the state‟s reluctance to involve itself in religious issues is in some parts of the country compounded by the Law of Uses and Customs which gives significant autonomy to indigenous communities. While this is supposed to be exercised in line with human rights guarantees laid out in the Mexican Constitution, in practice this does not always occur. Local authorities often try to enforce community uniformity in terms of practice and belief, compelling members of the community to participate in religious activities, usually Roman Catholic or a syncretistic blend of Catholicism and pre-Columbian beliefs, or face punishment. Violations range in severity, but in the absence of government intervention and a failure to hold the perpetrators to account, all too often escalate to the point of forced displacement and beatings.

The federal and state governments each have a designated office to deal with religious affairs and it is the responsibility of these offices, particularly on the state level, to address violations of religious freedom and to actively mediate a solution when conflicts arise. In reality, these offices are often poorly resourced and receive little support from the state government, which severely limits their ability to address these situations in any effective way. There are some notable exceptions, one being Tabasco State, which has one of the highest non-Catholic populations in the country but few reported religious conflicts or religious freedom violations because of a well-resourced and pro-active state department for religious affairs.

Finally, increased general violence in Mexico due to the conflicts between different illegal groups involved in drugs, arms and human trafficking and extortion rackets has had a chilling impact on religious freedom. The illegal groups see churches as an attractive target for extortion and their leaders as potential threats to their influence and aims. Over the past few years, the number of religious leaders, including Catholic priests and Protestant pastors, under threat has skyrocketed. Sadly, a significant number have been killed or kidnapped though precise figures are difficult to obtain because of witnesses‟ fear of retaliation by those responsible.

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