The Mexican Catholic Church, or Catholic Church in Mexico, is part of the worldwide Catholic Church, under the spiritual leadership of the Pope, his Curia in Rome and the national Mexican Episcopal Conference. According to the Mexican census, Roman Catholicism is the dominant religion in Mexico, practiced by 77.7 percent of the population in 2020.[1] A Statistica survey suggests this number could be little lower, suggesting Catholics could make up 72 percent of the nation.[2]
The history of the Catholic Church in Mexico dates from the period of the Spanish conquest of the Aztec Empire (1519–1521) and it has continued as an institution in Mexico into the twenty-first century. In the late 20th century, Eastern Catholic jurisdictions were also established in Mexico.
In many parts of the country, Catholic Christianity is heavily syncretized with folk customs; and Aztec, Mayan, and other pre-Columban religions.
The history of the Catholic Church in Mexico can be divided into distinct periods, the basic division being between colonial Mexico, known as New Spain and the national period, from Mexican independence in 1821 until the current era.[citation needed]
The era of the military conquest in the early sixteenth century saw the Church's huge effort to evangelize the indigenous population of Mexico in what is termed "the spiritual conquest". As the Spanish Empire expanded into new territories, the incorporation of the indigenous population was a priority for the crown. The growth of the Spanish and mixed-race urban population of Mexico prompted the establishment of the episcopal hierarchy, under the patronage of the monarch and the creation of dioceses in Mexico.[citation needed]
In the national period, following independence in early nineteenth century, Mexico established a legal framework that continued the privileged status of the Catholic Church as official and unique religion. La Reforma of the late 1850s sparked an extended period of violent conflict between the conservative supporters of the old order and liberals who sought to displace and diminish the power of the Church. The Mexican Revolution was won by largely anticlerical Constitutionalists and the Church's role in Mexico was restricted constitutionally.[3]
After a period of violent open conflict over religious matters, Church-state relations returned to a modus vivendi while the anticlerical constitutional framework remained in place. Expansion of Catholic participation in the establishment of religious educational institutions and the creation of a conservative political party, the National Action Party, was an important characteristic of the late twentieth century. A new constitutional framework was created in 1992, which reiterated the separation between the Catholic Church and the state and lifted most but not all restrictions[which?] on religious freedom and the activities of the Catholic Church in Mexico.[3]
